Alex Connolly – I often experience frisson when I watch movies with a particularly beautiful score. Frisson is a physical response, usually chills or goosebumps, triggered by emotional music. Music in film tells you what to feel and when to feel it. Are you supposed to feel scared, sad, or excited? Listen to the music, and it will tell you exactly what the director and composer intended for that scene.
My favourite composers always give me frisson. Hans Zimmer and Cristobal Tapia de Veer have unique styles that produce equally distinctive sounds.
Hans Zimmer has been a composer for over three decades, with iconic scores like The Lion King, The Dark Knight, and most recently, Dune.
I once saw an interview where he shared that Home Depot was his secret instrument-making site—a place where he and his team created and modified instruments. The theme for Dune wasn’t a typical score; it was a musician-led score, rather than one dominated by a traditional orchestra.
A mix of musicians came together to create the soundtrack, including a bagpiper, an electric cellist, and players of ancient instruments. One of his musicians spent ten years crafting a custom keyboard, while another, a pedal steel guitarist, welded strange musical instruments for the project.
Hans Zimmer explains that great composers spend more time listening than creating.
He is also particularly attentive to the colour scheme of the film, believing the sound should match the movie’s visual tone. My favourite piece from the Dune soundtrack is titled “A Time of Quiet Between Storms.” If you haven’t yet heard the Dune soundtrack, I highly recommend searching for it on Spotify. Maybe you’ll experience frisson too.
Cristobal Tapia de Veer, the musical genius behind The White Lotus soundtrack, has made his mark with the show’s unique sound. While best known for The White Lotus, he has also composed scores for Babygirl, Utopia, and Black Mirror.
A Canadian composer based in Quebec, Cristobal works from his home in the woods, drawing inspiration from nature. “I love creating in the woods,” he says.
His theme for The White Lotus Season 2 was so impactful that it crossed over from the show to mainstream popularity, making a seamless leap from film to Spotify.
It’s a haunting, bass-pounding, wild track that became the main title theme. Cristobal reveals that the song was born by accident when he edited a Chilean throat singer’s voice with a keyboard ribbon, using random pitches.
I can honestly say I’ve never heard anything like it. It sounds organic and human-like, yet it’s impossible to replicate, no matter how hard I try to sing along when it plays. It’s truly special, and I wish I could experience it for the first time again—it completely blew my mind.
The track is called “Renaissance.” Go listen to it and prepare to have your mind blown too!
