LEXX Chat: Marty Simon joins LEXXians for a chat

The on-line chat was held on November 9th, 2001

Location: chatroom on the irc.fef.net chatserver.
Room: #marty (thanks to FX, Rachel, Splarka and theFrey for their help in organising all this).

Marty Simon wrote the soundtrack for the LEXX The Darkzone series and is much admired throughout Lexx fandom.

This log was edited by Splarka.

fx: questions people. i am typing for marty

mayaxiong: What was your biggest influence growing up?

BlackCloud: Who has he worked with recently? Besides, Donovan.

Marty-fx: biggest influence rock and roll attitude, lifestyle – did a lot of work with the who and jimmi hendrix – jammed with jimi and gave me a lot of confidence, just wanted to go on ga

dgrequeen: Does he have any more works out on CD

mayaxiong: What kind of music does he listen too now?

Marty-fx: music now’ everything, two kinds of music good and bad; i love verdi, puccini, love a great russion composer – arvo part, last 6 or 7 years – also like hard core rap

mayaxiong: What gave him the inspiration for the opening scene for Fire and Water, Prince to Lexx?

Marty-fx: was a drummer in russian military, changed his style, wrote some very esoteric music

MissJean: I adore the music you did for “George’s Island” and “Paint Cans,” especially the bit that was used in the dream sequence in Lexx’s “Patches in the Sky”…. where can I find recordings of those?!?!

Marty-fx: cd paintcans etc, no, limited run, no interest to put out cds

mayaxiong: Did you ever listen to other soundtrack composers, Badialamenti, or Tangerine Dream?

Marty-fx: tangerine dream not an influence, love badalamenti, but dont listen to him much – enjoyed him breaking rules ga

Brunnis: Will the newest rendition of the brunnen-g chant be in a cd or new soundtrack?

Marty-fx: probably brunnen g

mayaxiong: Synthesizer a fave, like early Eno?

Marty-fx: kkurtzweil 2588 key note board is the synthesizer

mayaxiong: What kind of keyboards do you favor for composing?

BlackCloud: Does Marty perform live, like Kitaro?

Marty-fx: havent performed live in a while, i am a studio rat – love to do walk in the desert with someone

IMF2000: What in the way of music software packages did you use, if any in the compilation of the soundtracks?

Marty-fx: software packages; the studio is set up with mac based running ‘performer’

MissJean: Did you use any unusual sounds in your computer for LEXX, or is it all just keyboard?

mayaxiong: do you sample the use of choir or use live singers?

Marty-fx: everything computer generation, i am a control freak; so all voices et al recorded,

Marty-fx: then stored in commputer for my control

Klaatu: Are you Toronto based, Marty?

Marty-fx: yes i am in Toronto

angelmay: Is there a new lexx CD in the works right now?

Marty-fx: orginal cd/movies, then cd for 2 and 3, not another cd in works at this point – just don’t know about s4, problems with record company

MissJean: What is your next project, if you don’t mind me asking?

Marty-fx: yes there are other projects in the works regarding composing

theFrey: any chance of you working with Paul D on the Italian Ren thing he is thing of

Marty-fx: italian renaissance discussions underway

Splarka: how much work in brigadoom did you do? did you do the remixing of the vocal tracks and Andre’s music?

Marty-fx: as far as brigadoom, he produced and did some of the music, but most was done at electropolis

MissJean: I noticed that part of “Paint Cans” track was used in a sequence of “Patches in the Sky” in LEXX. Any other recycling on LEXX?

Marty-fx: thats fabulous catch about paint cans, its actually the music referred to as bad porn in stanley’s dream nightmare

mayaxiong: what projects are the most fun to do?

Lunatic: Marty : is it easier for you to work alone or with other ppls composing as well ?

Marty-fx: lunatic, definitely alone, although when writing i have collaborated

Marty-fx: wrote a french hit for celine dion

Splarka: do you ever think, when they give you a Lexx scene scene to compose to. “What the hell can I do with this!?”

Marty-fx: splarka YESSS!!! but of course nothing like the lexx had to write music for 790 to choose a large penis from a selection of marines who drop their pants in the oval office as they statnd to attention …the music rocked but it was a challenge

Jeff66: If you could put your name to any one piece of past music to call your own, which compostion would you have loved to have written?

