CineConcerts was very fortunate to speak with Stefan Wesołowski about the score for the new film Wolf!

CineConcerts (CC): Tell us about how it all started - what got you into composing and what was your inspiration to do so?

Stefan Wesolowski (SW): I grew up in a very musical family. Me and my brothers are classically trained instrumentalists. I’ve played violin since I was 6, which was my primary tool for years. I was actually very good! I received many prizes in various competitions. But I always thought about composing, there was something tempting in it. I just needed the right moment and some motivation. One day my friend and priest from the Dominican Order brought ancient texts from Church Fathers and asked me to write a piece of music for a choir. I agreed and it was the spark that started everything about composing in my life. I can still feel the liturgical touch in my music.

CC: How did you get involved in this project?

SW: A friend of Nathalie Biancheri showed her my music and she liked it. She invited me to talk about her new film, we shared some playlists and discussed how the film should sound. We liked each other and after all that Nathalie invited me to work with her on Wolf.

CC: The premise of this film is fascinating. Talk about your musical approach to what seems like a very complex character study.

SW: Well, I believe that soundtrack must expand the world created in the film to the organic level. To help feel pain, fear, happiness along with the character. In Wolf there's a lot of different aesthetic worlds and emotions, even opposite to each other. There's obviously nature and wildness, but there's also the artificial world of the clinic. There's rage and fear, but also fragility and tenderness. My goal was to capture those opposites by the choice of the instruments and by the way of using it.

CC: From track 1, “Jacob”, one is immediately thrust into a melodic soundscape of textures. Talk about the instrumentation and techniques you were going for throughout.

SW: The score is written for analogue synthesizers, cello, contrabass clarinet, flute, prepared piano, and voices. Depending on the meaning and mood of the scene and the moment in the story, I experimented with the articulation, gravity, and balance between the instruments. There are a lot of sonorous dialogues between synthesizers and contrabass clarinet or flute, but also simple melodies on the cello.

CC: There are cues like “Rooftop Dance” which has a solo cello and piano musically dancing around each other - there is a dark beauty and stillness from the music. Talk about this scene in particular & your creative process in scoring it.

SW: Thank you for saying that. That's exactly what I was trying to portray in this scene. I knew that the story needed a moment of pure, simple beauty. There's curiosity and attraction between these two. “Rooftop Dance” is exactly about this curiosity. Tender and shy, yet still dark and a bit disturbing.

CC: In “Beast” there is instrumentation that sounds like howls! Talk a little bit about this - it's very cool.

SW: Yes! It's my voice. I woke up my inner animal! There are also places where you can hear cat meows – and it's Nathalie Biancheri herself. She's wonderful and crazy, always open for things like that.

CC: Let's talk about “Escape” and “Claws Out” - what a great mix of textures blending into a song with whispering vocals. Can you talk about this - the collaboration, creative process, and what went into it musically?

SW: Nathalie always wanted to have a song during the end credits, something crushing and at the same time concluding the whole story. It was even before the shooting. After some time, the idea began to blur, and we even tried to use some cues from the film to use again during the end credits. It was like a week or two before the final mix of the film when I asked Nathalie, “What if Lily-Rose sang the song?” So, Nathalie asked Lily-Rose, Lily agreed, I composed and recorded the song in a few days, Nathalie wrote the lyrics and we set up a Zoom meeting – Nathalie was in London, Lily-Rose in a recording studio in Los Angeles and I was in my studio in Gdańsk. During the next few days I arranged the song and mixed Lily's voice and Nathalie's meows and the song was ready.

CC: As someone who hasn't seen the film, talk about one scene in particular you are most proud of in terms of a unique musical moment with what you see on-screen.

SW: Definitely “Happiness.” I really like the connection between the picture and music in this scene. It's strange, it's unlike anything but I believe it still has its dark beauty.

CC: What’s next for you?

SW: I'm in the middle of working on an animated series for Netflix, but there are also some feature titles coming soon. Unfortunately, I can't say too much about it yet. Also, there's a second album from my duo with Piotr Kaliński called Nanook of the North coming soon via the German label Denovali.

Stefan Wesołowski's Inner Wolf