When a TV show is really, really good, you tend to remember the music from the entire series. The latest sensation to fall into this rarefied camp is Netflix's 1980's genre film reference-a-palooza series, Stranger Things. The superbly addicting Sci-Fi drama is scored in its entirety by long-time Austin electronic act S U R V I V E.
The band provides the show with its creepy, synth-driven nexus; including its much talked about opening theme. The atmosphere of Stranger Things' theme song is somewhere between Blade Runner-era Vangelis and pretty much any-era John Carpenter. It's a tune that's at once haunting, nostalgic, and instantly lovable.
In light of the bands recent success, we spoke with S U R V I V E members and Stranger Things composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein about their new success, aliens, and their favorite intersection in Austin.
UPDATE: S U R V I V E have been nominated for a Grammy award for their Stranger Things score!
Do512: Give us the Reader’s Digest version of how all of this happened.
Kyle: On July 3rd of last year, the Duffers emailed us with a look-book and a mock trailer of the show with one of our songs they pitched to Netflix asking if we were available or had any other music, and if we wanted to do the soundtrack. I think they actually asked if we were still a band because we hadn’t released anything in awhile. We got back to them the next day with like 50 songs, and they were like, “Oh, it’s like Christmas on the Fourth of July!” They listened to all of it, picked some things they thought would be good for the show, and asked us to write some more demos to pitch to the producers. For the next month after we’d get home from work, we’d do that every night. We'd write themes for some of the characters, and they used some of that stuff against the auditions to kind of inform who they were going to hire to act and also help choose the music. We were competing with a couple of composers to get the job, (and obviously we ended up getting it), but that’s how it happened. Shawn Levy, the executive producer, calls it “a Cinderella story.” He loves to say things like that.
Michael: It was definitely a stroke of luck. They were like, “Are you interested in trying to do scoring if you’re still playing music, or even if you guys aren’t?” We were like, “Oh my god, yes,” and sent them tons of stuff. We waited for a few months, but you could kind of tell they were feeling our stuff the whole time.
If someone was writing your biography, what would this chapter of your life be called?
Kyle: Stranger Things. The beginning of some sort of scoring endeavor.
Michael: It (Stranger Things) would be a really good chapter name. It’s totally fitting. It’s a weird, odd story, too, and completely unorthodox, and left-field for this industry.
What awesome timing to be releasing a new album soon (Relapse Records). What do you hope the success of the show means for S U R V I V E?
Kyle: The timing is really good for the label and for the band. It’s been an insane week, but in a good way. We’ve seen an extreme boost in interest with the band. I mean, there’s a fucking trap remix of the theme song. It’s crazy.
Michael: We always get good feedback from records and shows, but just not enough people hearing it. But now, I’m assuming more people will come to the shows. We haven’t done a test on that yet, though.
Kyle: Yeah, and everyone’s like, “WOAH! You’re from Austin? How did I not know this was going on in Austin?” and I’m like, “Well, you weren’t looking.” We’ve been here fucking six years!
Metaphorically, you all are riding into battle to dominate this. What song is playing? (What’s really pumping you up?)
Kyle: We haven’t released it yet.
It doesn’t have to be a S U R V I V E song.
Kyle: Yeah, but it is the song. I mean, what other song would it be? We’ve got another record on it’s way to being done, hopefully 2017. Ya know, to keep this thing going.
Michael: That new song is a good one; it’s a nice journey of a song. That would be our vessel to take us there.
Everyone has swallowed Stranger Things so fast, they’re already re-watching. What is a television series you can re-watch over and over?
Kyle: I don’t generally re-watch shows, but I really enjoyed the first season of True Detective. And apparently, on IMDB, we surpassed them in ratings, which is crazy. Wait, I take that back! I did re-watch X-Files recently, and it was the shit-- all of the old ones. I mean, they are goofy as fuck. But, I was so into aliens when I was a little kid. The first time I got to go to work with my mom and use the Internet, all I was looking up were Project MADGI, Area 51 stuff, and I printed out an entire 3-ring binder of all of the conspiracy theory stuff I could find.
