It’s likely you have already heard some of
Saunder Jurriaans‘ music. Over the past decade, not only has he released acclaimed records with his groups
Tarantula,
Tarantula A.D. and
Priestbird, but he has also been one-half of an award-winning duo with
Danny Bensi creating soundtracks. Together they have created music for over 100 film and TV series, including
Ozark, The OA, American Gods, Barry, Chef’s Table and
Boy Erased as well as acclaimed arthouse films such as
Martha Marcy May Marlene, Enemy,
The One I Love, The Fits and the new HBO series
The Outsider. The duo has just been nominated for this year’s Emmy Awards for their work on the music for
Ozark, Season Three.
Even while Hollywood was keeping him busy, Jurriaans never lost his love for straightforward songwriting. “As soon as we started scoring, I started accumulating songs,” he says. “With my creative life consumed by writing film scores, I found catharsis in writing songs – music that wasn’t necessarily dictated by someone else’s story or structure. It was something I needed, and still need.”
Exploring deeply personal themes throughout, the songs featured on his upcoming debut showcase, Beasts, were written after a difficult number of years dealing with depression. Written when he was coming out of that period, the songs deal with how this darker side of him has remained with him and how he reconciles living with that person.
Standout track, “Easy Now,” is one of the most personal songs on an album already filled with soul-searching. The song was first written and performed live during a four-month period when Jurriaans and his Argentinian wife were living in Buenos Aires. “That song very much dealt with our relationship at that time, which was on the rocks for a few years,” he says. “My wife and I would sing it onstage together. It’s a song about us, but has since evolved to be about much more.”
With Beasts, Jurriaans has succeeded in crafting a singular, personal record that is wholly his own, which makes the album title an apt one. “When I started to think about what to name the record, ‘Beasts’ worked so well,” he says. “These songs are creatures that came out of my imagination after lurking in my life for so many years. They’re elusive and fantastical, and in some ways terrifying. Putting out music this intimate is scary. It’s a beast. The whole album is a beast and each song is a beast.”
