Discussing the Quarry Season One Finale With Composer Kris Dirksen

Quarry is an American crime drama television series based on the novels of Max Allan Collins. It is the story of Mac Conway, a Marine who returns home to Memphis from Vietnam in 1972 and finds himself shunned by those he loves and demonized by the public. As he struggles to cope with his experiences at war, Conway is drawn into a network of killing and corruption that spans the length of the Mississippi River.

With the first season of the show coming to a close this Friday at 10/9C on Cinemax we decided to speak with the show’s composer Kris Dirksen about the finale and some of his favorite moments of season one. Read the full interview below.

-What do you think fans are going to come away saying after watching the finale?

I hope that they’ll walk away with a bit of satisfaction knowing some of their questions have been answered. I don’t know that I can say much more than that without giving away the plot points.

-If there were to be a season 2 of the show, what would you like to do different musically?

The whole idea for the score was to surround myself with instruments and recording gear that would have existed in a Memphis studio in 1972. To that end it gave me a chance to buy a bunch of old gear - tape machines, Hammond organs, Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos and many more. The score in season one was very minimal in its usage so I felt like I only got to scratch the surface of what those machines were capable of. In season one I kept looking for a way to play with brass and horn sounds in a unique way but couldn’t find the right spot to fit them in. It still feels like there’s plenty of territory to explore based on the sound that was established in the first season.

-Quarry never lets viewers get too cozy, there are always twists. Whenever you are watching each episode for the first time do you also get surprised still?

Of course, I try and keep those first impressions with me as long as I can when working on the score. You can end up watching scenes hundreds of times as you work through the episode and can start to lose focus. Usually your first idea is the most honest.

-I know you can’t give away too much but what would you like to see happen in the Season 1 finale?

I’d like to know what the opening scene from the first episode means and how Mac arrived at that moment in time.

-Which character has been your favorite to watch progress over the season?

Buddy was a fun character to watch and the fans seem to be digging Damon Herriman’s great performance. Hopefully we’ll see more of Buddy and his Mom in season two!

-What has been your favorite episode musically this season and why?

The pilot and the finale were definitely the most score heavy of the season and very much connected musically. Some of the sounds and themes related to Mac’s PTSD were initially teased in the pilot, and I had a chance to dig into and build those thematic elements over the course of eight episodes in what was hopefully a cohesive way. The music we hear in the scene where Mac pursues Cliff Williams back to his house was the piece that really set the tone for the rest of the score.

You can learn more about Kris at http://www.krisdirksen.com/.