11 March 2021
Episode 12
14 minutes
Photo: Phil Watkins
The composer Nainita Desai is a master of innovative thinking in scores for film, television and games. She is best-known for her documentary work – including music for the Oscar-nominated ‘For Sama’ and a new Sundance-winning documentary that’s soon to be released called ‘The Reason I Jump’ – but her career has been multi-faceted. Desai has a background in maths and has also worked as a sound designer, which gives her a unique approach. In this episode, Desai discusses the techniques she came up with to reflect the experiences of autistic teenagers in ‘The Reason I Jump’ (from water-filled clarinets to improvising on cellos), how working with Peter Gabriel early in her career inspired her and why her job is to manipulate a viewer’s emotions.
11 March 2021
Share episode
DownloadWant more radio episodes like these in your inbox?
Sign up to Monocle’s email newsletters to stay on top of news and opinion, plus the latest from the magazine, radio, film and shop.
The Power of Sound - latest episodes
Nainita Desai
The composer Nainita Desai is a master of innovative thinking in scores for film, television and games. She is best-known for her documentary work – including music for the Oscar-nominated ‘For Sama’ and a new Sundance…
Emile Mosseri
Composer Emile Mosseri is a rising star in Hollywood. In the past few years he’s scored three major films: Joe Talbot’s drama ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’, Miranda July’s quirky heist movie, ‘Kajillionaire’, and…
Arlo Parks
As she releases her debut album, ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ the London-based singer, songwriter and poet Arlo Parks reflects on how she defines her sound. She tells us about the music and poetry she was brought up on, why…
Roderick Cox
Since graduating from Northwestern University in 2011, award-winning American conductor Roderick Cox has become a celebrated name in classical music. He served as associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra for three…
Ben and Max Ringham
Brothers Ben and Max Ringham are known for their immersive, 3D sound design for theatre shows such as ‘Blindness’ at the Donmar Warehouse last year, and ‘Anna’ at the National Theatre. They tell us about the power of bin…
Grant Kirkhope
Composer Grant Kirkhope has written the soundtracks for some very successful video games, including ‘GoldenEye 007’, ‘Civilization’, and ‘Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle’. He tells us about his career highlights and the…
Midori Komachi
Violinist Midori Komachi has been performing as a professional soloist since the age of 12. She specialises in British and Japanese classical music, which she says are intrinsically linked; she is particularly interested…
Johnnie Burn
Throughout his career as a sound designer, editor and mixer, Johnnie Burn has worked on iconic TV commercials for clients such as Guinness; created the sounds you hear every time you log onto Skype; and developed the sound…
The Power of Sound: Susan Rogers
When Susan Rogers started out as an audio technician she had no idea that she would eventually contribute to some of the biggest pop hits ever made. She is best known for being Prince’s sound engineer on seminal albums…
The Power of Sound: Jamie Cullum
Grammy-nominated jazz star Jamie Cullum tells us about the making of his first ever Christmas album, ‘The Pianoman at Christmas’. He discusses the keys and chords that make classic Christmas songs, the festive music he was…
The Power of Sound: Hannah Peel
This week we speak to musician, composer and artist Hannah Peel. Renowned for her work in electronica, sound design and scoring for the screen, Peel is also interested in the intersection of music and science. In her solo…
The Power of Sound: Chris Watson
Award-winning sound recordist Chris Watson is one of the leading documenters of the natural world, having recorded wildlife across all continents. Watson is also a musician and was a founding member of experimental group…
