In celebration of a productive year, Pop Disciple presents a data-driven round-up of our top 15 highest performing interviews of 2019.

We would like to extend a wish of gratitude to our readers, participants, and collaborators for their ongoing support of our initiatives. Looking forward to 2020!

15. PATRICK DOYLE

Iconic Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominated composer speaks on the intimate contemporary score he crafted for Kenneth Branagh’s All is True illustrating William Shakespeare’s last years, taking an unexpected turn into the action packed Marvel universe for Thor, building a friendship with Robert Altman while contributing his talents to Gosford Park, and collaborating with Michelle Pfeiffer for Murder On The Orient Express.

14. ROBIN URDANG

Elite Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated music supervisor returns to discuss how they authentically rendered 1959 Jewish summer resort culture in the Catskills for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, consulting with a French drag queen to conduct research for the series’ elegant jaunt to Paris, using her skills of persuasion to bring together a ‘70s rock-driven soundtrack for Joe Berlinger’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, and reuniting with Luca Guadagnino for the forthcoming HBO limited series, We Are Who We Are.

13. MARCELO ZARVOS

Intrepid Emmy nominated composer speaks on the magical quality of Alison and the emotionally fraught atmosphere of The Affair, altering the musical vernacular of Ray Donovan to match its change of scenery to the gritty streets of New York, working with Antoine Fuqua to capture the indomitable spirit of a world champion on What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali, channeling impressionism in his intimate score for The Chaperone, and taking on the craven world of right-wing propagandist, Roger Ailes on The Loudest Voice.

12. MAGGIE PHILLIPS

Brilliant music supervisor and founder of Deep Cut Music returns to discuss how she accomplished a near-impossible feat in licensing the entire Homecoming soundtrack from classic pre-existing film scores, the disconcerting parallels between contemporary American life and Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale, propelling creepiness and otherworldliness with country ballads and French singers on The Act, the liberating and tear-inducing Ariana Grande sync during the pool party in Shrill, and a hint of what’s to come in the final season of Legion.

11. CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

Venerable Golden Globe and Emmy nominated composer discusses how he evoked petrifying remembrances and an ancient evil spirit in his electronic score for Pet Sematary, the personal significance of his musical contribution to Clive Barker’s horror classic, Hellraiser, the inventive lesser known score he constructed for Mel Brooks that received high praise from Jerry Goldsmith, and his attraction to what lies in the darkness.

10. KERRI DROOTIN

Passionate Emmy nominated music supervisor speaks on tracking down Lucio Battisti’s widow to complete the Italian soundtrack of our dreams for Master of None, the challenge of getting artists to approve their songs for the purpose of psychological torture on The Good Place, going out with an expensive bang for The Office series finale, and her most memorable music pitch that was mistaken for an act of terror.

9. ALEX LACAMOIRE

Decorated Tony, Grammy, and Emmy winning musical visionary discusses how he manifested fluidity in the cross-disciplinary sonic storytelling of Fosse/Verdon, re-imagining iconic numbers from Sweet Charity and Cabaret, the symbolism behind his melancholic original theme, and adapting his expertise to the medium of television on a grander scale than ever before.

8. MAC QUAYLE

Supreme Emmy-winning composer returns to discuss the sonic climax of Sam Esmail’s psychological thriller masterwork, Mr. Robot, his hard and fast rules for crafting authentic ‘80s nostalgia on American Horror Story: 1984, peppering his score for The Politician with Spanish flourishes, and the period orchestral treatment he has in the works for Ratched.

7. JOHN LUNN

Imposing two-time Emmy winning composer speaks on how his iconic main title theme shaped the musical vernacular of Downton Abbey, re-examining his scores from all six seasons to prepare for the long-anticipated Downton Abbey: The Movie, configuring the greatest hits of Downton Abbey for the concert stage, and his theory on the singular popularity of this phenomenon.

6. JASON HILL

Hypnotic composer, producer, and founder of The Department of Recording and Power details his lifelong rejection of sonic mores, how David Fincher’s unorthodox prompt regarding ‘the death of disco’ ignited the season two musical identity of Mindhunter, making Netflix history with his chilling re-imagining of the main titles theme, and teases a comeback release from Louis XIV.

5. DAVE PORTER

Supernatural award-winning composer speaks on modernizing sonic hallmarks of the old West to fuel his score for El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, having the luxury of time to hone his musical character study of Jesse Pinkman, the stylistic choices he employed for the showdown at Kandy Welding Co, and which familiar face from the Breaking Bad universe he was delighted to see revivified.

4. MIRIAM CUTLER

Triumphant Emmy nominated composer and relentless social activist discusses her path to making music that serves a higher purpose, crafting an intimate sonic atmosphere for RBG to support the inspirational life story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, how The Hunting Ground ignited a nation-wide conversation surrounding college campus sexual assault, commemorating the joyful essence of Gilda Radner on Love, Gilda, and her experience as a navigator and tastemaker in the ‘post-truth’ era.

3. PAUL HASLINGER

Groundbreaking Emmy and Grammy nominated composer discusses the most valuable transferable skill from his five year voyage with Tangerine Dream, interpreting Mötley Crüe’s darkest moments with a stylized, psychological approach for The Dirt, reimagining the electronic instrumentation of his formative years for Halt and Catch Fire, and reuniting with Paul W.S. Anderson to intensify the larger than life world of Monster Hunter.

2. HILDUR GUÐNADÓTTIR

Sensational Emmy winning composer, cellist, and vocalist speaks on field recording in a vast Lithuanian power plant to piece together an ominous arsenal of sounds for Chernobyl, the heartfelt responsibility of scoring a dramatic re-excavation of the cataclysmic 1986 nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union, her interwoven creative process with Todd Phillips to realize a cohesive musical universe unique to Joker, and the distinctive appeal of the hermetic lifestyle she leads in Berlin.

1. MAX RICHTER

Elegant contemporary classical artist and Emmy nominated composer shares about creating gender delineations within his intense Elizabethan inspired score for Mary Queen of Scots, implementing the devil’s interval and lamenting bass to reflect the grim emotional terrain of Taboo, and his approach in illustrating a 60-year long relationship with stunning piano duets on My Brilliant Friend.