Type “Fil Eisler” into any search engine and a host of information regarding his time spent working as Robbie Williams’s bass player appears. However, the Czech born, English raised composer has, quite literally many strings to his bow. As well as a deft understanding of music theory, harmony, orchestration and conducting, he has successfully made the transition from backing group member to a fully-fledged master of his craft.
Eisler describes his musical style as “a bit of a mutt but certainly melodic” and taps into the influences of everyday life when formulating a composition. “TV shows, old postcards, fashions, even conversations with complete strangers; anything can trigger a sound in my mind. I am able to create a tune from that glimmer of inspiration.” However, this ability did not come over night and the change from playing the bass to composing was not a clear transition; more of a gradual learning process. Eisler completely committed himself to the study music as well as spending countless hours with private teachers at UCLA, California.
From there, he was selected in 2008 as one of six up-and-coming composers invited to the Sundance Film Composer’s Lab, Utah. Since then, Fil has gone onto score to films such as: the commended Humboldt County, J Van Tulleken’s BAFTA nominated thriller Off Season and the Sundance backed documentary Whatever It Takes. His list of credits goes on and as well as working in conjunction with composers Tim Jones and the Oscar nominated Marco Beltrami, Fil has written music for various films and TV shows, including: My Best Friends Girl, ER, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Thief and This Revolution.
“Every time I stand in front of an orchestra I think, ‘How the hell did I get here?’”
The multi-instrumentalist was first prompted to leave the stadium tours behind to begin a new chapter of his decade long musical career by a deep-rooted love of film. Eisler lists Apocalypse Now, Hard Day’s Night and Dr. Strangelove as his film scores of choice but praises Bernard Herrmann’s ominous Psycho soundtrack above all others. “The fact that he limited himself to just a small string orchestra made it even more special. It was a genius way of entwining emotion, popular culture and film with music.” He continues, “there are films that follow the Zeitgeist and there are films that are the Zeitgeist. That is all.”
Hermann’s work also closely adheres to Eisler’s philosophy to always remain sensitive to what is happening on screen. Therefore, the stronger the performances of those on camera, the easier his job becomes. The upcoming film Natural Selection, directed by Robbie Pickering and starring Rachael Harris is a perfect example. Harris plays a sheltered Christian housewife who sets out to fulfil her husband’s last wish by finding the son he fathered through sperm donation. “Seeing others push their abilities to the limit make me realise there are in fact no limits whatsoever, only those you impose on yourself.”
Vowing to face the endless challenges of the industry head on and with an extra helping of humility, Eisler is set to make waves in the world of music, TV and film. With Natural Selection and thriller On The Ice soon to be released, as well as creating the melodies for ABC’s hit show Revenge and Phillip Noyce’s up and coming Americana also for ABC, Esiler certainly has his hands full. But does he have the ego which often accompanies such a talent? The answer is simply, no. “Every time I stand in front of an orchestra I think, ‘How the hell did I get here?’”
Original published source: http://www.velourmagazine.com/film/fil-eisler/