Marty-fx: jeff66, the entire score to the last emperor by sakamoto won oan oscar, still my favorite

mayaxiong: there’s alot of ‘bad porn’ music, who’s idea was that, your’s or Lex?

Marty-fx: The entire piece was written and performed by me

Hypatia: Will the ‘Stanley Song’ (Stanley Tweedle is a god..) be on the next release?

Marty-fx: That was a collaberation with Lex Gigeroff. Lex seems to have a real facility with these lyrics. Probably won’t be on a release.

MIB: couldn’t you do something sorta like a cross between some stuff from lexx and pantera? that would rock

CorTeX: Hmm…that would be rather interesting..would you ever consider that? orch/tech mixed with some hard core music?

marty-fx: I love that kind of hybrid and would certainly like to work on something like that

MothBreeder: Gee, did you see the buffy musical, and what’ch think? (OK, I asked…)

marty-fx: No, sorry, I did not see it (buffy musical ep)

mayaxiong: did you ever listen to any early Eno or Fripp?

marty-fx: Funny you should mention this. I had the pleasure of playing drums on Eno’s first solo album “Here Come the Warm Jets.” It was a great experience all around. In fact, for the entire session we were filmed for swiss television and even as I was playing I had many foreign objects such as microphones and cameras thrust at me while playing.

mayaxiong: God, I have that album! Now I have to go back and re-listen to it

Jeff66: what actually made you decide in a career in music? what inspired you to seek it as a profession?

Marty-fx: Jeff66: Again I think the freedom of Rock music and its ability to thrive and connect with many many many people while breaking tonnes of rules made the choice of being a musician a no-brainer.

dgrequeen: Who transcribed the Brunnen-G song in The Rock?

Marty-fx: Kai (Michael McManus) did his own interpretation live on the set. I was flattered.

Klaatu: Marty, was Larry Fast/Synergy and influence on your music?

Marty-fx: Klaatu: No

theFrey: Marty where is your web site?

Marty-fx: I do not have one. It’s just that I feel that it takes a lot of energy, respect and input to run a proper website and it’s just not in my time management world right now.

BlackCloud: You’ve played with Pickett, Eno, both vastly different; how many different styles have you mastered, Marty?

Marty-fx: BlackCloud: I don’t have any restrictions on styles. It’s not the way I see music and it’s my journey and not a question of really mastering anything.

Splarka: it was sort of asked at a previous chat with the lexx beans, and got critisized for being asked, but is a bit more pertinent here.. does the mp3 format annoy you? 😛

Marty-fx: Splarka: No. Rock on.

mayaxiong: would you have objections to anyone making a site for you, about your music?

Marty-fx: mayaxiong: I don’t have any objections. Someone in Wales did one four years ago but it’s basically had the same information for years. That’s one of the reasons I don’t want to do my own.

MissJean: I have to ask this, but I don’t know if it makes sense. A lot of soundtracks (like “Farscape” and “Babylon 5”) sound very electronic, but yours seems to have layers to it, like opera. How do you figure out how to do that, by ear?

Hypatia: Okay who or what were your, musical inspirations for the Lexx track?

Marty-fx: Hypatia: Not sure I understand the question. The one law laid down by Paul D. was that the Lexx, NOT sound, like Star Wars or John Williams. My rule was to create music that seemed as though it came from a very distant place, but yet sounded very familiar.

theFrey: and it turned out wonderfully

Doffy: It’s incredible music…like MissJean said, it has many layers to it

mayaxiong: The Prince to Lexx theme is so powerful. Will you be working in the States at all soon?

Marty-fx: maya: there is a possible project in LA, but I can’t say anything right now.

MIB: anyone else like the cleric theme? I still say cleric theme rocks

Marty-fx: the Cleric Theme was originally written as a opening title sequence for Lexx and Paul didn’t want to do an opening title sequence for the movies. It ended up in Gigashadow. When we needed an opening title sequence for season two, I pulled it out again and again Paul asked for something a little different. Hence the “beat theme” which was a kind of chemical brothers meets Lexx.

Jade: Hi, Marty! How did you approach composing the music? Did you see the episode you were composing for and then create the music to fit the moods?

Marty-fx: Jade: The Lexx is quite difficult insofar as the videotape that we write to has a lot of blank/bluescreen which will be filled up with effects later. So I have to use my imagination to create the dimension and largesse which I enjoy, hence I include choirs

Marty-fx: and vocals to attach to the images that bring Lexx together for me.

theFrey: does it upset you much when you have a piece of music you think is perfect for a scene, but they want something different?

