Composer Spotlight: Will Wiesenfeld
For this month’s Composer Spotlight playlist we’re joined by electronic musician, producer and Bee and PuppyCat composer Will Wiesenfeld! Based in Los Angeles-based and classically trained as a pianist from a young age, Will has been composing original music for over 15 years, primarily under the aliases of Baths and Geotic. Will’s output under his own name has been reserved but ever-present throughout his career as the composer for the original web series Bee and Puppycat (created by Adventure Time’s Natasha Allegri) which was adapted into a Netflix series last fall. He has also lent his musical talents to director Dean Fleischer-Camp’s miniseries David (2016) and TV short The Bible (2019). Most recently, Will composed the score for writer/director Corey Sherman’s queer coming-of-age film Big Boys which premiered earlier this year at BFI Flare London. In addition to his work in the music world, Will is also an avid fan of anime and video games.
Released for this first time officially this summer, Will’s score for Bee and PuppyCat is best known for its lo-fi and lighthearted, endlessly loopable and instantly relaxing instrumentals. The score gained a cult following alongside the original web series, resulting in a plethora of hours long fan-made edits and relaxing visualizers on YouTube.
From the delicate compositions of electronic musician, pianist and anime OST composer Masakatsu Takagi to the brain-tingling textures of Aphex Twin’s “Nannou”, Will has selected an eclectic, meditative mix closely tied within the cozy, curious and intimate world of his own sonic creations. Regarding his selection, Will shares:
“All these songs inspire my scoring work, but in a way that can be hard to explain. It’s a selection of ambient/experimental electronic favorites, some of which have pop leanings, some deeply textural, but all of which I find extremely emotional. I like to aim for that, to always make sure I feel something, and the best route in both my listening and writing has always been to shoot for an emotional atmosphere, which I think can be achieved just as much in production and sonic aesthetics as you can with songwriting and notation. Atmosphere is truly the key word here, and has always been paramount to all my favorite music. It’s strangely both the thing to pay attention to and to ignore, to not quite remember and somehow never forget— I’m excited to share this playlist, full of some of my favorite music-made spaces to disappear inside of.”
Take a listen here!