Ilya Efimov. How NucKids Project music is being created

18.08.2017

What is one thing you can’t imagine a performance without? Without music, of course. It accompanies the characters everywhere, emphasizes the atmosphere of the performance and, of course, enhances the emotional impact of the performance. And when we are talking about a musical, there is nothing to say about the importance of musical background. Music exists alongside the drama, and songs and choreographic performances emphasize the identity of the characters and add vibrancy to the theatrical creation. Ilya Efimov, a composer, has been creating music for the NucKids project for three years.

 You may have heard his music in our productions like Ask Rutherford and 21st Century Dreamers. And now, his new work is the musical Just a Summer Rain. Ilya’s main job is developing virtual instruments for composers and music producers all over the world. Also, he is engaged in writing musical accompaniment for movies and TV series. For example, in the TV series Golubka, Varenka, Monte Cristo on the TV channel Russia-1 all the music is written by Ilya Efimov. In one word, he is a great professional.

This is your third year with the NucKids project. What keeps you coming back repeatedly?

There is indeed a great story that connects me with the project. Three years ago, I called Sergei Novikov, whom we graduated together from a music school in Nizhny Novgorod, and he suggested that I come to NucKids. I found it interesting, because I don’t usually work with children, and musicals are a new genre for me. I said yes. And I still don’t regret it even a little. The positive emotions that children give me when I work with them, you can’t trade them for anything. Also, I feel very comfortable working with the creative team of the project. The director (he is also the scriptwriter and lyricist), the choreographer and the vocal teacher are great professionals. It is a pleasure to work with such a team. That is why I keep on coming back!

 You work together with Vladimir Karabanov, who writes the lyrics to the songs in the musical. How is the process of melody composing going?

 This process is very exciting. First, Vladimir prepares the lyrics. We have a long discussion with him about the song’s character, making sure it is properly integrated into the script. Then it’s my turn to offer him options. I may show him some signature tracks by other artists. We just take the structure of this reference and then modify it so much that nothing remains of the original. We grab onto something, realize what direction to go in and move on. The work is done almost in real time. The director sends me the lyrics, I try to fit them into the music, and then I send it back to him. He may or may not approve. Sometimes I say that, for instance, this part of the lyrics doesn’t fit the melody at all Then he tries to fix it. It is very good that we have found understanding with him, and by the third year of cooperation, we literally finish each other’s sentences.

Talking about the features of working on this year songs.

 We actually did a lot of work on the music this year. There are eight songs in the performance, and also many choreographic sketches, which required background music too. One of the most difficult songs this year was the final song. Because of the lack of time, we had to finish it on the very last day. Rather even at night. And of course it was born in creative agony. Vladimir first showed me a fragment of the verse lyrics, I sketched out the melody. Then we started thinking about the chorus. After we went through several variants, we decided to settle on the theme of rain. We changed it a little bit to make it comfortable for the kids to sing. But the chorus had to be rewritten completely, because it didn’t fit the new melody. In general, we had such kind of fun until 6 o’clock in the morning. And then the kids arrived and immediately put our ideas into life. In this regard, they are very professional.

 Another interesting moment was creating the song Tundra. This song is half in Yakut language. It talks about how hard it is to live in tundra and how hard it is for little Yakuts to get to school. According to the director’s idea it was supposed to be made in rock or even punk style. But I’ve never made such music before. Yet in my childhood I used to listen to a lot of Metallica, Kreator and other bands. And these memories from childhood helped me a lot this year. Happens, that during the whole life you accumulate some inner musical baggage, which you use in different projects.

Your main work with kids takes place in the music-recording studio. What aspect is the most challenging here?

 There are very different type of kids brought together within the project. All with different levels of training. Some are good in voice high registers, others in low ones. Some have problems with proper breathing, others with vocal technique. We can’t just pick three girls and record all the songs with them. We have to adjust, invent something, work with the kids on the spot. Plus, every year we have to cope with a kid’s studio phobia. I mean, at rehearsals they sing perfectly well, but when they get up to the microphone, they become paralysed. It is completely different environment here. Some of the project participants have never been in a studio before. There is a microphone that catches every whisper, large headphones, and lots of solo work. This year we even had some girls crying in the studio because they failed to perform properly. Together we calmed them down, helped them to overcome their fears and trembling.

Quick-fire questions

Favorite classical composers:

Bach, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky

Favorite film composers:

E. Morricone, J. Williams 

Favorite musical:

Oh, that I do not have. I don’t like musicals at all. We don’t have Broadway musical aesthetics on the project. All the music here is more jazz or pop. That is what’s closer to me.

NucKids in four words:

I will try to follow this year trend. Just a summer rain

Lev Suslov,

Specially for nuckids.ru