There is, at first glance, something odd but comical, and undeniably fascinating, about the immediate juxtaposition of the rural and the urban in Netflix’s latest original Concrete Cowboy. You would almost think that a movie about inner-city horsemanship in North Philadelphia originated in fantasy, but the fact is that urban horseback riding is very much a hidden—or, more correctly, buried—gem of American history.
Netflix’s film is based on G. Neri’s 2011 young adult novel called Ghetto Cowboy, which, in turn, is based on the history of the Fletcher Street Stables, a non-profit organization dedicated to Philadelphia’s inner-city horsemanship and, indeed, part of a century-long tradition of Black urban cowboys who, while caring for the horses, teach neighbourhood youth to do so. In a way, it is a partnership program, providing Black youth with positive environments and activities in which to spend their leisure time.
Concrete Cowboy is Ricky Staub’s directorial feature debut, and, harkening to the tradition of mentorship, the film focuses on an estranged father-son relationship between Idris Elba’s Harp, an urban cowboy, and Caleb McLaughlin’s Cole, who learns about urban horsemanship.
To compose the film’s score, Staub enlisted long-time friend and collaborator Kevin Matley, a Seattle based composer whose list of credits include films, documentaries, and advertisements for, to name a few, National Geographic, Apple, Google, and Ferrari. Essentially, their long-standing working relationship works in the film’s favour: Matley’s score intuits, enhances, and complements Staub’s visceral style. In fact, in our interview below, Matley emphasizes creating a score that is “human and organic,” favouring a smaller set of instrumentalists instead of a “big Hollywood orchestra.” This, of course, does not mean the stripped-down score takes a backseat in the overall production—on the contrary, Matley’s score grounds the film in a gritty, sentimental, all-American sonic swagger.
Hi, Kevin! I hope you’re well. Thank you for taking the time to answer some of The Nerd Daily’s questions!
Congratulations, first of all, on the film’s upcoming release! First, last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and on Netflix on April 2nd. How will you be celebrating?
Thank you! It’s exciting to see it out there in the world for everyone to see. It was a long time in the making and I think we’re all really proud of what we created. TIFF is such a prestigious film festival and I was thrilled to see it in the lineup. As far as celebrating goes, I’ll likely crack open a bottle of wine with my wife and watch with a few family members.
Now, the film itself is a fictionalization of history, but, wow, what an absolutely fascinating piece of American history, isn’t it? I can’t believe I went my whole life, until this point, not knowing about it! Were you familiar with the history before joining the project? What were some of your thoughts when the movie’s idea was initially pitched to you? More broadly, how did you first get involved with the film?
The director, Ricky Staub, and I go back a bit. We’ve worked on several ads and a short film called The Cage that he wrote and directed. When he first gave me the script for Concrete Cowboy and told me he was making a film about cowboys and horseback riding in the city of Philadelphia, I remember immediately going to Google and trying to find out if city cowboys were real. Turns out, there are stables and city cowboys all over the country. The history goes deep.
When I dove into the script, I immediately fell in love with the story and the characters. It was so beautifully written. Which for me makes the musical ideas start flowing. I think by the end of the first script reading I had a handful of theme ideas floating in my head.
I understand you worked with a small orchestra and only had them do one or two takes—would you elaborate on this process? What were some inspirations for the film’s score? How different was composing for this film than other projects you’ve worked on?
I really just wanted to make a score that felt like it was part of the world Ricky created. His filmmaking esthetic is so visceral yet very gritty at the same time. So I felt like I wanted to match that with lush ambient soundscapes and solo instruments that had a very human and organic feel to them on top.
I knew I didn’t want a big Hollywood orchestra sound for this film. I felt that right away when I read the script. I really wanted the sound you get when you have less players in a string ensemble. It’s a bit more raw and exposed. You can hear a bit more humanity in the performances. Especially on the first couple of takes in the recording sessions. These musicians have played on a ton of film scores and they have incredible enthusiasm with whatever they’re asked to play. We recorded in a studio that is a converted church. It’s a medium-large room that doesn’t sound as massive and grand as a scoring stage or hall, but still cinematic and slightly more intimate. All of these things contributed to the sound I had in my head when I was dreaming up the musical esthetic of Concrete Cowboy.
You and director Ricky Staub have worked together before. How has your working relationship evolved since the first day on the first project? What was the collaboration process like this time?
Ricky is truly talented. I love his filmmaking style and he always makes a great environment to be creative. I think we just clicked from the beginning and have enjoyed working together since. It’s always been a great back and forth process and we’ve grown to trust each other more and more each time we work on a project.
Seattle has been your home for over a decade—almost two—now. How does Seattle (and, by extension, Seattle’s music scene) inspire your work? Regarding Seattle’s music, what, would you say, sets it apart from other cities?
A lot of scores are recorded there for a number of reasons. Northwest Sinfonia, who performed on Concrete Cowboy, are in Seattle and they are some of the best players you can ask for. The whole city is filled with so much talent. Incredible bands were formed there and all the first call musicians, producers, and engineers you could ever need are available and ready to work. Took a while to feel like home, but Seattle is where I started doing music for a living and it was the best place I could have been to start my career.
Which film composers / soundtracks would be on your list of quintessential listening?
Probably Jane Eyre by Dario Marianelli and pretty much anything by Jóhann Jóhannsson, Jonny Greenwood, and Thomas Newman.
In the spirit of manifesting opportunity, which filmmaker(s) would you love to collaborate with, and why?
If we’re talking daydreaming fantasy then I will say that Cary Joji Fukunaga and Denis Villeneuve have made some of my favorite films and I would probably pass out if I got a call from one of them.
What’s next for you?
I’m going to start working on a film called Between The Rains. It’s a documentary that follows two Kenyan tribes that have been at war with each other for decades and a young boy from one of the tribes who is being raised to be a warrior. Andrew Harrison Brown is directing and I absolutely love working with him. Keep an eye out for it in 2022!
Concrete Cowboy is now available to stream on Netflix.