Marty-fx: We’re entering our 60th hour of music for Lexx, and I really can only remember three or four times where there was any real conflict, so I must say that the freedom for me to write has been a constant.

Jeff66: do you have a formal education in music and if not do you think one would have affected your style?

Marty-fx: I had one year at the faculty of music at McGill University in Montreal and I studied keyboard and percussion but as I was driving to school every day I would hear my local band’s hit record on the radio and was very distracted.

mayaxiong: Have you and the other cast members that are musicians ever consider recording together?

Marty-fx: mayaxiong: No, we haven’t.

mayaxiong: ah, too bad..

Klaatu: bud parsnip on keyboard 😉

theFrey: How hard is it for you to get a feel for what the director wants in a piece? How much help (if any) is it when you have worked with the director before?

Marty-fx: theFrey: I have a great relationship with one of the directors, named Chris Bould but I would inform you that serious television is a producer-driven medium and directors are encouraged to direct and go home.

Splarka: addendum to Frey’s Q…your music is often based/inspired on the visuals they give you. Does your music ever inspire the directors/artists? Cause them to change/reshoot a scene?

Marty-fx: Splarka: in the case of fantasy dance, the music was used prior to shooting to create the scene.

MissJean: Do you compose right on the spot, or do you have some melodies in reserve when you approach the project?

Marty-fx: MissJean: I would say 90% on the spot, sometimes I write more music than I enter into an episode, and I do hold this in reserve for possible use. And guess what? Wild Wild Lexx was one of those pieces. We have every intention of putting this into Season Four, but the dirty little secret is that it has not been in any lexx show yet.

Marty-fx: mayaxiong: Another secret about composing would be that more often than not terror strikes the mind of a creator who is starting out on any one project.

Jeff66: more stress the harder you work?

DalekTek790: This might have been asked before I came, but what language(s) were the lyrics to the Brunnen-G war chant based on?

Marty-fx: No doubt I am very proud of this track. The words just flowed quickly in a burst of maniacal creativity, but I will reveal that the Yo-Ah-O is influenced by the munchkins song in the Wizard of Oz.

Marty-fx: I know we’re having a lot of fun and this has been great, but truthfully I am touched and honoured to be amongst you all. I’m glad you’re enjoying it and hopefully we’ll do it again.

BlackCloud: Most definitely soon!

Doffy: It’s an honor to have this opportunity, Marty

Klaatu: Nyt Marty and thanks 🙂

Splarka: marty, feel free to visit us anytime, you can even go incognito and chat as a fan:)

theFrey: Thank You so much

Jeff66: thx marty, I think we all had alot of fun and appreciate you taking time out for us

Amyzon: Thank you for coming Mr. Simon. We truly appreciate you answering our questions.

Hypatia: Aww, we’re honored to talk to you Marty

angelmay: Thanks for chatting with us Marty!!

dgrequeen: Thank you, Mr. Simon, you’re a wonderful composer

dishroom-prince: thank you marty for taking your time to chat with us

mayaxiong: Thank you Marty, please keep us informed on any new projects!

Hypatia: goodnight

VisionAri: Thank you, Marty

Amyzon: You are welcome any time you wish to visit.

Twilight1: ty marty

MissJean: Thank you!

theFrey: the Sadgeezer Crew and all the rest thank you

Doffy: Thanks, Marty, and goodnight

mayaxiong: Wow… What am amazing chat

del: thanks Marty

BlackCloud: Goodnight and thank you!

mayaxiong: We found out ten times more here than with Paul

Doffy: yes, LOL

angelmay: Goodnight Marty! Thanks for coming!

PrimaNW: we hope you can coma again, and have fewer technical difficulties

Jade: good night!

Marty-fx: Good Night and seriously God Bless America.

CorTeX: Night, marty

Jeff66: yeah!!!

BlackCloud: Amen!

mayaxiong: Good Night and God Bless, Marty

Loxley: bye marty

PrimaNW: thank you marty!

Jeff66: NJ here

angelmay: Amen!!

CorTeX: Here, Here

Doffy: bye, MArty

Hypatia: thank you Marty!

BlackDalek: Good night Marty… Fanx for coming

Jeff66: cool

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