Mali Obomsawin’s Music for Oscar-nominee ‘Sugarcane’

Summary

Podcast Title: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart
Episode: Mali Obomsawin’s Music for Oscar-nominated ‘Sugarcane’
Release Date: January 28, 2025
Host Network: WNYC

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I. Introduction to the Episode and "Sugarcane"

In this compelling episode of All Of It, hosted by Alison Stewart, the spotlight shines on "Sugarcane," an Oscar-nominated documentary that delves into the harrowing experiences of Indigenous Canadians within residential schools. These institutions, predominantly operated by the Catholic Church, sought to eradicate Indigenous languages and cultural practices under the guise of resolving the "Indian problem." The documentary gained significant attention following the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school sites between 2021 and 2022. The New York Times lauded "Sugarcane" as a "must-see film," praising it for being "immersive and incredibly beautiful shot, like poetry," with a score composed by Molly Obomswin (00:38).

II. Guest Introduction: Molly Obomswin

Alison Stewart introduces Molly Obomswin, a Wabanaki musician renowned for her contributions to both music and film scoring. Molly recently released two collaborative albums: "Symbiont" with folk musician Jake Blunt and "Greatest Hits" with her bandmate Magdalena Abrego, performing as Dear Lady. Joining Molly in the studio is Alison Burek, a Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist, rounding out a trio of talented artists eager to discuss their work (01:28).

III. Molly's Musical Background and Recent Projects

Molly provides insight into her recent musical endeavors, highlighting her collaborative spirit and dedication to exploring diverse musical landscapes. Her work with Magdalena Abrego in Dear Lady and her collaboration with Alison Burek underscore her versatility and commitment to creating meaningful music. These projects set the stage for her involvement in scoring "Sugarcane" and demonstrate her ability to blend traditional and contemporary sounds seamlessly (01:28).

IV. Scoring "Sugarcane": Opportunities and Approach

The conversation shifts to how Molly was approached to score "Sugarcane." She explains that the opportunity arose from her debut album, "Sweet Tooth," which featured Alison Burek on the bass clarinet in alto. After releasing the album in late 2022 and receiving positive press, Molly was contacted by Julianne Noisecat, a writer she admired for her poetic journalism focused on Indigenous issues. Julianne sought a composer whose work embodied the tension between the Catholic Church and Indigenous ancestors, as well as a roots background aligned with country music and the rodeo culture prevalent in the plains setting of the film (09:04).

Quote:
"Your album is really living in this space of sort of the tension between the Catholic Church and our ancestors. And you also have a roots background. Like, you're the perfect person to score." – Molly Obomswin on receiving the scoring opportunity (09:04).

V. Creative Process and Collaboration

Molly delves into her creative process, emphasizing the importance of understanding the film's narrative and characters intimately. She spent extensive time with a six-hour rough cut of "Sugarcane," allowing her to immerse herself in the interwoven stories of the protagonists. This deep engagement informed her approach to providing emotional and contextual support through music without overwhelming the film's inherent complexity.

She describes her dual strategy: creating a sprawling musical landscape that complements the film's expansive themes while also developing specific character themes to honor the individuals portrayed. This approach ensures that the music enhances rather than competes with the storytelling.

Quote:
"I understood my role as providing the context in which a story is going to be told, providing the emotional context and the sort of visceral visual and I mean, obviously aural manifestation of the content, which is like, so heavy but also so expansive, so complex." – Molly Obomswin on her role in scoring the film (10:21).

Molly also discusses the collaborative nature of her work with Magdalena Abrego and Alison Burek. She refers to them as her "everything band," highlighting their adaptability and creativity in bringing her musical visions to life. Magdalena shares an anecdote about Molly's unique instructions, such as experimenting with different phrase lengths and imagining having two horn players in the guitar, showcasing Molly's innovative directing style (12:07).

Quote:
"Molly was having me and Magdalena experiment with different phrase lengths. And she kept telling Magdalena to play as if she had two horn players in her guitar." – Magdalena Abrego on Molly's directing style (12:07).

VI. Musical Performances Featured in the Episode

Throughout the episode, listeners are treated to live performances by Molly and her bandmates. Molly introduces a new tune titled "Odeyamon" (01:57) and later performs "Vatican," a piece inspired by the musical world of "Sugarcane." These performances not only showcase Molly's talent but also provide a deeper understanding of her compositional style and how it intertwines with the film's themes.

VII. Conclusion and Upcoming Performances

As the episode concludes, Alison Stewart highlights Molly's upcoming performance at Lincoln Center, emphasizing her active presence in the contemporary music scene. Molly and her collaborators express their gratitude for the opportunity to share their work, reinforcing the episode's theme of community and cultural engagement (19:27).

Quote:
"We're going to hear a tune called Vatican, which is inspired by the world that we built musically in Sugar Cane." – Molly Obomswin introducing her performance (14:01).

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This episode of All Of It offers a profound exploration of how music can serve as a powerful tool for storytelling and cultural expression. Through Molly Obomswin's insights and performances, listeners gain a deeper appreciation for the intricate relationship between music and narrative in addressing historical and cultural issues.

Transcript

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Among the titles in last week's Oscar nominations was Sugarcane, a documentary about the abusive treatment of indigenous Canadians within the country's residential schools. Parents were made to send their children to the boarding schools where indigenous languages and practices were banned. Many of them were run by the Catholic Church. Schools were created to, quote, solve the Indian problem. Between 2021 and 2022, hundreds of unmarked graves were discovered on the sites of various former residential schools. In its review, the New York Times said Sugar Cane was a must see film and described it as immersive and incredibly beautiful shot, like poetry and scored by Molly Obomswin. The result is both stunning and sobering. Molly Obomswin is my next guest. Hi, Molly.

