There's nothing worse than pouring your blood, sweat and tears into a musical score and then hearing nothing back. This can be a product of two most likely situations.

A) There has been a pause in production or delay. Which is the most likely situation, given the world of film production and how changeable conditions and situations are. Much like the Irish weather. You're never really sure of what you're going to get! And you've got to take the rough with the smooth, because realistically in a production, everybody is under pressure. There is no easy job. And the people you are expecting answers or advice from, are generally and genuinely trying to figure things out themself. Patience is key, and you need a lot of it. And I accept and respect this.

B) Ghosting. You've done the hard work, negotiated and created and then, radio silence. Maybe they've gone with a cheaper option. Maybe they were too nervous to tell you they didn't like what you created and gone another direction. Maybe they went for the soulless option of AI, (granted, in the right situation, it is a fantastic tool. I'm not shy in stating how various internet AI's have helped me improve my productions, advising on FX chains and compression / limiting suggestions, but I do state, it's through a learning, literal sense. I would NEVER fashion music itself through AI. It's completely against what I believe and there's enough debate going on without my adding any more to it.) But the ghosting, is infuriating. Sometimes you've signed the contract, received the payment and that's fair enough. But they're not replying to emails, or phone calls. That's not even the worst part. It's the music itself.

Left to rot. 

Music you wrote, but you can't release it. Because it technically belongs to another. And I've often wondered how many potential masterpieces have been unheard off, on account of similar situations. Not that I'm implying I write masterpieces, myself. But there is a lot I have created that I am very proud of, that I would love to share with the world… but I can't.

It finally happened, we won a ‘Best Score’ award! And I mean “We”, because I was blessed to work with a kick ass story, cast and crew. And without any of that, there would have been neither the inspiration nor impetus, to write the music for ‘STAR WARS: Rebels On The Run’, a lovingly made fan ode to the saga with plenty of Easter eggs. It is the first sequel to ‘Rebels In Hiding’, where I first attempted my efforts in a John Williams-esque vein.

Brian Matthews - Murphy was chief on set again, and he was very helpful in guiding the sound of this score, so an extra huge thank you to him. 

We knew this one was a darker affair, and a little more psychological. A story about internal struggle / man's darker nature so we kept it a little more understated and definitely a little gloomier, even scarier. I also purposely avoided using my own derivative theme from the first film, nicknamed “The Farce”, (geddit?), so I could concentrate on some more original ideas while still (hopefully) inhabiting the sonic worlds originally written by John Williams.

I couldn't make it to the festival on account of some home matters, but I was certainly there in spirit when Brian contacted me to inform us of our win at the May the 4th Sci Fi Film Festival.

Again, OUR WIN. Everybody worked their socks off. Without the story, the acting, the cinematography, special effects and sound design, all to a massively high standard, it was all the inspiration I needed to try and provide a score worthy of it.

So a big thank you to all the gang at NO-WIFI Productions and Fear Dearg films. Bring on the next one!

I first met director Philip Curry on a chilly February afternoon in 2024. 

My friend, actor Bar Reddin, had secured a role in Philip's film ‘Reputation’ and had passed my details on to him in case he would require a composer for his work. Something I'm very thankful to him for. Bar had let me know in passing, and a few days later I received an email from Philip. We arranged to meet up in Dublin at TCD and I arrived way too early, so took a walk around my old childhood haunts and grabbed a coffee to while away the time.

3pm sharp, I knocked on his office door and I knew I'd met an enthusiastic and instantly likeable man. He was in full on creative mode and was between shots so much, that some of the set had been placed in the office for the moment, and we shared a laugh as I manoeuvred my way into a chair after a handshake and an, almost telepathic, “Great name!” joke, which immediately put me at ease.

He explained the film's intriguing premise and showed me a couple of fabulous photos, dark and moody, which mirrored the internal struggle of the film's main protagonist, Ben, with PTSD and the ensuing “Word Substitution Disorder”, which is interpreted to brilliant effect through Philip's script and the onscreen work of actor Paul Nugent. Harrowing, thought provoking with a sprinkling of some brilliant wry humour. I was immediately on board.

