Danny Lux

Danny Lux is one of the most accomplished composers in television today, with multiple Emmy nominations to his name. Danny has carved an impressive path in both television and film, scoring well over 2,300 episodes across a variety of genres, from dramas and comedies to horror feature films. His career began straight out of high school when he landed a job with esteemed TV composer Mike Post. Over the years, Danny has garnered recognition for his versatile and distinct musical style, contributing to a wide range of notable projects, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Boston Legal,” and “Manifest.” We recently caught up with Danny to discuss his early musical influences, his approach to scoring various projects, and the standout moments of his illustrious career:

How did you first become interested in composing music for television and film?
I grew up as a drummer in bands. I wrote and produced songs, etc… TV/Film scoring was always something I thought could be interesting but it really wasn’t on my radar growing up. I wasn’t exposed to film scoring until I landed a job right out of high school with TV composer Mike Post. I spent 9 years working with Mike and the opportunities he gave me were priceless.

Who have been your biggest musical influences throughout your career?
I loved so many bands growing up. Some of the biggest influences were The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Toto, Bryan Adams, and many more. I really loved many of the record producers back then and paid really close attention to the engineers and mixers like Bob Clearmountain were back in those days.

On the scoring side….early on I loved many of the usual suspects like Bernard Herman, John Williams, Danny Elfman, Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, and on and on. When I started with Mike Post in 1987 they were still writing and recording with a live group of musicians about 30 in size. I spent a lot of time watching composers like Walter Murphy, Velton Ray Bunch, and many more writing most of the music for classic TV shows like Magnum P.I., Hunter, etc…. Although I don’t get to score my shows with large groups it was a real treat to see it done by such talented composers and musicians for at least the first few years I was working with them.

What was your first major scoring gig, and how did it come about?
I think 1990 Steven Canell (Hunter, A-Team, etc..) had a new late night low budget cop show called “Silk Stalkings”. Mike saw that I was interested in composing and gave me a shot co-composing that show with another newcomer Roger Neal. We learned a lot doing that first season together and it was successful. After that I was off and running and started writing on most of Mike’s shows and eventually was writing on at least 5 of his series including the first 5 seasons of NYPD Blue.

Can you describe your typical process for starting a new project?
The process usually starts with some sort of meeting to get hired and a discussion of what direction I might want to take the music. I am someone who responds to the picture more than a script. So my preference is to start once I see some footage, but sometimes the process can start after a conversation only.

Do you ever encounter writer’s block; What’s your remedy to cure it?
I don’t really get writer’s block per se…..I don’t have the luxury of enough time to not get something done. Some days it flows better than others. Some days I like what I do better than other days, but that is just how it goes for me.

You’ve worked on a variety of projects, from “Grey’s Anatomy” to “Boston Legal.” Is there a particular score or project that you’re especially proud of or that holds special significance to you? If so, what about it makes you proudest?
There have been a few stand out projects for me. “Boston Legal” was just a fun show where the music was such an important “character” to the show. It was loud and over the top at times but it matched the outrageous nature of the characters and stories.

“Manifest” was the most movie-like score I have done in a long time. I loved the story and was given total trust in shaping the sound and style of the music. I would say that was one of the most rewarding musical projects I have ever done.

I also scored “Halloween Resurrection” back in 2002. It was so much fun to write such a big slasher score and it was a thrill to be able to be part of that iconic franchise.

How do you approach creating a unique sound for each show or film you work on?
I really try to find a somewhat unique palette for each project. Some allow me more leeway than others, but I do my best to try and give each project a recognizable approach.

Is there a genre that interests you most, or any type of show or film you haven’t scored yet but would like to?
I prefer darker subject matters. A high concept sci fi is always fun. A procedural drama is usually a satisfying genre that allows exploration of fairly interesting sounds in the palette.

What’s one piece of advice you would offer to aspiring composers looking to break into the industry?
Meet as many people as you can that are in the industry. I came up under a composer as his engineer/assistant. It was invaluable and I would still highly recommend working for and learning what you can from composers that are already busy.

I also found it useful to always try and mimic what someone is doing, maybe a step or two higher up than you.

What’s your studio setup like (DAW/hardware systems)? Do you have a favorite piece of gear or plugin?
The setup is constantly evolving. In the early 2000’s I had 12 slave machines back when computers were still 32 bit. Eventually it went down to 4 64 bit slave machines running Vienna Ensemble Pro with Cubase all running on PC’s since 2002. I eventually scaled it to 2 big slaves. In the last year I ditched VE Pro for a large mostly disabled track Cubase template. Recently I switched back to a Mac Studio single computer setup and really do love this setup. Both Mac and PC setups are great but I really am very happy with this latest computer and probably will be sticking with the MAC from here out.

I love Cubase and have been a big fan of their HALion platform sampler/synth. I also use a ridiculous amount of Kontakt based libraries and really enjoy most of the content that comes with Komplete. UVI is another company I think is doing a great job. Spectrasonics is another great company. I have many orchestral libraries, but Heavyocity libraries are probably used in every score in abundance as they do such a great job with everything they put out.

Can you share some insights into your process of selecting and utilizing virtual instruments to achieve specific sounds or moods in your scores?
Many of my scores are more or less a “Hybrid” approach in terms of pallets. Some orchestral sounds but a lot of more synthy textures. I have been making much of my own sounds and samples for years and continue to do so. I have even made a lot of custom sounds and instruments for “Manifest” that actually turned into a small sample library company I own called Sample Fuel.

Heavyocity has so many excellent libraries that I would categorize as Hybrid. Their NOVO string libraries are organic in a way that is so useful to add a human quality to mostly stagnant sample libraries. Symphonic Destruction is another that is incredibly unique. Without a doubt DAMAGE and Damage 2 are some of my main staples of percussion in every score. DM-307 is really great for me as well….I could go on forever as I use so many different libraries.

If you could have any virtual instrument custom-tailored for you, what would it be?
For synth type pulses, pads, revering phrases, etc… I have already created those with the Sample Fuel libraries. Those are more “synth” based. Now I really gravitate for more hybrid organic libraries to compliment the synth stuff. So a true Hybrid that contains both synth and organic samples and textures is probably mostly what I would wish for.

What role do Heavyocity products play in your work?
They play a critical role for me. I know I can always find something inspiring in every library they put out. I can’t be super specific on what libraries I will lean towards as it depends on the mood of a particular scene. The Heavyocity libraries have so much variety that you can use them in any style I can think of.

Do you have any upcoming projects you’re particularly excited about?
I really am enjoying my newest show on NBC called The Irrational”. It is a procedural drama but also has some playful moments to the score. We did 11 episodes for season 1. The show is picked up for 18 episodes for season 2 starting Fall of 2024.

Check out Danny’s full list of credits and upcoming projects at: DannyLux-Music.com