The Fire Theft frontman Jeremy Enigk makes his first foray into film scoring via "The United States of Leland," a new drama starring Ryan Gosling, Kevin Spacey, Jena Malone, Chris Klein and Don Cheadle. The film opens April 2 in limited U.S. theatrical release. Writer/director Matthew Hoge tried to secure Enigk's services for months while working on a rough cut of the film, which made extensive use of the artist's 1996 Sub Pop solo album "Return of the Frog Queen" for background music.
"He sought me out for three months, but I was so wrapped up with the Fire Theft that I didn't think I'd have time," Enigk tells Billboard.com. "Eventually after he persisted, I met with him and saw a rough cut and was totally blown away. It seemed like my music fit in it, so I said yeah."
Enigk says he wound up writing music for around 30 scenes, including three complete songs: "Set It on Fire," "Ballroom Blitz" and "Don't Go Racing." The artist says, "I would have probably done it completely differently if [Hoge] would have allowed me, but I had to stick to the basic idea of gentle, acoustic songs with slight orchestration."
The film tells the story of Gosling's Leland P. Fitzgerald, a teenager incarcerated in a juvenile detention center after committing a horrible crime. Enigk often found it difficult to sympathize with the character, which translated into the tough task of creating the accompanying music.
"There's a certain point when I was writing a song for a scene where he seems twisted," he says. "I was trying to make the music twisted and strange, but it wasn't going to work, because I had to sympathize, not totally make him look like a psychotic."
Sadly, there are no plans to commercially release a soundtrack from the film, which also sports music from Radiohead, the Pixies, Guided By Voices principal Robert Pollard, Frank Black and Ron Sexsmith, among others. But Enigk says the experience has made him excited to try scoring again in the future. "I would love to have more time," he says. "Fortunately, Matthew seemed really happy with everything, which I guess is the most important thing."
The Fire Theft is currently supporting its self-titled Rykodisc debut on the road with Grandaddy and Saves The Day, through April 15 in Portland, Ore. The group is pondering an offer to join this summer's Lollapalooza tour plus appearances at the U.K.'s Reading and Leeds festivals. "We're really trying to push this record," Enigk says. "In December, we'll see if we need to continue touring or start thinking about recording the next one."
"He sought me out for three months, but I was so wrapped up with the Fire Theft that I didn't think I'd have time," Enigk tells Billboard.com. "Eventually after he persisted, I met with him and saw a rough cut and was totally blown away. It seemed like my music fit in it, so I said yeah."
Enigk says he wound up writing music for around 30 scenes, including three complete songs: "Set It on Fire," "Ballroom Blitz" and "Don't Go Racing." The artist says, "I would have probably done it completely differently if [Hoge] would have allowed me, but I had to stick to the basic idea of gentle, acoustic songs with slight orchestration."
The film tells the story of Gosling's Leland P. Fitzgerald, a teenager incarcerated in a juvenile detention center after committing a horrible crime. Enigk often found it difficult to sympathize with the character, which translated into the tough task of creating the accompanying music.
"There's a certain point when I was writing a song for a scene where he seems twisted," he says. "I was trying to make the music twisted and strange, but it wasn't going to work, because I had to sympathize, not totally make him look like a psychotic."
Sadly, there are no plans to commercially release a soundtrack from the film, which also sports music from Radiohead, the Pixies, Guided By Voices principal Robert Pollard, Frank Black and Ron Sexsmith, among others. But Enigk says the experience has made him excited to try scoring again in the future. "I would love to have more time," he says. "Fortunately, Matthew seemed really happy with everything, which I guess is the most important thing."
The Fire Theft is currently supporting its self-titled Rykodisc debut on the road with Grandaddy and Saves The Day, through April 15 in Portland, Ore. The group is pondering an offer to join this summer's Lollapalooza tour plus appearances at the U.K.'s Reading and Leeds festivals. "We're really trying to push this record," Enigk says. "In December, we'll see if we need to continue touring or start thinking about recording the next one."
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