First of all, thanks for the surprisingly big interest in my #StrangerThingsAlternateScore project. After developing some themes and motives in step 1, here’s step 2 in my endeavour to try out a different musical approach and find out what it does with the show. Again, this is not about proving anything or anyone right or wrong, it’s just me being curious and challenging myself as a composer.
In order to get into the mood, to find a voice, I decided to not start with those two scenes that Erik Woods (from Cinematic Sound Radio) picked for me (Van Chase, Demogorgon Finale), but to start with a cue that I’m going to refer to as The Kiss from Season One. I picked it because it instantly warmed my heart when I first watched it and also because it’s about that particular bond between Mike and Eleven which imho is what the whole show is based upon. Interestingly, this dry run proved to be more difficult than the other two scenes, but more about that later.
Now here’s my take on The Kiss. One word regarding sound quality: In order to make the video work and “mute” the original score, I had to cut the lower frequencies of the soundtrack drastically. I hope it’s enjoyable anyway.