The Ivors Interview - Julian Nott

Composer and film-maker Julian Nott studied music and politics and economics at Oxford University, before attending the British National Film and Television School. In 2009, he won the Ivor for Best Television Soundtrack for Wallace and Gromit (A Matter of Loaf and Death).

What does winning an Ivor mean to you?

I’m not one of those composers with masses of awards in my cabinet so it was a nice surprise!

What is your favourite film score and why?

If I’m forced to name one single score, which is a bit silly, it would be Michael Nyman’s music for Wonderland. It was a very moving film, but in my view it was actually the music score that made the film so emotionally affecting.

What is your most surreal experience on a recording session?

Part of the studio ceiling suddenly collapsing with a huge crash when I was doing a piano overdub a few yards away. Twenty minutes earlier the cello section had been sitting under the same spot so they had a lucky escape and I am unable to report a truly extreme surreal experience.

If you could change one thing about the UK what would it be?

The UK is a perfect place to live. I’m always relieved to get back.

How do you spend time away from music?

The hours are so terrible when you’re scoring so I try to make up time with my family.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

This question scares me! Longevity is hard to achieve in film and TV music. Fashions change. So I’d be happy to be in the same place as now.

Do you collect anything?

I do spend time trawling auctions for post-war British art, the affordable end, looking for things other people haven’t spotted, with no success whatsoever.

Was there a crossroads in your life where you could have ended up doing something different?

I’ve lived a life full of crossroads. I started off in the City, then worked as a TV producer and now I’m a composer. I nearly became a lawyer. Hopefully no more crossroads are on the horizon!

Which three people from history would you most like to have met?

Samuel Johnson, Keir Hardie, Julius Caesar, Lenin (I refuse to be bound to three).

Would you like to have been a rock star and if so, in which band?

I was always too ugly to be a rock star, but I would have liked to be in a band with great musicians such as Pink Floyd or Emerson Lake & Palmer, which shows my age!