How Custom-Made Instruments Were the Key to ‘The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror’ and ‘Prehistoric Planet’ Scores

The key to crafting evocative scores for composers Anže Rozman, Kara Talve, and musician Russell Emanuel lies in their use of custom-built instruments. Emanuel, alongside Hans Zimmer and Steven Kofsky, is a co-founder of the composer collective Bleeding Fingers Music. This group is responsible for the soundtracks to numerous shows, including Apple TV's "Prehistoric Planet," which has the potential to capture voters' attention during awards season. The collective is known for pushing sonic boundaries, and their work often involves creating entirely new sounds to match the visual narratives they accompany.

For the previous season of "Prehistoric Planet," the team constructed bespoke instruments from fossils, bones, and replicas of dinosaur skulls, blending them with a standard orchestra to produce an alien soundscape. However, for the third season, titled "Ice Age," Talve and Rozman aimed to ground the audience in a more familiar auditory world, reflecting the era when humans were beginning to evolve and exist. "The score is slightly off, but it’s much more emotional," Rozman explains. In the first episode, "The Big Freeze," which depicts a woolly mammoth giving birth in a blizzard, the composers focused on conveying the animals' immense scale through music. To achieve a heavier, darker tone, they eliminated high flutes, violins, and brass. Rozman notes, "We had a wall of cellos in a semicircle and double basses. We recorded an octobass, which is a huge double bass." The octobass, an instrument so large the player had to stand on a stool, provided the "rumbly, low feeling for the mammoths." The terror bird's (phorusrhacids) sounds were based on a prototype modeled after its extinct larynx, leading to the creation of the Triceratone—a wind instrument that produced the guttural tones needed. A highlight was the Divje Babe flute, a bear femur with holes discovered in 1995 at the Divje Babe archaeological site in Slovenia, believed to be a Paleolithic instrument. "Our friend has a replica. We went into the caverns of the Postojna Cave [in Slovenia] and recorded it," says Rozman. "It’s a very eerie sound that immediately transports the listener back in time." This dedication to authenticity underscores the team's commitment to immersive storytelling.

Talve also collaborated with Emanuel on another Emmy-contending score: "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror." This episode is divided into three segments, with the first, "The Last Days of Crisco," telling the story of Fatberg the monster, who draws fat from his victims and parodies "Jaws." The subterranean setting of Crisco inspired a low, rumbling score, with Talve explaining, "You know he’s coming," so the go-to sound was a "huge orchestra with big, over-the-top brass." For the third segment, "Plastic World," flutist Pedro Eustache was brought in with his arsenal of woodwind instruments, but he also used custom-made tools. "He had made this giant thing out of PVC pipe, and he was a key part of the sound of 'Plastic World,'" Emanuel says. Now in its 37th season, "The Simpsons" has a distinct musical identity, which Talve kept in mind when scoring "Treehouse of Horrors." "It’s always bringing those worlds together. What does 'Late Night With the Devil' sound like if it’s in Springfield?" he asks. Emanuel attributes the freshness of the score to the passion of the show's creative team. "It’s a big piece of why the score still sounds fresh. We have incredible spotting sessions with them, and you just feel there’s so much DNA that still lives on." He adds that the producers, writers, and artists "really live it, and I think that emanates back to us. They’re a big part of why the score is so successful."

Looking ahead, Bleeding Fingers' next project might be their most ambitious yet: the "Harry Potter" series for HBO. "It’s a privilege," says Emanuel. "It feels like you’re watching TV history being made." This upcoming series, based on J.K. Rowling's beloved books, is expected to bring a fresh perspective to the wizarding world, with the composers likely to employ their signature custom instrument approach to create a distinct sonic landscape. The challenge will be balancing nostalgia with innovation, a task the collective seems well-equipped to handle given their track record of blending the familiar with the extraordinary. As they prepare for this monumental undertaking, the team's ability to craft unique sounds through custom instruments remains their defining strength, promising a score that will resonate with both longtime fans and new audiences.