As an aside, I've been very lucky with the directors I have worked with. Of course there's always one or two that will be a little more “difficult” to collaborate with, but thankfully Philip was hugely, the former.

He was clear and concise with his direction. He wanted a BIG, dramatic title. And I was delighted with this, as he gave me his blessing to “Hans Zimmer” it. I believe this was a case of Philip just being a great director. He was allowing me to get the BIG sounds out of my head to make room for the more thoughtful, restrained music that would make up the rest of the film. There was also some extreme and surprising sound design ideas, that were completely out of my comfort zone, but I never felt uncomfortable, or any sort of shortcoming myself, at tackling them. He's a super collaborator and again, provided ideas and sounds that he had found to keep me on course. Philip had split the film into a number of pieces over a number of weeks so we could focus on it, in chapters, and not overlook the minute details.

I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, and I'm excited to see the completed film. I can't wait for other people to see it too. 

There will be two showings of it, in The Lighthouse Cinema, Smithsfield in Dublin on the 13th and 21st May. I'll leave the link for tickets HERE. 

You can find the OFFICIAL WEBSITE HERE.

And here is a taste of the main theme:

As always, thank you for reading, and following my journey.

Stay happy, stay healthy,

Phil.

2024 has been a bumper year of achievements. 

From witnessing the release of the horror - thriller ‘Am Fear Liath’, directed by a brilliant madman, Pauric Brennan, which is my first ever full length score, to scoring my second full length ‘Reputation’, beautifully directed and written by Philip Curry and slated for release in the New Year. I then returned to the world of ‘Perdu’, a tense and beautifully filmed crime drama still in the production phases, written by Paul Flynn, directed by John McNally and produced by Brian Matthews - Murphy which I can only define as a power production trio. And I'm still on tenterhooks following it. And then I was invited by Brian to work in the fan film, ‘Star Wars: Rebels In Hiding’, he had me at John Williams!

There are a couple more projects I have worked on (indeed still working on), but am unsure as to the when's and wherefores so I'll play them close to my chest!

As another little achievement, I came first in the ‘International Horror Hotel Film Scoring Competition’, very significant as my first ever attempt at seriously scoring was in 2019, in the same competition in which I came 9th.

I hope your year has been wonderful, and if it hasn't, I hope 2025 is an exponential improvement.

You're still here, and that is an achievement in itself, in these crazy, uncertain times. And I'm happy you're here with me. Hang on in there. As always thank you for following and reading.  

Sincerely from the bottom of my heart,

Happy New Year.

Phil.

A first place finish! My first ever as regards to scoring, so permit me to milk it a little.

Back in 2019, I entered my first ever scoring competition and it was this very one. It has since changed ownership recently enough, but I was feeling nostalgic so I went in search of my laurel. )I finished 9th place, which I was delighted with. Not bad for a first timer. And yes, I always celebrate the small stuff - we only live once.

Anyway upon my return to the site, I became aware it had been given a massive overhaul and had come under new management. I also noticed they were still running a scoring competition. This competition takes a random horror film, which can be a classic / indie or lower budget and provides a trailer for you to score. There are no rules on instruments, orchestration. It is left entirely up to the composer's discretion and then you get to work.

This year's trailer was ‘Leviticus’ or the alternate title which gave me a chuckle due to it's lack of subtlety and tongue firmly in cheek ‘LGBT: Lethal Gay Butcher of Terror’. It's an intriguing premise. A masked serial killer is terrorising and murdering men in the gay community. And a detective is put on the case, who as it happens is a member of the LGBTQ community.

I only found out yesterday that I had won, as news is filtering out. And I'm still not 100 percent as to when I can share it but I'm hoping to, very soon.

I do believe that I have used certain characteristics of a sound, that I could term “my own”. Straddling the lines of orchestral and Industrial / metal sounds. Similiar to 'The Last Illusion'. Growing into my own, if you will. 

