Bobby Fischer String Cues

Very excited to share some of the cues from the film Bobby Fischer Live that I am scoring. After discussion with director Damian Chapa, we were able move forward with hiring some string players to track the dramatic cues.

'Big Match'
cue from the film Bobby Fischer Live
written and produced by Don Bodin



Unable to hear the track? Download the MP3 here.

Doo Wop

One of the things I love about creating music for media is that you never know what genre of music you'll get to work in next.

Writing in many genres of music is surprisingly liberating. After all, we are all rich, complex characters with more than just one simple aspect to our lives and working in different genres allows me to express myself in different ways.




"The Girl You Love"
written and performed by Don Bodin and Linda Abbott




The current film I am working on, Bobby Fischer, is a bio picture that documents the life of a world chess champion. The film spans from the 1940's to Fischer's death in 2008. In addition to instrumental underscore that I am creating for the film, music based on the popular music of each decade is needed as the film follows Fischer from childhood to his adult life.

Now, I am usually the last composer you want to hire to make "Sound-Alikes" - my forte isn't copying specific songs or themes. Luckily, director Damian Chapa trusts in my ability to create 'inspired' music that reflects the time periods and lets me run with it. I think of it like I am taking in the sound /language of the time, and creating something that could have been. In this case, one might even say I get to create across a "Phil Specter-um" of musical genres for this film ;).

I now call them 'Could-Have-Been' tracks. I usually only have about 4-6 hours to write, record, and mix the songs, but in that short time I invariably learn more about a style, music period or production technique that I otherwise might not have spent time absorbing.

Special thanks to vocalist Linda Abbott for a great performance as well as coming up with the lyric "You never told me the girl you loved, wasn't me."

Themes for Bobby Fischer Bio Pic

Working on the score for Director Damian Chapa's biographical dramatization of the life of world renown chess champion Bobby Fischer.


Got a few versions of the main theme written and wanted to share my current favorite.


CLOCK THEME
One of 5 possible main themes written for the film


Unable to hear the track? Download the MP3 here.




The film, which was filmed on location in LA, NYC, Russia and Iceland, follows the life of Bobby Fischer who is considered to be the greatest chess player of all time. He beat the Russians during the Cold War. The Chess match was historical in bringing relations between the USA and Russia to a more calm and cordial state as well as elevating chess to a much more mainstream and "cooler" status.

After his win, Bobby Fischer became a recluse and was exiled by then President George Bush Sr. As a result, Fischer lost all of his rewards, could not return to his home in Brooklyn USA and traveled in seclusion while spiraling down into psychological torment. He developed a strange rant of terrorist-like hatred towards America and Israel- even becoming anti-semitic even though he himself was Jewish.

Chapa has direct and stars in the feature film that spans the entire life of one of the most controversial historic figures in the game of chess