Nautilus was one of those special, rare projects that comes along once in a composer’s career. A dream epic fantasy series based upon the iconic story of Jule’s Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

It also came with a lot of expectations and pressure when working at the highest level. The challenge was how to make the fantastical world different from the myriad of fantasy already created over the decades. The world of Nautilus is grounded not only in Victorian times but expands to oceans, fantastical creatures, exotic islands, the Arctic, jungles, and the Colonial British Empire.

It allowed me to explore the traditional adventure scores of the last 80 years, but then put a new spin on it by injecting elements of modernity and otherworldly sounds, synths and music influences to create a fresh approach.

There’s action, fantasy, special effects, creatures, intense emotional drama, romance, comedy and swashbuckling adventure all rolled into one.

A sweeping thematic score based upon a strong foundation of the symphonic orchestral palette, the main theme for the Nautilus itself had to be strong, memorable and versatile; a singular signature for the show and the world it describes. It was a challenge to integrate variations with different emotions.

Even though there is a strong thematic link across the series, each episode had its own feel, creatures, epic threats, characters or location focussed themes ranging from the Moggs the abandoned lost soldiers, to the Valkyries the female Scandinavian warrior tribe, to giant Eels, Squids and Whales.

Offshoots from that resulted in Nemo’s intimate theme reflecting not just his external persona but also the dark side that motivates him. I also wrote themes for the quirky crew, Nemo and Humility’s love theme, the Dreadnought ship and East Indian Company, dark battle and adventure themes, light fun action, emotional drama and mystery; the score pushed me into broad musical territory !

As an example, for the Atlantis episode, I had to encompass cues for Humility being in great peril and being rescued, the discovery of Atlantis which had to evoke the lost mystical underwater city that is rediscovered by the crew, the attack of the Crinoids, metal based insects, the death of a major character and a hopeful ending.

We used touches of theremin inspired by 1950’s sci-fi scores as the lead melodic instrument, that gets taken over by an epic choir.

It’s one of my favourite themes in the entire series where we plant story seeds early on as Benoit comes closer to his dream of discovering Atlantis.

An immense logistical challenge for me, we recorded the score at Vienna Synchron Stage over 8 months as well as in Budapest, London, and numerous specialist soloists across Europe and the US. The budget was surprisingly tight but I managed to spend two days recording strings and brass per episode.

The team were incredibly supportive and encouraging of my creative ambition. As composer I am privileged to have been involved in this show; something I will forever treasure.

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FSM - The Nautilus Project Part 1

FSM - The Nautilus Project Part 2

SOUNDTRAX Interview

‘…Nainita Desai scores the 10-episode series with an abundance of music, much of it full of wonder, as befits a tale of deep-sea adventure’

‘Desai…took this opportunity to truly flex her scoring chops, capturing every emotional beat and triumphant moment’

‘…the Main Titles are designed to grab the attention of the viewer, and these certainly accomplish that goal.’

Humility’s theme ‘is both playful and witty, not taking itself too seriously. But it does feature chromaticism and syncopation, which focuses on Humility’s intelligence.’

The Valkyries Theme ‘is majestic and fierce, like the Valkyries, and in Aeolian mode, in order to present an ancient sound.’

The Cricket Theme ‘is absolutely an action cue, and Desai knows where to make the shifts in texture and tempo.’

‘“Outthink Them” is one of the best cues in the series, because Desai is able to keep tension high for seven minutes without the music ever becoming pedestrian.’

‘Nautilus is one of the year’s great television soundtracks and is a monumental accomplishment for Desai. The soundtrack merges sci-fi and fantasy with exciting action and tense drama sounds, resulting in a score that could not belong to anything else.’

- Erik Heine, FSM