Right now, I'm happy to stop and smell the roses. I hope I can share with you soon.

Thanks for reading,

Phil.

It was the tail end of July into August 2023, that I first came into contact with Pauric Brennan, director of “Am Fear Liath”. I'd joined a queue of hopefuls interested in scoring his film which had entered the post production stages, replying to his call for a composer.

I was pretty inexperienced, but always confident in my abilities This was a feature length and after he'd informed me there was a few applications to get through, I'd half resigned myself to the fact that maybe this wasn't a gig I was gonna get. It's pretty crowded out in media composer land. Especially with the onset of ready made loops and midi packs which has led to an explosion of absolute chancers out there with maybe a thimble full of talent, jumping on the bandwagon. But, I'm a chancer myself. Granted, I've put the hard yards in and given myself a crash course in music writing and production over the last 20 years.

Needless to say I was shocked and delighted to hear I was the preferred candidate. And through video chats and messages, I got to know more about this guy, who has his finger consistently on the pulse and doesn't seem to stop. Between writing, producing and directing, it was clear his love for the arts knew no bounds and he was very clear about what he needed from me, what worked and what didn't. Doing the homework, I viewed his works and was hugely impressed particularly with “Don't Sell Me A Dog”. I highly recommend checking his work out.

I'd previously had a pretty big project fall flat and end up in post production hell, in which I worked with a director who was practically uncontactable, not answering emails and was never at the other end of his phone. My fears were immediately put to rest with Pauric. He clearly loves what he does and was always available if I needed his opinion or approval and what's more, it was a brilliant collaborative process. The greatest piece of advice I got was “Have fun with it”. That immediately put me at ease. It told me that my director trusted me and thus, it was so much fun to write for “Am Fear Liath”. Which in turn was already great fun to watch, before I'd even stepped into my studio!

Now it's April 2024 and the film is streaming on PRIME in Ireland & The UK and TUBI TV in the Americas. It's also picked up some awards along the way! I'm very proud to have played my part in the production of this film, and I look forward to hopefully working with Pauric in the future.

And I'll always be thankful he saw (or heard) something that made him take a chance on this guy. 

I have released a short compilation OST to “Am Fear Liath”, which is available to stream or buy on BANDCAMP or SPOTIFY but I highly recommend you watch the film first!

As always, thank you for reading. Take care.

(Director at work. The photo features left to right Andy Yule, Pauric Brennan, Siobhan Aislinn and Mark Agar.)

#amfearliathmovie #indiefilmakers #philmccleanmusic #pauricbrennan #brenenterprises #filmcomposer

October always feels magic. It's my favourite time of year. Samhain draws in and spooky season really begins. I love those witchy forest walks, just before twilight hits and the changing light tricks the eye into seeing things…..

Having completed the score to my first feature length film*, which I loved - I dove headfirst into October.

I have been working hard on a special project which I can't really divulge any details yet. Bar the music I have written is amongst the most unusual for me. As it is coming from a “Scandi-noir” place, which is more about texture and mood, than a melodic place. Not that I didn't get to flex a little melodic muscle either!

This project, you can tell it's coming from a group of very talented people who clearly love what they do and want to create something special. I was very lucky to be invited on the project, and as is the way with the composers, I arrived post production. And was hugely impressed with what I was presented with. As such it made my job easier with the presentation and as a result, the inspiration that followed. As previously stated, I can't really share anything more with you but I am excited to share all, once I get the nod!

In other news, “Hangin' On The Line” was officially selected amongst the nominees for “Best Music Video” category. On my 40th birthday, no less! It feels unusual that my film making skills are under the microscope, as opposed to my musical ones and I won't deny the degree of pride knowing this video was filmed in a box room with a RealMe C21 android phone. November 26th is D-Day. I have no idea if it will make it any further along in the process. But for now, I'll enjoy my little 15 minutes of fame, as it were.

Magic month indeed.

*"Am Fear Liath" which is in post production from Bren Enterprises. It also feels pretty damn special, and we are trés excited! We have a blog about this incoming soon.

