Composer Jeff Russo on Emotional Narratives and the Music of HBO’s ‘The Night Of’ [Exclusive Interview]

Composer Jeff Russo was recently nominated a second time for his work on the acclaimed FX series Fargo, and he’s definitely staying busy.

In addition to Fargo, Russo is known for his music on Power,  American Gothic, and HBO’s The Night Of.

The Night Of meticulously explores the workings of the criminal justice system after a Pakistani-American college student is charged with the brutal murder of a young woman. The riveting and intense show is complemented with the evocative and unsettling music composed by Russo.

I recently spoke with Russo about his musical beginnings and his work on The Night Of.

“When I was growing up, my entry into music was like where in the fourth grade, they say you gotta pick an instrument. I did, and I didn’t really like that. I chose another one the next year. I didn’t like that. And then in 6th grade I started playing drums,” Russo recalled.

“I lost my father when I was twelve. And I think as sort of a consolation prize, my mom bought me a drum set. But I’ve been into music since I was really young. I remember my father listening to a lot of classical music when I was a kid, but there weren’t a lot of musical people in my family. But when I got into high school, I just wanted to be in a rock band.”

A dream come true, Russo has been playing in the Grammy nominated rock band, Tonic, since the 90’s. He cited prolific rock bands as his early inspirations.

“My influences were from a rock-and-roll point of view. I was listening to The Beatles. I was listening to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd growing up. They have really influenced me in cutting my teeth as a rock musician. I didn’t listen to a lot of film scores. I’d seen a lot of movies, but I never thought about the music that was being made for it until much later.”

Russo’s interest in TV composing began after meeting up with a friend who was in the middle of recording a score.

“My band had taken a bit of a break, and I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. My friend had called to hang out, and I went and hung out, and I found that I really loved what they were doing,” Russo said.

The Night Of’s music captures the foreboding mood of the show. The haunting and unsettling score helps elevate the phenomenal performances on screen, deepening the guttural and visceral impact for the audience.

“It’s just trying to figure out what me and the filmmaker wants the feel of the show to be. We talk about how to accomplish that with musical style and musical motifs,” explained Russo.

“I tend to write mainly from an emotional point of view. I feel like music always sort of comes from the heart. I tend to connect with emotional narratives.”

When asked if any stuck out to him as a favorite, Russo said no, as he looked at the entire score as one.

“I wrote the score for this show like I would write a movie. The whole piece feels like a singular idea, musically. And that to me makes the whole thing my favorite.”

Although both shows have an eerie and mysterious tone, as well as chilling scores, Russo explained that creating music for American Gothic and The Night Of were two unique, unrelated experiences.

“Every show is different. They are two very different shows with very different ideals and very different feels.”

Russo also mused that is one of the aspects he loved most about his work. “I tend to jump to other kinds of music,” he said. “One of the great things about working on one or two projects at the same time is that I can jump to something else immediately.”

When it came to appreciating music from other TV shows, Russo had a couple of favorites to share.

“The music for Penny Dreadful is really, really great. I think Homeland is also really well-done, musically.”

Russo also teased us on his upcoming projects.

“I’m currently starting the new X-Men show for FX called Legion, so I’m very excited about working on that,” Russo remarked. “I feel like that’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s a really intense character piece. It’ll look and feel like nothing you’ve seen on television.”

The Night Of airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.