Apple TV+’s new series Wolfboy and the Everything Factory is now streaming and follows an oddball dreamer named Wolfboy as he discovers a strange realm where fantastical beings create things for the natural world above.
To score the series, composer Xav Clarke (Elliot From Earth, The Amazing World of Gumball) was given the brief to “go weird, be experimental, and take chances.” What he created is an organic score as playful, curious, and creative as the titular character himself. His music has a purposeful roughness to it in keeping with the creative mantra to make it sound as if Wolfboy could have made the music himself in the Everything Factory!
"I’m so excited to have the release through Lakeshore Records and to have somewhere for people to go, outside of the show, where they can be reminded of the world of Wolfboy and feel transported there."
Your music is at times playful and fun, but also surprisingly dramatic and reflective in tracks such as “I Knew It!” and “Memory Books.” How much freedom did you have with this particular score — and what was your overall approach?
I’m very nostalgic and reflective in general and I love to try and channel feelings I have about the past into my music. The warmth and comfort/sadness of memories that you can’t put your arms around, this show seemed to touch on so many themes I love. I had more freedom with the score than on any project I’ve worked on before. I’m very grateful to the amazing executive producers and team at Apple who always encouraged me to be as unusual and experimental as I could. After all, the show is mostly set in a world none of us have ever been to before, so how could we know what that would sound like? It was an amazing blank slate to have. The overall approach derived from the idea that the music should sound like Wolfboy could have made it himself. Show creator Toff Mazery told me that that’s how he imagined the music to sound, very crafty and warm. It was such a joy and as well to work with his amazing theme he wrote for Wolfboy’s Mum. That theme is the basis of the cue “I Knew It!!!” and “The Piano,” and it pops up throughout the score at lots of crucial moments. Toff is also a brilliant musician!
Were there instruments or equipment utilized for this score that you had never worked with before?
The only rule for this show was stay away from any cold digital-sounding things! Beware of the synth!
So I ended up making samples of a lot of my instruments and twisting them through effects pedals and stretching them around here and there.
I used the tapping of the pads on my flute as a percussion quite alot! Pitching them down. Also, my voice, I used for so many moments in the score, which I’d never had the luxury of featuring so prominently before.
What is the most challenging aspect of scoring an animated series?
Probably the time frame, keeping to the schedules. It takes some seriously good time management!
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