Michael Paraskevas on Crafting a Hauntingly Unique Sound for Marvel’s Agatha All Along

PH: Agatha All Along blends horror tropes from different decades into its score. How did you approach incorporating these influences without resorting to the typical superhero sound?

Michael Paraskevas: Early on in our conversations with our brilliant showrunner, Jac Schaeffer, it was abundantly clear that the typical superhero sound would not work for Agatha’s character or her coven. This was actually creatively liberating for me and Chris because we found so much room to explore and experiment with different sonic palettes in very unexpected ways.

Inspired by Kathryn Hahn’s fantastic performance, we established a dark magic framework that could reflect the many shades of her character—villainous, powerful, hilarious, tragic, duplicitous, vulnerable—you know, a straight up human being full of nuance and contradictions. She’s such a complex anti-hero because, as a default, she treats people like absolute shit but we still want the audience to really like her and feel emotionally invested in her story.

From there, having a strong witchy foundation allowed us to simply accompany the Coven’s journey through their many trials, each inspired by different cinematic eras. The incredible makeup, costumes, production design, cinematography and other visual elements really establish these distinct worlds—true-crime parody, Nancy Meyers rom-com, campy ‘80s supernatural horror, and more. So we just followed suit by infusing specific musical references and instrumentation into the score that could not only suggest these particular time periods but also become twisted and broken as the Coven encounters many struggles along the way.

PH: You worked with an unusual ensemble of instruments, such as 47 strings and a mix of processed woodwinds. How did you select these elements to create the show's unique sonic identity?

Michael Paraskevas: To distance ourselves from the superhero genre, right off the bat we said peace out French horns, trumpets, big drums, and any other musical device that’s conventionally associated with it. We set ground rules for specific colors to avoid and were encouraged to find unique sounds and eerie organic textures. In many ways it was a composer’s dream come true: get funky and make things “weird”.
This freedom to explore unlocked so many possibilities and allowed us to craft a special sonic identity. In addition to the strings you mention, our primary orchestra included a brass section of 6 trombones and 1 tuba/cimbasso. From this beefy low end we had a blast playing with some gnarly dissonance while also suggesting a grittier heroism without resorting to more traditional brass fanfare. This combination of strings and trombones also allowed us to experiment with pitch and tuning in fun ways by bending and sliding, or glissandi, between notes.

From drifting in and out of tune we could create some haunting textures and a creepy fluidity across the score. We additionally sampled several woodwind and string soloists playing their instruments “wrong” from which we could warp and electronically process even further. I love the diverse colors of woodwinds and so being a mid-clarinet player myself, we actually recorded my own mediocre playing and distorted it beyond recognition. We included other solo instruments like hammered dulcimer (pastoral, folksy), psychedelic guitars (Goblin, The Doors), retro synths (John Carpenter, Vangelis), modern production (Billie Eilish, Pop Smoke, BLACKPINK), and beautiful, ethereal vocals from Suzanne Waters, to evoke specific styles and
eras throughout our coven’s journey.

PH: The Lopezes’ songs are woven throughout the score. How did you ensure a seamless transition between the musical cues you composed and their contributions?

Michael Paraskevas: Having worked together on WandaVision and Frozen II, this is not the first time Chris and I have scored a project alongside Bobby and Kristen’s delightful melodies. We found incorporating “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” to be quite fun—I still regularly belt it throughout my home.

Integrating the song was a very natural and deliberate process because of how Jac conceived the show in the first place. “The Ballad” is this beacon within the story itself. It undergoes so many permutations and arrangements, dictated by the characters’ own experiences. Knowing where these tentpole moments would
occur allowed us to seamlessly weave the melody into the score. We tried to tease and build up the theme so that when the big musical numbers finally hit, we all feel a strong sense of familiarity. A great example is how we start setting up the climactic performance in Episode 2 from literally the very first shot of the series. Episode 1 opens with Agatha whistling the tune to herself while driving in her car. From here, the score takes over by continuing the melody on piano as she’s arriving at the crime scene.

Throughout the first two episodes, whenever characters suggest the Witches’ Road, we hint at the “The Ballad” so that by the time the Coven sings their incredible rendition to unlock the road, the pivotal moment is full of catharsis and wonder for both the characters and the audience.

PH: What were the key challenges in composing music that balances both eerie, unsettling tones and heartfelt, emotional moments?

Michael Paraskevas: The biggest challenge for composing any score, no matter the genre, is keeping it cohesive across the full duration of the story. Ideally each cue, each breath, and each note all have intent and purpose within the larger structure and remain fully supportive of what’s happening. In addition to navigating through many musical styles, the story runs the full spectrum of emotions going from comedic banter to some really dark places.

To accompany our coven, the score is anchored by prominent themes and leitmotifs, which are subsequently adapted to many different situations. Following the tradition of classic Marvel characters, we composed identifiable themes to serve as the melodic foundation for the score. Agatha’s theme includes a sinister playfulness, a villainous energy, but also despair. Because of their mysterious identities, Teen and Rio both have a sense of alienness and intrigue. Then The Coven March is a hella good time that evolves into this empowering anthem supporting these mighty women.

For instances where we don’t always need bold melodies, we created some unique landscapes—like the scary primal rhythms of Salem’s Seven and the relentless ticking clocks of the Trials—or different utility motifs that are simple fragmented phrases, usually only a handful of notes. All in all, I like to see these as different-sized paintbrushes that we use throughout the score. Whether big strokes or small, they all work to tie the story together on a singular canvas, no matter the instrumentation, mood, or genre.

PH: Remote recording at Synchron in Vienna must have been a unique experience. How did this influence the final score, and what were some of the benefits or challenges of working remotely?

Michael Paraskevas: The biggest challenge for us was not physically being in the room with the orchestra to hear the nuances and human intricacies of their performance. Recording with musicians is a dialogue, and like any form of conversation, we communicate most effectively when we’re together in person. While we were able to accomplish a lot just by beaming data overseas, listening back through an app and talking over Zoom does miss a lot of the magic.

However, remote orchestral recording has actually become a lot easier since Covid, and the incredible team at Synchron is one of the absolute best in the business. There are so many brilliant people that make this process as seamless as possible from Fernand Bos, Tim Davies, Andrew Asemokai, Matthew Feder, and Carlos Garcia working here in LA to Casey Stone mixing in the UK to

Gottfried Rabl, Martin Weismayr, and Tristan Linton leading the amazing team in Vienna. Despite the great distance, film scoring has become more of a global process. It’s pretty freaking sweet collaborating with people all over the world and there’s definitely a lot of magic in that.