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http://www.tracksounds.com/specialfeatures/Interviews/interview_greg_e
dmonson.htm

HS - Did you use any source music? On Persephone in the pilot Serenity, I heard this Chinese music that sounded so authentic I thought, "They must have taken that from a CD somewhere." Or was that an original composition?

GE - I wrote it.

HS - Oh my goodness. What about the classical piece at the party in Shindig.

GE - No, that was actually classical music. Those were the pieces they shot to. This episode was shot even before I came onboard the show. I took the melody lines, and we recorded oriental flutes playing the melody line, and then mixed that in. So that it wasn't a straight classical piece. It still had oriental influences, if you're talking about the ballroom dance.

HS - What about the Irish music that River was dancing to when she got kidnapped? Was that original?

GE - You know what? I believe that was a piece they had the rights to. We recorded it. Same thing, we added oriental elements and other stuff. Joss never wanted anything to be just the way you would normally have heard it. He wanted us to have elements that said, "This was our multicultural mix."

HS - What about the bluegrass at the dance in Our Mrs. Reynolds, where Saffron gives Mal the wreath?

GE - Definitely wrote that.

HS - The music sounds so authentic it is hard to know which is source music and which is original.

GE - I think those were the only source pieces, but you'd have to ask me piece by piece.

HS - Is there a CD in the works for a Firefly score album?

GE - I believe that is up to FOX. They have expressed some interest. I put something together for them. I sent it to them. They sent contracts over, and I signed them. I hope that that happens. It looks pretty good.

HS - Will there be any source music on the CD?

GE - Probably not. I may be wrong about that, but that seems less likely.

HS - Does the theme song have an extended version?

GE - Not at this point. One of the things that was mentioned in the preliminary discussions is that maybe there could be an extended version of the theme song. Number one, I don't know how Joss would feel about that. Number two, I don't know if they pursued that idea. If such a thing were to be done, it would be done by a remix guy, but it would require Joss' blessing and be under his guidance. So that's an unknown to me. I haven't heard anything about it to know one way or the other.

HS - Will they just make copies of the CD you sent them?

GE - I have no idea. I sent them something, and I will do whatever they need to make it happen. But we'll just have to see.

HS - Is that music rearranged in suites, or is it the actual cues themselves?

GE - There were some cues, but they were all put together so that everything would be a certain length. Originally they thought everything should be 2.5 to 3 minutes long. It didn't work out on this show that way. So I would put pieces together to make two minutes, or make other cues less long. It's a little bit tricky because you can't combine too many pieces without shifting emotional moods. I sent them something with the idea that we could use it as a starting place for a discussion. We'll just have to see what their response is....

HS - Did you arrange these cues by episode?

GE - I mixed and matched. I did it more from a musical perspective than episodic perspective. Sometimes I did. I think there was a Heart of Gold montage that I put together. I sent FOX more music than they could use, with the idea that they could pick and choose. You want cues to be interesting to listen to. I know that they would be interested in the fact that there is an interest out there.

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