What helps you calm down when you’re anxious?
Kyle: Xanax. Or, like taking a walk and watering the plants. Playing some long, drone-y, synth stuff is always pretty nice. I kind of just find myself zoning out and doing that for a long time.
Michael: I do stretches that resemble Yoga, but I’ve never looked into what is actually is.
In the show, the kids are really into Dungeons and Dragons, are there any games you’ve gotten a little too involved in?
Kyle: I did not. I’m not a gamer, really in any way. I played Mortal Kombat when it was out, and got GamePro Magazine, and it had all of the codes so I made photocopies of that and sold them for like a dollar each. I did all kinds of dumb shit like that. Basically as soon as I got out of Elementary School, I was over games. Everybody would sit around smoking weed and playing Mario Kart and I’d be like, “Why are we doing this? This is so fucking dumb, let’s go do something.” These are the games I play now: figuring out how to make these sound good. (Pointing to his synthesizers). But, I don’t play games.
Michael: I still have my NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). So I still play certain video games on the original console.
Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
Michael: I wish. I used to really want, and tried to invite a paranormal experience, just so I could know if it exists. But then I’m like, damn, I don’t really want that if it did. There was a weird illusion at the Hotel Congress in Tucson once. When you came out of the shower, the mirror was steaming, and supposedly this place was haunted. You looked in the mirror, and there were these orbs around your eyes. You’d think, “Oh, it’s my angle, my perspective, it’s the mirror,” but then you move around and the orbs would stay around your eyes.
Kyle: I’ve definitely seen shadow people. But, I think that’s basically a hallucination. You can’t move, and then they’re in the room with you, and then they run off. You can’t see anything, it’s like a figure.
Everyone is feeling all nostalgic from the show, (reminding them of E.T. etc.) but, what smell reminds you of your childhood?
Kyle: There’s this art installation that I want to do, and it’s definitely related to smell memory. It’s going to be a tub, basically aquarium, filled with Cool Water Cologne. It’s that pretty blue. Because THAT reminds me of childhood. That was like, the shit.
Michael: Scratch-and-Sniffs.
Left: On the set of Stranger Things | Photo VIA Michael Stein & Kyle DixonRight: KYLE DIXON AND MICHAEL STEIN
What’s the grossest thing you’ve ever seen?
Michael: The election this year. That’s it.
Kyle: Fucking disgusting. Yeah, basically anything on Facebook news feed that has to do with police brutality is pretty fucking gross. The death count by police officers, that’s pretty fucking gross.
Do512: What is an irrational fear that you have?
Kyle: I ain’t scared of shit! It’s not really that irrational, but just being in the middle of the ocean. You’re like, “Woah, I am completely out of my element here and I have no idea what’s below me." And there’s nothing for a very long way.
Michael: I’ll come up with some irrational fears if I’ve ate too much of an edible or something, and then I’m scared of everything.
Kyle: I got scared of my phone last week after all of this shit started happening. I mean, I took a lot of LSD, but I was just like, “I got to get this away, stop it!”
Your favorite intersection in Austin?
Kyle: I want to say 12th and Chicon, but it's not true. It was a good zone.
Michael: That was a good intersection; they were zombies!
Kyle: We came from Dallas, and I get to Austin and I’m like, “Where’s the fuckin’ hood?” Like, there is no hood. But then it’s, “Oh, it’s 12th and Chicon.” Just this one intersection. It’s a little different now, but...I grew up with a bunch of break-dancers and graffiti kids.
I don’t know if it’s top secret, but since there will be a second season of Stranger Things, will you be a part of the scoring again?
Kyle: If it happens, I don’t think there’s any way in hell they’d do it without us.
The Official Soundtrack to Stranger Things, scored by S U R V I V E is available now.
Listen to their latest album RR7349 (Relapse Records) here:
Follow their artist page for upcoming shows:
