Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Freddie Wexler breaks down how “Beautiful Ruins,” Ashley Park’s most recent, fourth-season musical performance. Emily in Pariscame to be.
Wexler, whose name is The Freddie Wexler Company, which also produces television and film and serves as its own record label and publishing company, has been with the show since season two. The 38-year-old created the viral song “Mon Soleil,” which Park performed in the second season. Wexler’s company also served as the record label for the latest season’s soundtrack.
“My role before season four was to bring to life one original song per season, which Darren Starr would weave seamlessly into the storyline,” explains Wexler. The Hollywood Reporter. “Writing and creating a song for a diegetic series is a unique experience where the song actually plays such an important role in the story itself.”
“Beautiful Ruins,” like “Mon Soleil,” has gained traction among fans of the Netflix streaming series. Wexler noted that the song, despite the fact that it’s a ballad, which he says is hard to crack, is actually outpacing “Mon Soleil” in organic growth.
“Besides the song, and Ashley’s performance and voice, I really think a big part of it is Darren’s vision and writing, and then director Andy Fleming, his direction, ” says Wexler.
“Beautiful ruins” recorded during a 36-hour trip to Rome. Wexler credits his wife for keeping him going. “I know it sounds ridiculous, that I would think about not going. I have three kids, at the time, under five, and the whole trip was 36 hours from LA,” he explains. “But my wife said, ‘Are you crazy?'”
He admits she was right. “It was a whirlwind trip, but honestly, it was a vacation I didn’t need,” he said.
Below, Wexler explains how “Ruins” came to be and his relationship with the show’s creator and Park.
Can you talk about “beautiful ruins”? How much of the song comes from your own life, or is it what Darren tells you the song should be inspired by?
Darren called me one day to do an original song with this idea. This was for the season four finale. The setup was that both Emily and Mandy, so Lily Collins and Park, were newly single and a little heartbroken. In this scene, Ashley’s character is also working on a song that she hasn’t finished. As she and Emily walk around the room, Emily mentions something about the beauty of the ruins and it sparks an idea for Mindy. Darren told me all of this, and he wanted the song to bring hope and empowerment to those ruins. That was our initial conversation. It was clear that he wanted it to be a real power ballad because Ashley can sing a real power ballad. She’s one of the few people who can really just nail it. Then he sent me the scene, and I was able to put together some keywords and descriptors, and it was something like this.
Darren and I have a very clear communication, so after those two calls and reading the script I understood what he wanted. Elijah [Heifetz] And I worked on a whole bunch of ideas. When I collaborated with Elijah on one of them, in my gut, I felt he was the one. Sometimes you just know. “That sounds right.” I said to Darren, “Can you talk, can you?” And he was in Paris, it was late. I said, “I have to play it for you.” I played it on Zoom, and he loved it.
He always has notes, really good notes. There were some background parts that he found annoying that he didn’t like and structural changes. But, by and large, we left that call feeling, “Okay, we have it, we can make it better.” I’ve had the real benefit of working with Ashley on other songs, especially “Mon Soleil.” I have a great feel for her voice, where it fits best, the keys that work and how to really show off her dynamic range. I used them all to create “Ruins” in a way that I thought would resonate with him, and it did. I was a little nervous because I spent a lot of time on the production, which is a risk before showing the artist what he needs to sing.
Can you explain how you were introduced to the star and joined the show, since you and Park were friends?
Ashley and I were introduced by an agent we both share who just said, “You guys should just meet casually. I think you’ll like each other.” And we did. We hit it off. We had this amazing Zoom that felt like we were friends for ages, and we discussed various projects. Emily in Paris never came It was more film and TV, television projects that I’ve been producing, not just music, but original movies or shows. We were discussing things that might be cool for her, areas that she’s interested in.
At some point, I got a message saying “You’re going to hear from Darren Starr.” I thought, “Well, that guy’s a legend.” We said He said, “I want to introduce an original song for the character Mandy. [Park’s character] This season, and I’ve heard a bunch of your work. I think you would be a perfect fit for the show. Then at some point Ashley was like, “Hey, I’m the reason Darren called you.” And I was like, “Okay, thanks. That’s great.” But since then, Darren and I have built a friendship. Darren is now a very good friend. I have a lot of respect for him.
I went back to Rome a second time for the season four premiere and for the record am representing not only the writer and producer but also the record label for the soundtrack. It was unreal. Darren has truly built a family with her. Emily in Paris. The cast and crew and Netflix have all been very supportive of each other. It’s rare to see how close this group is to become. It was really cool. One moment that stands out was when [Netflix co-CEO] Ted Sarandos came up to me after the party and said, “I love Mandy’s song at the end of the season, and I know you were a part of it.” This is something I will never forget. You can tell the passion Netflix has for the show. That premiere was incredible. I don’t know, it was just like an obvious passion that everyone had, from the fans, to the cast, to Netflix. I just thought it was remarkable that the guy who runs this whole company covered this song in the episode. It was, I think, memorable enough that he made it a point to tell me, to mention it.
Credit : www.hollywoodreporter.com
