Creating the music for Hinterland series III

Having composed the music for the first two series of Hinterland/Y Gwyll, we knew that we needed to retain the signature soundworld of the series, one that has become synonymous with the Cymru Noir genre. The music itself developed in tandem with the characters, narratives and landscapes of the crime drama, with musical themes relating to everything from ‘story of the week’ plot lines through to the emotional journeys experienced by the main characters. These themes formed an intrinsic part of the storytelling within the program and we were keen to continue this function while still developing the musical and sonic language. 

John at the Hammond recording sound ideas for Hinterland series III

From the beginning of series three, we set out to source and create new and interesting sound materials for music creation. In the studio, we have a 1967 Chicago-made Hammond C3 organ with Lesley cabinet. These organs were originally designed to be an affordable alternative to the pipe organ, although it became much more than that, defining the sound of many musical genres, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. For Hinterland, we explored the different facets of sound that can be produced by the organ; we played it conventionally and unconventionally. We created long evolving textures of dense chordal sound, articulated and accented with the scratching, scraping noises of the instrument’s stoppers as they were wiggled and pulled out. We looked for high pitched, sound-based material which could be sampled, reversed and stretched to create the high frequency, psychological soundworlds heard throughout Hinterland. These sonic ideas and motifs were then recorded and edited together to form a collection of sound elements, which could then be easily sourced during the compositional process for each episode, adding to the already developed collection of sounds which had been sourced during the previous two series. 

We also recorded a large temple bowl during the sound searching process. The bowl, which happens to live in the studio, was also used creatively in the score in a number of ways; to seek a variety of timbres and textures from the bowl, we played it with mallets, hands and bowed the edge of it with an old cello bow. After collecting all of these interesting sounds, we were able to implement them creatively into the score in various ways. For example, the long scraping textures were used for moments of darker psychology within the series, creating eerie and evocative textural movements to support other thematic ideas. The bowl recordings were also used as convolution reverbs; this meant that we could essentially run other sounds and instruments, such as the piano, through the sound of the bowl, which engendered a fractured and distressed piano timbral quality. 

Benjie at the piano

One of the series three episodes required the recreation of the traditional Welsh choral music Canu Pwnc which needed to be used both diegetically and non-diegetically (i.e. both within the environmental soundworld of the scene and the musical score). Traditionally, Canu Pwnc involves the chanting of religious text in the Welsh language, but this is no longer practised. To recreate this effect, we brought together a group of Welsh speaking singers from within the John Hardy Music team, plus invited guests, to form a small choir. Several takes of a Canu Pwnc-style performance were recorded using the text material of 3rd Gospel of Luke; these where then layered over each other to create the impression of a congregation. These choral recordings were then used to build texture of composed music during scenes of suspense or tension, bringing the geographical and historical context of the episode into the musical vocabulary. The recordings were also used in a diegetic sense in the episode, where a needle is placed on a record player. 

The lyrical and driving themes, which are most commonly linked to the main protagonist Mathias, remain very much at the forefront of the soundtrack throughout. In this series, developments with Mathias’ love interest see the need for developments in this musical language, particularly in the piano and string orchestra writing. Themes such as The World Keeps Turning and The Pheonix play particularly crucial roles in describing Mathias’ emotional journey, with sub-themes relating to leading characters such as Mared, also developed through the series. The tradition of using real instruments continues in the music for this series, with live violin, cello, piano, double bass, clarinet, voice and Hammond organ all worked into the score. There was much focus on creating software instruments using live instrumental samples recorded in the studio. which meant that, through sampling, sounds recorded in the studio could be used in the score in a flexible and bespoke manner. 

The score for this series really represented a true collaborative approach. Themes, soundworlds and ideas which were originally developed for the first series have returned, with references to the hymn Bloudau’r Iesu once again woven into the shifting textures of the score. While these older themes and ideas are recapitulated, mirroring the narrative of the film, new themes and sounds were discovered and incorporated into the overall mood and aesthetic of the soundtrack, resulting in a rich and meaningful musical tapestry.