Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) Talks 'Uncut Gems' and Working with The Safdie Brothers [The Fourth Wall #15]

It’s less than two weeks until Christmas, so it’s only fitting that The Fourth Wall’s fifteenth episode, an interview with the impassioned and intelligent “Uncut Gems” composer Daniel Lopatin, also known by his music persona Oneohtrix Point Never, would be preceded by a mini-tailspin of manic energy more stressful than the click-clack of going shopping at the mall a few days before the holiday – a fitting anxiety-induced morning that mirrors the adrenaline assault of Lopatin and the Safdie Brothers latest cacophony of emotions.

We had a phenomenal chat with Lopatin, a man whose love for artistry ooze out of him once he gets going on a subject. His relationship with the Safdies has kept the same creative treadmill running since their previous collaboration; following their success with “Good Time,” the trio just kept on “tumbling,” as Lopatin put it. Their shared love for movies being part of what lets their collaboration sing, and their inspiration as artists willing to push the envelope is only growing.

The Safdies assemble a temporary audio cut for the composer that’s often stitched together pieces of records. “They cut it up so finely that it totally destroys the linearity of the original song, and they’re really just using it to show you beats, and spikes, and dynamics,” Lopatin said. Their direction providing a conduit to deliver the color and texture for the film, tethering that color to a sense of character." The apotheosis moment of a collaboration between myself and the Safdie Brothers is when we're in the studio and they’re reacting to a particular sound, not a melody, not any kind of musical progression, but a texture of feeling, a sound that they want me write with. It’s about finding those tools, those colors, and presenting those colors to see if they perk up."

If you’ve seen “Good Times” or “Uncut Gems” already (which, we recommend you do before listening to this episode) it makes perfect sense why this approach lends itself so well to the brother’s style. “The scores work in a similar way,” Lopatin concedes. But the composer is always looking to coax different feelings out of his synthesizers. Sometimes, that involves looking back at history, and letting go of the futurist elements to his music.

We truly had an awesome chat with the composer (Lopatin is a gentleman and a scholar) diving deep into his process and discussing certain song choices. He also told us a great story about watching the underrated hitman movie “Murder By Contract,” (one of Martin Scorsese’s favorite pictures) with the Safdie Brothers.

Uncut Gems is now playing in NY/LA. This interview was conducted by Andrew Bundy.