VERSED: The ASCAP Podcast / Ep. 25 - Michael Abels
August 19, 2021
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It’s Primetime Emmy Awards season, and in this episode we talk to two great nominees. Michael Abels joins us for a discussion about composing music for the acclaimed HBO docuseries Allen v. Farrow, for which he has received two nominations. He also shares his experience working with filmmaker Jordan Peele on Get Out, Us and a project in the works, and explains the mission of his advocacy group, the Composers Diversity Collective. PLUS: We take a dive into the exciting world of music directors with Billie Eilish’s MD, Aron Forbes. He’s nominated for two Emmys for his work on the Apple TV+ doc Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry.
+Read about all 19 of ASCAP's nominees for the 2021 Primetime Emmys
EP. 25 FEATURED INTERVIEW: MICHAEL ABELS
Two-time Emmy-nominated composer Michael Abels is best known for his scores for the Oscar-winning film Get Out, and for Jordan Peele’s Us, for which Abels won the World Soundtrack Award, the Jerry Goldsmith Award, a Critics’ Choice nomination, an Image Award nomination and multiple critics' awards. The hip-hop influenced score for Us was shortlisted for the Oscar, and was named Score of the Decade by online publication The Wrap. Abels is co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective, an advocacy group to increase visibility of composers of color in film, game and streaming media.
As a concert composer, Abels has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Meet the Composer, and his orchestral works have been performed by the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra and many others. As guest conductor of Get Out in Concert, Abels has led orchestras like the National Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony. Several of his orchestral works have been recorded by the Chicago Sinfonietta on the Cedille label, including “Delights & Dances,” a work commissioned and premiered by the Sphinx Organization.
Recent premieres include the docuseries Allen v. Farrow for HBO, the film Nightbooks for Netflix, and At War with Ourselves with Nikky Finney for the Kronos Quartet. Upcoming projects include Chevalier for Searchlight, and an untitled Jordan Peele project for Universal.
Abels is a graduate of USC Thornton School of Music.
Visit Michael Abels online at michaelabels.com // Follow him on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook // Watch Allen v. Farrow on HBO
+Visit the Composers Diversity Collective online
EP. 25 SOUND ADVICE GUEST: ARON FORBES
Aron Forbes is an Emmy-nominated and multi-platinum songwriter, producer and music director known for his work with Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray, Banks, Halsey and many other artists. A serious guitar player from an early age, he grew up performing and studying jazz and later graduated from the USC Thornton School of Music. Aron began music directing in 2009 and has since worked with artists on their SNL, Grammy, Late Night, Oscars and arena tour performances. He recently music directed and executed the music mix for Olivia Rodrigo’s concert film, Sour Prom. He is nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the Billie Eilish documentary The World’s a Little Blurry in Music Direction and Sound Mixing.
Follow @aronforbes on Instagram & Twitter // Watch Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry on Apple TV+
EP. 25 CO-HOST: JENNIFER HARMON
Jennifer Harmon is Senior Director of Creatives Services for Film & TV/Visual Media at ASCAP. She began her career at ASCAP as a member of both the Rhythm & Soul and Film & Television Membership teams, alternately taking calls from chart-topping rap artists and film and TV composers. In her life before ASCAP, she worked in academic research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience and is published in both fields. Now she applies her analytical background to researching domestic and international royalty issues for ASCAP members. Her passion for educational outreach has led her to produce ASCAP's short-film scoring workshop in collaboration with Film Independent's Project Involve, co-produce ASCAP’s Television & Film Scoring Workshop, and to take the lead with ASCAP's partnerships with the Game Audio Network Guild and Education Through Music - Los Angeles.
EP. 25 INTERVIEWER: ETAN ROSENBLOOM, ASCAP SENIOR DIRECTOR & DEPUTY EDITOR, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Etan Rosenbloom joined ASCAP in 2006. His duties include writing and curating content for the ASCAP website, writing speeches and scripts for award shows, interviewing prominent members and working on ASCAP's corporate communications strategy. Before coming to ASCAP, Etan worked as the Director of Marketing at Cryptogramophone Records. He also spent many years as a freelance music journalist for publications including Decibel, MetalSucks, Billboard, Spin, Prefixmag and DailyOm. Etan currently lives in Los Angeles, where he spends most of his non-existing free time taking his four-year-old daughter on adventures, dreaming about craft beer and haunting all the used record stores within a 20-mile radius.