Some time ago, I was approached by a talented actor friend with the idea of creating music for a Star Wars type “proof of concept” trailer. 

First thought was "John Williams - the guy is a living genius. I couldn't clean those shoes, never mind attempt to wear them. But I was still intrigued. I'm a Star Wars fan to begin with, and the only way you could hope to measure yourself as an artist / sportsperson etc, is to attempt to tangle with the best. And of course, in terms of sheer, epic, cinematic scale - Williams is the godfather.

Yes, Hans Zimmer is the current standard bearer (and a brilliant one at that), but even he will tell you that Williams is the benchmark.

The idea was straightforward: “A hero rises from the ashes / memorable melodic music / the big bad”. I won't get into detailed technicalities as I'm unsure if there will be developments in the future, but COVID did what it will and the world shut down. In the meantime, my wife and I took a messy trip through adoption territory which seemed to imply a “halcyon days” ending, but every time we took a step forward, we seemed to be pushed several back. It was a form of psychological torture. Topped with the emotional toll of working through the pandemic and the genuinely devastating death of our beloved dog, Norma Jean…. I stopped enjoying music.

Fast forward to now, and I've rediscovered a certain joy in the music I have created. So much so, I'm revisiting and touching up the 3 piece movement which I have named (*winks) “These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For.” Part I: The Jedi, part II: The Duel, part III: The Dark Side.

I'm currently in the process of creating a video for social media, for the purposes of hearing and sharing the piece. I'm also considering entering one or two competitions with it. The question is, oh reader: Does anybody out there actually want to hear it?

Hey. I'm still alive this side. And it's been a pretty topsy, turvy few months. We have felt the highs and some pretty damning lows. I guess we are almost at the other side of them. Nothing too personal I wish to share here, but I can only assure you - I wouldn't wish the lows we've had on anybody.

I'm really only getting back to making music again now. Maybe it was all the distractions, lack of inspiration or even interest. It's a funny old game, is life. I'll check back in soon. Thank you for checking in here. I hope you're keeping healthy and happy.

I've recently been checking out my competition's websites. It's good for comparison's sake. You can pick up ideas, appreciate how far you have to go and find out what makes them tick. But there is one thing that is a common denominator: In their photos, they look completely miserable. 

The majority of these seem to be generally Berklee / Julliard grads. I always thought having that kind of educational clout behind you, you'd be a happy camper, proud as punch. I'd scream it from the rooftops. Frame it on the wall! College was never an option for me. I never aspired to it. I generally hated my school years. They were boring, I often felt like an idiot and therefore had no drive to learn. I was in many ways, the quintessential "Weird Kid". The only good thing I brought with me from school, was a couple of close friends.

And to those who did it, more power to them. They should be rightly proud of their achievements. But back to these moody 80's band style photos. Many composers seem to be unable to crack a smile, even their eyes bear no hint of emotional salience. So I tried a few moody pictures myself, but not too serious. Here's an example...

There's a little levity behind my eyes. I'm not exactly smirking, but there's definitely a sense of humour there. I don't want to look completely unapproachable!

I can understand actors having these types of photos. It's all about range. But I don't see why composers (not all of them do it, of course) feel the need to plaster photos which just make them appear uncomfortable, depressed and / or constipated. Maybe it helps them be taken more seriously. Or maybe that's how they wish to perceive themselves.

I won't post any of the guilty parties' photos but here's Tears for Fears, doing a pretty spot on impression of what I'm talking about...

Not knocking the band. It was always their "thing" and they've released some cracking songs to boot. This is just similar to the visual wares many of these composers post on their website. So, why so serious? I may give it a lash myself.

EDIT: My wife, full of wisdom and more smarts than I (College kid, y'know?) has just informed me as these composers tend to be Berklee and Julliard graduates and all, they clearly have a mountain of student debt to their names. "You'd be f***in' miserable too, Phil."

There endeth the lesson.

Couple more moody pictures here, as I contemplate the nature of student debt. And strange camera angles. 

Thanks for reading folks. Stay healthy, be happy.