Dominic Glynn Questions and Answers

[Danny Stewart]

Dominic Glynn has given me permission to share his answers to all my questions here, so I'm including some below:

Where can I hear some more music you've written?
Well, I have written over 300 tracks of production music in all styles. That music is not generally available to the public - it is restricted to media users of music, but you can check out some of it by visiting http://www.bmgzomba.co.uk/launchpage/UK/

Type Dominic Glynn in the Quick Search box and it will bring up 334 tracks (at latest count).

You may be interested in the tracks I've recorded under the name FLUID on No Bones Records - you can hear these on the No Bones website.

What synthesizers did you use to create your version of the Doctor Who theme?
Roland Juno 6
Korg 770
Yamaha DX21

For the full length BBC Records 12" record I think I may had a bit of Prophet Five on there too.

More information on the circumstances surrounding the creation of his extended theme:
Another piece of info that will help here...The full length version for BBC Records was remixed by me several months after completing the opening and closing titles. This was put together by taking the 8 track multi-track tape and building up a full length version by re-recording sections onto (I think) 16 track - I went to another studio - and splicing a longer version together. So don't worry - I didn't "play" the bassline for the whole length of the piece either - just for the full length of the opening and closing. I took the opportunity to add a bit more production to the full length version, and am pretty sure I added a few more effects courtesy of the studio's Prophet V synth. I think you'll here that the BBC Records mix is sounding much better than the actual TV version

How much time did you spend reviewing the other themes before making your own? Which would you say was the biggest inspiration for your own theme?
I got JNT to send me a tape of each of the previous versions of the theme and studied them. I was most into the very original Delia Derbyshire version.

Have you ever considered going back and doing a new version of the Doctor Who theme after all these years?
I would love to do it - and one day I probably will. Lack of time means I need to concentrate on other work for now!

How are all the sound effects you use made?
To be honest I have trouble remembering exactly how I have produced sounds over the years! Once I've finished a track, the mechanics of how I made it tends to get erased from my memory! I know on the Who theme I used a lot of filtered white noise with high resonance and changing the cutoff frequency, pitch bend and short delays.

Any particular story behind the FM trumpet sound used for the bridge?
Er no not really. It wasn't meant to sound like a trumpet! I just wanted a harsher contrast to the main theme sound, but on reflection (looking back twenty years later) I would have done it very differently now.

Why do the basslines on your opening and closing themes sound so different from on the extended version?
When I produced the longer version for the BBC Records release, I had a bit more time to get it the way I wanted it. It was put together after the TV version, and I wanted to keep the spirit of my TV version with a few subtle changes to the sounds. The "trumpet" sound is marginally better on the full length version too.

Why were your opening and closing themes never released?
Don't ask me why they weren't made available - ask the BBC!! I hope they will be available soon. Moves are afoot to put together some releases of old Dr Who music which hopefully will include them

Why did Big Finish recut opening and closing themes from your extended version instead of just using the original opening and closing themes?
Probably because they had a copy of the full length versions and I didn't supply them with my copies of the TV versions

Exactly what is it that you do in your current line of work?
Good question...what do I do? Well, the bulk of my work is writing tracks for the BMG Zomba Music Libray - this is music available to programme and film makers (and often called "stock" music or "Production" music). They will commission me to write a number of tracks for a particular themed album. The music can be anything from Techno/Drum and Bass or hiphop to orchestral dramatic or classical music, jazz or pastiche. As a result, my music ends up in all kinds of weird and unexpected places, from Brit TV comedy to big American dramas and even The Simpsons.

I get up and go to work..at home. I work self-employed out of my own studio so my working day and hours vary. I tend to work a lot at night. Physically, I'm 90% hunched over my computer keyboard, and 10% over the keyboard keyboard! It can be demanding at times - but hey, I couldn't have a better job!

What kind of equipment do you use nowadays?
I hardly ever use my external synths these days - except my Roland Super Jupiter and Virus. I run Logic on a Mac G5, and I use loads of EXS24 sampler, East West Silver Orchestra and Spectrasonics Atmospher, Stylus RMX and Trilogy, Ra, and all the Logic virtual instruments. Occasionally I'll still use my Roland Juno 6, or Korg 770, and regualrly record my (real) piano and assorted musicians.

How do you feel about the Murray Gold version of the Doctor Who theme? Personally, I have mixed feelings... I'm glad that Murray Gold decided to bring back the original Derbyshire elements, but at the same time, I feel that underscoring it with orchestral sounds kind of takes away from what the Doctor Who theme was originally intended to be. All the original themes were completely electronic, and that was what made the entire theme truly unique and properly different from everything else. It's a bit disappointing that Murray Gold elected to get rid of almost all of that and replace it with an increasingly orchestral and therefore earthly sound.
I pretty much agree with what you say. You'd probably like a version Paul Hartnoll (Orbital) did when he was pitching for the job. It still retains that electronic feel. I would send it to you but Paul would kill me!!

What do you think of HardWire's "Good as Gold" track?
Superb version there - I agree - an improvement on the current one but don't tell Murray I told you that