Primarily, I will use the funds to boost my composing fee for Ride or Die. My approach as an artist is very experimental. Having time in the studio to explore the sonic and emotional landscapes for this story will be essential to creating something rich and of-its-world. As a singer and synthesist, I will play almost every instrument that ends up in the score, however some of the funds will go to recording live guitar to capture a sense of desolation, of the open road. Guitar will be an important textural element, and an homage to the Western genre. A portion of the funds will also contribute to my studio costs. As an engineer and mixer, it’s important to me to have full creative control over my vision for the music, from compositional kernel to final mastered product. The funds will also cover my time engineering and mixing the score.

My score will reimagine the music of a Western through a queer feminist lens. I am passionate about thematic scoring, so there are distinct themes woven throughout the film to enrich its emotional arc and to breathe and grow with our characters. I have always followed a non-traditional path when it comes to scoring, and I am excited to use my palette of vocals, synthesis and musique concrete to create an unexpected yet deeply emotive score. The music will dance in the uncanny valley, using sounds you can’t quite put your finger on, sounds that stir something deep inside you. Ride or Die exists at the convergence of genres: it is a romance and a thriller, so it needs to capture opposites. It will capture the darkness of what Paula and Sloane encounter on their journey whilst also revelling in the effervescence of their connection. It will exist in the darkness and the light, but also search for where they collide. At its core, the music will capture a sense of liberation.

I am inspired by nature, by transcendent experiences, by connection to people, by the mysteries of the human condition. I’m inspired by sounds of the natural world and sounds you can’t place. I’m always inspired by the human voice. I want to break people and put them back together with my music. I want to take people on a profound journey and fill them with light. I am inspired by pioneering musical spirits like Björk, Suzanne Ciani, Joanna Newsom and Cristobal Tapia de Veer. For the score of Ride or Die, I take inspiration from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, to honour the Western genre and capture the isolation and abundance of the American West. I take inspiration from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, from Mica Levi and Bobby Krlic, who consistently create music using synthesis and invented instruments that push musical and emotional boundaries. I take inspiration from iconic queer cinema like Love Lies Bleeding, Desert Hearts, Portrait of a Lady on Fire and The Handmaiden, to ground me in the intensity and beauty of the sapphic experience.

___
Freya Berkhout is a Sydney-born multi-award winning composer and creative technologist based in Los Angeles.

Over the course of her 15 year music career, Freya has composed for film, television, podcasts and interactive media, notably The Greenhouse (Netflix) and Pillow Talk (Audible). Her scores have been heard at festivals around the globe, including Cannes, Warsaw, Tribeca and BFI London Film Festivals. She is a graduate of Sydney University, the Australian Film Television and Radio School, and has a Masters in Computational Art from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Freya’s passion is to manifest profound, emotional, thought-provoking experiences, creating sonic worlds that span the dark and enigmatic to the delicate, exquisite and transcendental. She revels in bold, celebratory intersectional feminist and queer narratives and perspectives.