Interview with Lawrence Dolan, Composer for 'Convento'

Screened at SXSW, Jarred Alterman's documentary "Convento" explores the transformative art of Dutch kinetic artist Christiaan Zwanikken. In an abandoned monastery in Portugal, he, his mother, and brother live off the land. Zwanikken's otherworldly artworks converge brilliantly with Lawrence Dolan's score. Dolan shared his inspirations for composing the score for "Convento."

Jarred knew of your band Resonator. Did your musical style lend itself to "Convento?"

Resonator has been categorized in the genre of instrumental post-rock. What was unique about our band was that our music was created by capturing improvisations in the studio, and then sticking to those structures as closely as possible with very little rewriting. The result was very atmospheric music with changes that felt natural rather than constructed. To me, listening to Resonator with your eyes closed is a very cinematic experience.

I think Jarred identified with this element of our music and it connected with his cinematic vision. He began using our music in some of his short films, the most notable of which was "Process: Painting with Light." The music fits so well, it is as if Resonator purposefully scored the film. This short was the essential step in solidifying our collaboration on "Convento." It was after working on this together that we developed a dialogue about how I might put music to his work in a general sense. By July 2010, we talked specifically about me scoring "Convento."

Your first film score, but you composed a score for Fritz Lang's "Metropolis." Did this inform "Convento?"

I wrote the score for "Metropolis" with Nate Derr and Todd Recore, so not all musical decisions were my own... it was done collaboratively. I consider it to be more of a soundtrack than a score because it used so many musical structures typical of rock music. It informed my sensibility of how music should accompany film. However, with "Convento" I was quite cognizant of creating a score and not songs. In that respect, my work on "Convento" is a rather drastic departure from "Metropolis."

How did you approach scoring something so unusual without any experience?

What is interesting for me about "Convento" is how much I identify with the film on a personal level. I had known Jarred for a number of years before I worked on this film. Through our friendship we had the opportunity to discuss our philosophies about art and life. His interest in telling the Zwanikkens' story stemmed from a connection at this philosophical level. Naturally I connected with it in this manner as well.

I have been preparing for many years to score a film. Much of my work with the band Resonator is a reflection of this impulse -- creating atmospheric, dynamic, instrumental music. I have also trained myself in both the artistic and technical aspects of the process since "Metropolis." With so many different musical ideas at the forefront of my mind, when I first saw "Convento," I was open to several possibilities. The ones that would work just rose to the top naturally.

It's funny, too... at one point Jarred paid me a very high compliment saying I was "born to do this." I was flattered, but I told him maybe there was something to it: my great uncle was Robert Emmet Dolan. He scored dozens of pictures in the '40s, '50s, and '60s; produced "White Christmas" and worked regularly with Bing Crosby. His body of work is formidable. I'm just hoping to work on another film!

The sculptures are musically provoking, like birds with voice boxes humming Trent Reznor melodies. Did you experiment much to find sounds that blended well?

The dominant thematic element of the score is the sound of Tibetan singing bowls. This was the first inspiration I had from a scene early in the film when Christiaan talks about the ancient frequencies of the Convento and his reinterpretation of them in his sculptures. I also used a mechanical frequency that had a certain musicality to it. I manipulated the speed and pitch of this frequency and it augmented the bird sounds you mentioned very well. My initial ideas were what worked so I did not have to experiment very much. I began sending files to Jarred at the end of July, and by mid September the majority of the score was complete except for a few revisions and small additions. It was a rather quick process.

What tools became irreplaceable for you in composing?

The bowls were the inspiration and the backbone of the score. They inspired the synth pads that I created as well as the melodic themes I used. I used five different bowls that had five complementary notes (with one sharp and one flat). Because they were so limited, I had to use chords and harmonies that expand from this base palette of notes. There are a number of sequences that depart from the bowls and this brings balance to the score (and frankly makes it more interesting). I'm proud of the score because, while in principle it seems steeped in artistic theory and experimentation, in execution it feels and sounds very natural. It fits the film and is emotive. It is provocative without being overwrought.

What inspired you most about the Convento in Portugal?

When I first watched "Convento," I recognized an element of synchronicity between my life and the lives of the Zwanikkens. I live on a farm with my wife Les (who is a painter) and my 2-year-old son, Gabriel. My parents purchased the farm in the early 1970s to escape NYC. My mother is a retired teacher that tends the horses and gardens incessantly in the summers, while my brother assists with farm work and is a medical assistant in town. I have converted an old granary into a music studio and that is where I do all of my musical projects. I think there are some rather uncanny similarities between this environment and the Convento Sao Francisco. This wasn't the sole reason that the score worked so well with the film, I just think that it was a fortuitous coincidence that enhanced the music's complementary aspects with the story. It was certainly a source of inspiration.