Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross interview

Renowned worldwide as the front man of Nine Inch Nails and heralded as one of the most influential figures in US rock history, Trent Reznor needs little introduction. An established and respected music producer, he has worked with the likes of Marilyn Manson, Saul Williams and Jane’s Addiction and is the founding member of the independent record label The Null Corporation.
He enjoyed critical acclaim for his work on the soundtrack of cult classic Natural Born Killers and Lost Highway, adding ‘film composer’ to his never-ending repertoire of talents. In July this year Reznor announced to the world that he and fellow musician/producer Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails & How to Destroy Angels) would be writing the entire score for award-winning US director David Fincher’s The Social Network which hit cinemas at the start of last month.

Music News recently caught up with the dynamic duo - Trent & Atticus - to discuss the soundtrack on which they worked morning, noon and night to successfully nail in just 3 months.

Music News: How did you both become involved in the film, The Social Network?

Trent Reznor: David Fincher got in touch last year to ask if Atticus and I would be involved in this. David is one my favourite directors, I have a huge amount of respect for him and his work, and Atticus and I have worked together for 10 years via my band, Nine Inch Nails and more recently with How to Destroy Angels, and so we were really excited about it and wanted to know more.

Music News: Where does one begin to start penning a soundtrack for a film and where do you draw your inspiration from?

Trent: We were initially shown 45minutes of the film, a pretty raw version of it and it was up to us to really think about what it was saying to us. This then gave lead to a thought process in which we shared what we’d both taken from that one sitting. Together we came up with lots of ideas as to what would present the scenes we’d seen alongside of course David’s direction as to what he wanted and envisaged for the film.

Atticus: I think I speak for Trent when I say the scores that are most successfully are those where you feel you’ve been transported to a world that is unique to that story. We were conscious we didn’t want to create too much second guessing and in trying to create a world I think it’s important to stress that you aren’t always necessarily going to step into the world in the first scene or composition. However as far as scores go this one came together very quickly, as it took just 3 weeks of solid work to complete.

Trent: That said, no matter how fast things come together it’s really important to start the process in order to really get inside David’s head and see what he liked and what he didn’t. I’ve never ever got the impression with David that he’s not someone who knows what he wants, but on hearing our first composition we seemed to get it very close to what he was looking for, which was great.

MN: What are the biggest challenges you face in writing a soundtrack?

Trent: I think the challenge with this film was immense. When you think of a scene which involves sweeping epic landscapes & UFOs you have the space to reach out and really feel the music. This film was the complete opposite. It featured huge amounts of dialogue and lots of scenes of people in rooms talking and the very worse case scenario is that you loose people completely with the music. So our biggest challenge was to really think about how we could manipulate the viewers into being totally absorbed in the scene and the moment without being overly bombastic or controlling with the music.

MN: How does it differ to laying down the tracks for an album?

Atticus: I’m not sure what the difference is as there is always a process and at the end of any given process you can only hope that you have achieved the right results. With this project I can honestly say the results exceeded expectations.

MN: How would you describe the rewards in creating a score maybe in contrast to a single or album?

Atticus: I think the biggest difference with this film was there was a lot of information to get across and I have to be honest in saying initially I was convinced that it was altogether too smart to penetrate that kind of reality TV culture

Trent: You’ve got to bear in mind Atticus had been spending a lot of his time in the US.

Atticus: To see the respect it has garnered really is a refreshing endorsement of things being good and the ability to penetrate even at this level in terms of music.

MN: The film The Social Network documents the creation and rise of Facebook. What are your views on Facebook and are you both users?

Trent: I have delved into the world of social networking, not so much from a vanity perspective but more from a business angle. I wanted to get my hands dirty, to try it and see if there was a way of having a dialogue with listeners because let’s face it what record labels are doing just isn’t working, and it is easy to see why it’s kind of collapsed on this front, as record companies still appear to be painfully unaware of how to interact with their listeners. They still seem to work as the gatekeepers and are ignoring how music is being listened to and consumed by the public. I think record companies have become pissed off that they have lost control of it and can no longer force-feed music to fans. On a personal level however, as a human I have no desire to share with the world what it is I had for lunch, but I still see that there is a charge to be had, if you like, and for some people in engaging in this kind of thing. For me on a personal level I actually find it quite vulgar.

Atticus: It’s not something that connects with me. My son gave me a Facebook page last Christmas and I had a look and explored it, but it just didn’t appeal and nearly a year on I’m sure there are many friends who have requested me as a friend and are probably still awaiting a response. It’s not something that I feel engaged by nor is it a way in which I like to express myself, so for me it just doesn’t work in the same way it clearly does others.

MN: Last month Justin Timberlake told the music press that he was ‘in awe’ of your work Trent, especially on the soundtrack. He said ‘it goes beyond talent’ and that it is a ‘gift’. What are your thoughts on his comment and do you agree?


Trent: Of course I agree (laughs) I did hear something like that yes, and I was and still am very flattered. He did a fine job on set and I really appreciate his comment.

MN: You produced the entire score for the film, a first for you both. Which of the tracks proved the biggest challenge.

Trent: In the Hall of the Mountain King was easily one of the most challenging tracks to nail and it was the track that took us the longest, we actually worked on that piece of music throughout the 3 weeks.