Peer Review: Keith Bayley

Who are three contemporaries that you admire?

Gustavo Santaolalla. A unique storytelling composer who creates maximum emotion and atmosphere from minimal arrangements. He admits to being unschooled in formal musical education, and uses authentic acoustic instruments with humanity and space to tell stories with sound. Iguazu, 21 Grams, and The Last Of Us are among my favourite of his works. 

The emotional power of simple minor arpeggios; the sadness this piece evokes is frequently described as uplifting, like the cathartic pain of a cauterised wound. 

Jon Hopkins. A musician whose work straddles two of my own personal musical passions: adventurous electronica and simple emotive beauty. Singularity is a record full of glitchy beats and uneasy electronic textures: but Feel First Life from the album is one of the most sparsely beautiful pieces you will ever hear; ditto Ritual (nothing is lost) from 2025. 

Paul Sumpter. A shoutout for my co-conspirator in music for picture at The Futz Butler. He’s a true sonic adventurer who will never take the well-trodden path when there are new audio lands to be discovered - which there always are. A constant source of restless inspiration and creative momentum, whether it’s harnessing old and new gear to re-create the sound of a 1950s recording that sounds more authentic than the original; or pushing the limits of sound creation on a score like The Futz Butler’s Black & British (featuring Tony D). 

Please share 3-4 pieces of work that exemplify great music composition. 

Thomas Newman, Road To Perdition, Ghosts. In the hands of other filmmakers or composers this scene could have been a standard shoot-em-up with pounding drums, strident horns and marcato strings. The fragile beauty of the music intensifies the violence immeasurably; and the look of betrayal on Rooney’s face (55 secs) is given huge weight by the score underneath it.

 The brutal simplicity is everything; everyday life is not normally accompanied by Hollywood strings.

Max Richter, On The Nature of Daylight. The emotional power of simple minor arpeggios; the sadness this piece evokes is frequently described as uplifting, like the cathartic pain of a cauterised wound. The intensity shifts again when the violin comes in at 1’54; and it will be forever linked to the words from the movie Arrival: “This is where your story begins. The day they departed. Despite knowing the journey... and where it leads... I embrace it. And I welcome every moment of it.”

Above: Thomas Newman's Ghosts from Road To Perdition

Gustavo Santaolalla Do We Lose 21 Grams? - In this cue from Santaolalla’s 21 Grams soundtrack, minimalist tremolo guitar gently strummed through a hissing valve amp captures the random brokenness of the characters’ lives. The brutal simplicity is everything; everyday life is not normally accompanied by Hollywood strings. Respect to director Inarritu and the production team who made the decision to go with such a stark route, rejecting a more traditional score which would have maybe sat more comfortably in the mainstream. 

I get to tell someone’s story - using sounds to move air and make the audience feel something. Turn off the phone, drink the coffee, start experimenting with noise. 

Sean Callery - Homeland Main Title Theme. In an era of strong title sequences (Mad Men, Dexter, Succession) this one always stood out for me. It pulls off the balance of being fundamentally a collage of sound blending the paranoia of an unstable world with a web of conflicting signals and the fractured psyche of the lead character - but with instantly recognisable melodic motifs such as the piano and trumpet. Within two seconds you’re deep into the story’s world.

Above: Max Richter's On The Nature of Daylight

What do you like most about the work that you do?

I get to tell someone’s story - using sounds to move air and make the audience feel something. Turn off the phone, drink the coffee, start experimenting with noise. 

What has your career journey been like so far?

Like all the best trips. Unplanned.

You know that feeling you get when you get on a plane for a trip or take a seat at one of your favourite venues? That's what you need when you start making noise - that buzz of anticipation. 

Many years ago I had a rudimentary home studio and a producer friend asked me for a demo for an ad which got approved. Five US presidents later I’m still writing music to picture. Along the way there have been hundreds of ads, a bunch of TV soundtracks and guitar contributions to a few movie scores. If at any point it looked like I knew what I was doing, that was an illusion. I’ve been lucky to work with some inspiring collaborators who have forced me to try and be better. (Still trying). My favourite quote is from cello maestro Pablo Casals, who when asked why he was still practising at 90 replied “because I think I’m making progress.”

Above: Do We Lose 21 Grams? by Gustavo Santaolalla

What is one thing every composer needs? 

Creative excitement.

You know that feeling you get when you get on a plane for a trip or take a seat at one of your favourite venues? That's what you need when you start making noise - that buzz of anticipation. Forget gear, technique or theory - the right track might just be finger clicks and a kick made from dropping something -
it’s all about the thrill of making the noise. If I ever lose that buzz I’ll retire to the coast and write a book about alternative guitar tunings. 

Did you have a mentor?

I’ve been blessed to have lots of amazing influences along the way - both in creativity and life - but musically it would have to be my old mucker Dave Buckley, now a successful composer of major feature film and TV soundtracks. We met when he was a young teacher of musical theory and I was a guitar player trying to learn about modes and harmony. He combines technical genius with a self-effacing modesty which is inspiring and unique (his rare social posts are more likely to be asking for a pasta sauce recipe rather than trumpeting his latest brilliant score.) His command of the balance between melody and atmosphere is something I am always striving for. 

 Forget gear, technique or theory - the right track might just be finger clicks and a kick made from dropping something -
it’s all about the thrill of making the noise.

Who is the greatest composer of all time? 

Impossible to answer. Maybe JS Bach? Hildegard of Bingen was pretty solid. And maybe the guy who wrote the Pearl & Dean theme. 

Above: Sean Callery's Homeland Main Title Theme