Interview with producer Doug Krause.
 

How did you get involved in the Baby's Breath project?

The screenplay for "Baby's Breath" was written by my brother Matthew Krause. It's a story of murder, mystery , romance, and the supernatural all blended into an intriguing tale. I think it's a great story, some of the best writing Matthew has produced. He and his wife, Laurin, believed so strongly in the story that they decided to produce it themselves. They asked me if I would be interested in writing the music, and of course I was. Matthew and I had several conversations about the music, but they ended up giving me a great deal of freedom in deciding musical treatment. With all the wonderful elements in the story to work with, I came up with some music of which I'm very proud.

How did you come to the idea of recording a Baby's Breath soundtrack album?

It's pretty normal to produce a soundtrack album for a movie. This one is a little different in that I've included some music which didn't make it into the final cut of the film. All of the music was inspired by the story and the filming, but as is so often the case, the final cut couldn't accomodate everything I'd written. I felt like some of this music deserved to be on the CD where I could share it with others. I really doubt most people who have seen the movie would know for sure which tracks weren't in the movie, they all fit the mood of the story so well.

Which is?

The moods range from romance to horror, from suspense to mystery. I had so much fun coming up with ideas that were consistent but followed the mood of the moment or progressed the action, and through it all I had to try to maintain a sense of the underlying supernatural element.

How did you accomplish that?

I'm interested in all styles of music and music composition, but I'm particularly drawn to thematic development. I like working with recurring themes, not really leitmotif as with Wagner, but ideas based on themes which represent moods if not specific characters. Of course, there are more musical things happening than just that. For example, I placed six original songs in the movie as well as some jazzy and electronic tracks.

How did you choose the songs for Baby's Breath?

I wanted to present some different styles of pop songs, but I wanted something about each to relate to the action while standing alone as songs. I had discussions with Matthew and Laurin, of course, and came up with several ideas, but in the end they went along with my first choices. All of the tunes reflect in some way the action on screen at the time, maybe not directly, but the connecton is there. I had a lot of fun with the tunes and really enjoyed the opportunity to present Salem singing a couple of them. She co-wrote "We've Got It All" which is used in an ironic way playing up the sense of comfort the main characters feel on the verge of the murder which turns everything upside down.

You mentioned different styles of pop songs. Could you be more specific?

The songs exhibit styles from rock to country to Latin, even jazz. I've been influenced by so many styles in my life, I like to take a little from everything. Still, they are all consistent, I'm sure anyone listening to them would see how they belonging together. It's just my style of pop music. One tune might lean a little more toward country, another toward Latin/jazz. The most important thing to me is that I try to write good songs, and if someone likes one of them, I'm pretty sure they'll enjoy them all.

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