JULY 2024
Juls Scherle, is a German-raised, Los Angeles-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer, also known as recording artist Són.
Juls’ most recent credits include Sony Pictures’ movie, Missing, and Amazon Studios drama series, Luden.
They’ve written music for many hit cable TV shows including the critically acclaimed series Mr. Robot (USA Network), Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story (FX Network), American Crime Story: People vs. OJ (FX Network) and Scream Queens (FOX).
Juls’ theatrical credits include the FIPRESCI award winning drama Pause, directed by Tonia Mishiali; feature film Hudson directed by Sean D. Cummingham; the drama Princess of the Row, directed by Max Carlson and produced by Morgan Freeman; suspense thriller Disrupted, directed by Andre Walsh; and the emotional drama Heart of Champions, directed by Michael Mailer (starring Michael Shannon).
In addition to their personal projects, Juls also runs the trailer music company Enigmaudio, a premium boutique music house aimed at theatrical and television marketing, crafting captivating melodies for blockbuster campaigns. With a focus on high quality, easy collaboration, and fast efficiency, the company commits itself to bringing its partner's visions to life with unforgettable musical narratives. Read on to find out more…
MASA: Can you tell us about your musical background and what your path was to becoming a film and television composer? Did you face any unique challenges in breaking into the industry?
JULS: I started with classical piano when I was six, then discovered the beauty of punk a few years later and played in all sorts of bands. I ultimately studied composition, audio engineering with a major in jazz guitar. Towards the end of my studies, I went to LA for an internship and slowly worked my way through all sorts of different positions up the food chain, learned a lot, and eventually began scoring my own projects.
As for a unique challenge - shortly before applying at the music conservatory, I had my wisdom teeth removed, which resulted in some pus-filled pockets. When performing piano in front of the judges, I had a complete mind-blank and forgot the pieces I was supposed to play. One year later, I reapplied, this time with jazz guitar instead of piano, and without any surgery beforehand. Experiencing and overcoming this type of setback taught me quite a few important lessons!
MASA: Your recent scores for Missing and Luden came out in 2023. Can you tell us a bit about those experiences and what drew you to those projects?
JULS: I am very fortunate to have worked on both of those projects. They were my first two studio gigs on my own, and the teams I got to work with were simply fantastic. On Missing, I was allowed to go down relatively experimental paths, while still supporting the mystery thriller with a conventional scoring style. One of my great heroes is Bernhard Herman, so I drew a lot of inspiration from his scoring techniques, but with a more electronic / digital noise aesthetic.
Luden, on the other hand, is set in Hamburg’s red light district in the early 80s, so creating a time-appropriate musical language was tremendously fun. I exclusively used synth and gear from that time period to get as sonically close as possible. It’s a bold, wild, and quite weird show, so contributing to that musically was pure joy.
MASA: Looking back on your career so far, can you share a specific moment or project that stands out as a turning point or a particularly rewarding experience?
JULS: Recording my first orchestral score with a symphonic orchestra. Having a room full of extraordinary musicians play something I wrote is an incredible and fulfilling experience.
MASA: Have you ever faced a significant creative challenge on a project? How did you overcome it, and what did you learn from the experience?
JULS: I’ve experienced some tremendous temp-love, which can be quite tricky to overcome. Sometimes the editors / music editors are just too good at their job! Thinking outside the box and exploring why the temp works so well usually leads to successful results.
MASA: Can you tell us how you collaborate with music editors and sound designers to create a cohesive soundscape?
JULS: I’m working quite closely with the music editor. I always export all cues in stems from early on, so the music editor builds up their own library of elements and has a ton of material to work with.
I haven’t really had a project where the sound team got involved as early as the score, so usually we have a chat about tonal elements, what key we are in, etc., to make sure we’re not accidentally colliding sonically. At some point, I hope to work on a project that allows for a creative collaboration with the sound designers from day one.
MASA: Outside of music, what are some things that inspire your creativity and influence your compositions?
JULS: I draw a lot of inspiration from nature, philosophy, art, and exposing myself to situations that challenge me and my ideologies. Sometimes even just a friendly chat with my neighbor can manifest a couple hours later into a new musical thought.
MASA: Alongside your scoring work, you head up the trailer music publishing company, Enigmaudio. How do you ensure a diverse and high-quality library to cater to various trailer needs? And can you tell us about some projects that you’ve recently had tracks placed on?
JULS: Our roster consists of quite a diverse selection of international composers. Maintaining a healthy, happy, and fair relationship with our composers is our top priority. It can be challenging for international composers to get your hands on the right opportunities, so bridging that gap by bringing those opportunities directly to the diverse talent is a big goal of ours.
Some of our recent work can be heard in Wicked, The Penguin, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Oppenheimer, and Mission Impossible.
MASA: AI is making significant strides in music generation. How do you see AI impacting the future of media music? Do you believe it will present more opportunities for collaboration between composers and AI, or will it potentially replace the human element in composing scores? How do you think composers can differentiate their work and showcase the unique value they bring to film scoring, even with AI in the picture?
JULS: I have no doubt that AI will have a major impact on media music, just as it will have a major impact on the creation of art and media in general. I believe that change is inherent in culture and society, so attempting to preserve a snapshot in time is impossible. Humans are excellent at adapting, and AI will ultimately become an incredibly powerful tool for creation and may unlock possibilities that are hard to imagine. A person with artistic sensitivities will create art with whatever tools are at their disposal, AI included. Will this mean that the process of composing as we currently define it may be drastically different? Very likely.
MASA: And lastly, what will you be looking for when judging? What makes a piece of work worthy of a Music+Sound Award?
JULS: It’s worthy if I forget that I’m supposed to judge, and instead, find myself emotionally involved and sucked into the piece of work.
MASA: Thank you so much Juls, your insights here have been fantastic! We appreciate you lending your expertise and can't wait to see your contributions to the Music+Sound Awards jury. We hope you find the experience rewarding!
Check out Juls’ IMDB page HERE
