Cory Stillman
90 Day: Last Resort is filled with all the chaos and romance we have come to expect from the 90 Day Fiancé reality TV franchise, but it is set apart by the musical contributions of Adam Malka and his entire team at Signature Tracks. Alongside co-founders David Lasman and Russell Howard, Malka looked towards unconventional soundscapes in crafting a score appropriate for a show as tumultuous as 90 Day: Last Resort.
“We wanted to push the pacing and even used vocals percussively. Ultimately, we felt these choices added an uneasiness to the theme, which helps to drive and tell the story of the series,” says Malka.
Signature Tracks’ constant pursuit of inventiveness goes hand-in-hand with the company’s focus on diversity and collaboration. As a composer and music supervisor, Malka is adept at identifying musical strengths in his collaborators, and plugging those strengths in with the needs of a project accordingly.
“I love bringing together the strengths of certain composers with others,” says Malka. “For example, we may assign a composer to come up with a great lead line on keys and a blueprint for a song, and then another composer assigned may add a beat and special sauce to complete that piece of composition.”
Malka’s creative vision, alongside that of Lasman and Howard, has led to immense success for the Signature Tracks team, including a recent update to America’s Got Talent‘s musical landscape.
“Recently, we created a new theme for America’s Got Talent, approved by Simon Cowell, without any client direction on what was needed,” says Malka. “Re-creating a theme after 18 seasons…we considered this an awesome accomplishment.”
Check out our full conversation with Malka below to hear more about Signature Tracks and the company’s work on 90 Day: Last Resort.
You used unconventional sounds, such as vocal chops, to reflect the tumultuous experiences of the iconic couples in the 90 Day: Last Resort score, how did each sound help in creating the experience you were aiming for?
We love to explore at Signature Tracks. We love unconventional and cutting-edge sounds. Exploring sonic vocal sounds stylistically as an instrument was really fun and experimental. We wanted to push the pacing and even used vocals percussively. Ultimately, we felt these choices added an uneasiness to the theme, which helps to drive and tell the story of the series. We also added some unique hummable melodies over tracks in the show, including the theme song. We were seeking to push boundaries in composition and artistry.
What was the inspiration behind using the unconventional sounds?
As composers, our most important tool we have is our ear, and to listen. We listen and reference a lot, often amalgamating references together in a beautiful blended sonic sound palette that is very nuanced. It’s a beautiful dance we enjoy.
I’ve always loved how the band Sigur Ros explored vocal melodies often outside of lyrics. As a listener I’m most interested in how something makes me feel, and I like to make up my own lyrics to melodies that are ambiguous. We wanted to invite the audience into a unique world that was exciting to explore and also a bit uneasy; much like our cast members’ experiences on 90 Day, where they explore romance with partners from different worlds.
What techniques did you use to evoke the emotions of love and turmoil in the soundtrack for 90 Day: Last Resort?
Love is represented to us in melodic uplifting wondrous, brilliant, and bright-sounding music. Turmoil and drama can be represented by building string sounds over minor keys. We really loved to blend the two together through unique arrangements and cohesive instrumentation.
Most often we blended comedic music with drama and turmoil, as we found this best supported the storyline of these unique relationships. Our goal is to help intrigue the viewer and provoke them a bit, while also confronting them with relatability in terms of connecting with their own experiences in uncomfortable dating.
How do you divide responsibilities when working together on a score? Do you have specific strengths that each of you bring to the project?
Great question – we have team leads over each project, but ultimately the music has to pass my ears alongside my co-founder Russell Howard. We confer on sounds together. I consider composing a team sport, and at Signature Tracks, we champion collaboration amongst diverse composers. We are the sum of our parts and I encourage any new composers to really embrace the following: IT TAKES A VILLAGE. We meet together, listen together, pitch ideas, and then execute.
In particular, I love bringing together the strengths of certain composers with others. For example, we may assign a composer to come up with a great lead line on keys and a blueprint for a song, and then another composer assigned may add a beat and special sauce to complete that piece of composition.
Can you provide insight into how the team continues to push boundaries and make waves in the industry with their expert guidance?
We are able to do many things that others are not able to do. For example, we have chops in pop and top 40 production like no other production music house because our team comes from that world. We have incredible unicorns that are beasts behind the board.
Experience also has given us the confidence to tackle any project. Recently, we created a new theme for America’s Got Talent, approved by Simon Cowell, without any client direction on what was needed. Re-creating a theme after 18 seasons…we considered this an awesome accomplishment.
We push boundaries by listening well to what is current, modern, and fresh. We listen and really take in what’s impacting culture. When 100K songs are uploaded to DSPs daily, that can be a big task, but we do our best to be influenced by very modern production sounds. Current and Fresh.
Were there any surprising sounds or instruments that you ended up incorporating into the score that you hadn’t initially planned on using?
I think we were really surprised by feeling like we have created a new genre not just for 90 Day, but for modern scores in general. We have noted that the sounds of vocal melodic chops over unique tribal sounds and dramedy work incredibly well for score. We have been dripping out these sounds recently to some Bravo series we work on as well, and it’s been working incredibly well.
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