[Molly Obomswin]

Hello.

[Alison Stewart]

In addition to scoring Sugar Kane, the Wabanaki. Yes, Wabanaki musician. Thank you. Musician also released two collaborative albums last year. Symbiont with the folk musician Jake Blunt, Greatest Hits, He's Always here, and Greatest Hits with her bandmaid Magdalena Abrego, who is also here with us. The two of them perform as Dear lady and rounding out the trio in our studio is Montreal based multi instrumentalist Alison Burek. Welcome to both of you as well. What are you going to start us off with?

[Molly Obomswin]

We're going to play a tune called Odeyamon. It's a new tune as of this, this June. Brand new tune.

[Alison Stewart]

This is exciting. All right. Thank.

[Magdalena Abrego]

Sa it. Sa it.

[Alison Burek]

You're listening to Molly Obamsewin. She's here to talk about her various musical projects, including her score for the Oscar nominated film Sugar Cane. She'll be performing at Lincoln center this Thursday. She's here with me now in studio. Where did the opportunity to score the film Sugarcane?

[Alison Stewart]

When did it come from?

[Molly Obomswin]

So I think it came from my debut album, sweet Tooth, which is one that featured Alison here on the bass clarinet in alto. And we've been touring it for quite a while after the release in late 2022, getting a lot of good press. And Julianne Noisecat reached out. Before he reached out. I'd never met him, but he was one of my favorite writers, especially on sort of Indian country news. Really amazing, like beautiful Prose, beautiful journalism, very poetic writing. And so when he reached out, he was like, I'm, you know, I'm looking for a composer for this film. It has to do with the church and the schools, but it's also, you know, set in the plains. Like, my people love country music and the rodeo, like, rodeo's really big out there. And he was like, like, your album is really living in this space of sort of the tension between the Catholic Church and our ancestors. And you also have a roots background. Like, you're the perfect person to score.

[Alison Burek]

This film going into it. I mean, it's such a sobering issue. How are you thinking about your role as a person scoring the film and also the storytelling of the film?

[Molly Obomswin]

Yeah, I spent a lot of time with the footage when it was at like a six hour cut, just like so many hours of footage. And that approach allowed me to really get familiar with the characters. I feel like I really studied all of the people whose stories are interlocking in what became the final cut of Sugar Cane. And so, I mean, I understood my role as providing the context in which a story is going to be told, providing the emotional context and the sort of visceral visual and I mean, obviously aural manifestation of the content, which is like, so heavy but also so expansive, so complex. And I just wanted to, like, be able to provide that kind of sprawling landscape that you see in the film in a musical way. So I didn't want anything that was going to be too busy. Right. Because there's so much complexity to sit within the actual story that's being told. So I guess a twofold approach of trying to provide a landscape for it in that way that allows the complexity to come from the storyline, but also to honor the characters that I was getting familiar with. So I really wrote character themes.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Molly Obomswin]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, interesting. So your band, Magdalena and Alison, they were the band for Sugarcane?

[Molly Obomswin]

That's right. Yeah. They were my everything band, honestly. They play in my sextet. I called them for Sugarcane. I knew they would do an amazing job. They're getting used to my weird instructions musically.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, wait, wait. Stand up for the mic.

[Molly Obomswin]

Oh, yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

You guys, what's a weird instruction she would give you?

[Magdalena Abrego]

Oh, man. Well, for instance, as we were setting up for this show today, Molly was having me and Magdalena experiment with different phrase lengths. And she kept telling Magdalena to play as if she had two horn players in her guitar. So that's one.

[Molly Obomswin]

I'm used to it.

[Alison Stewart]

That's very funny. You mentioned this briefly, and I Want to circle back to it? The film has a lot of silence in it. There's also sparseness to the music. How did you determine when to take. Not a back seat, but to take a different seat than a normal score?

[Molly Obomswin]

A different seat than a normal score.

[Alison Stewart]

Do you know what I mean?

[Molly Obomswin]

What do you. No. Can you explain that?

[Alison Stewart]

Sometimes. Sometimes when there's sparseness, you can still hear the music, but it's not like it's a score. It's like music in the background. I don't know.

[Molly Obomswin]

Yeah, well, I think a lot of it comes down, actually, and it should be credited to the directors because they asked for music from me and then they built a lot of the cuts around my music. But I think also, you know, this was my first film scoring gig. Really my first full length film scoring gig. And the first time that I was like the only creative voice providing material for musicians. And a lot of times. And that's why I called Magdalena and Ally, because I knew that we could do it more collaboratively. But. But I think. I guess I didn't really have a concept of, like, what's normal and not normal.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah, there was a learning curve, but in some ways, maybe it's. Maybe it's good that you didn't know.

[Alison Burek]

What you were doing.

[Molly Obomswin]

Yeah, I'm gonna try to internalize that in life in general.

[Alison Stewart]

Why not? Why not? Could we hear something from the Sugar Cane soundtrack? What are we going to hear?

[Molly Obomswin]

We're going to hear a tune called Vatican, which is inspired by the world that we built musically in Sugar Cane, but has been.

[Magdalena Abrego]

Sa. Sa.

[Alison Burek]

That's Molly Obamsewin performing a track from Sugar Cane. She'll be performing at Lincoln center this Thursday. Molly, thank you so much for being with us. Magdalene and Alison, thank you so much for being with us as well.

[Molly Obomswin]

Thanks for having us.

[Alison Burek]

That's all of it for today. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you. I will meet you back here next time.

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