Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

Image: Piotr Nowotnik  
© Hayden Golder

Piotr Nowotnik's latest project is the original score for the Canadian documentary film, War Tails. The documentary follows an intrepid animal rescue team amidst the Russia-Ukraine war, capturing the stark realities faced by volunteers rescuing animals on the front lines of conflict. Deeply moved by the efforts of volunteers like Dan Fine and Kristina Dragomaretska, Piotr told us, "Their dedication to animal rescue amidst the chaos of war is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and our boundless capacity for compassion."

War Tails has been included in the official selection of a number of international fim festivals including the Seattle Film Festival, Dispatches of War and the Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival.

Marking the release of the soundtrack, we spoke with Piotr about his involvement in the documentary, his musical direction and approach to scoring the documentary footage.

War Tails is a documentary film that examines the consequences for pets from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Why did this documentary subject resonate with you?

I have been supporting Ukraine's fight for independence when it became more obvious to everyone around the world what Russia's true intentions are. My home country, Poland, borders Ukraine, and we share a common regional history. Whatever the consequences of this war, they will directly affect not only Ukrainians but the entire region, including our families and friends who still live there.

My family adopted a dog from Kherson, and I stay in touch with many rescuers who work in that part of the world. Animals have always been close to my heart, and this project seems like a convergence of everything that's important to me.

In Australia, the war often seems mythical, distant, and intangible, as if it takes conspiracies or epic events to trigger it. However, wars start because we feel too comfortable and do not think enough about how to prevent them. It takes just one man in a position of power, with his mental frailties, to turn the lives of millions of people upside down.

Can you tell us how your involvement with the project began?

At the beginning of the war, I got involved in fundraising for food and medication for Ukrainian defenders, civilians, and animals. One of the international NGOs, K9 Global Rescue, brought a foster dog from Kharkiv to Poland, and I arranged for my parents to look after him. When he left for his new forever home in the USA, just days before the Kakhovka dam flood in Kherson, they adopted another four-legged victim of the war, Julia. She had lost her human family in the bombing and was traumatized when she arrived in Warsaw. She is much better now, enjoying her safe new life in Poland. She has gained weight and stopped having night terrors.

Through mutual friends in Ukraine and Switzerland, I met Dan Fine, the producer of War Tails. The team had just wrapped up their recent mission and was working on editing the footage. The timeline was quite pressing: only about seven weeks to compose, perform, produce, and deliver the soundtrack. I love working within such tight timeframes-it boosts my creativity, much like strong coffee.

It seems that the documentary spans over two years of footage. What can you tell us about the scoring process for this film?

There was never supposed to be a film. Dan and his NGO crew went to Ukraine in 2022 to help animals-spaying, neutering, vaccinating, and setting up vet clinics. The footage just happened. They started recording on their phones and eventually realized the world needed to see this reality. We owe it to our fellow humans and animal friends to at least acknowledge the situation.

As such, it's not easy material to watch, especially the uncut version. However, Olha Byrledianu (the director) and Bryce Iwaschuk (the editor) did a fantastic job encapsulating the message without relying on gore.

Scoring the film was based on a few concepts I had when I first saw the footage: the main theme, the landscapes of war, the animals (how to illustrate distressed animals with music?), and the emotional aspects of the picture: what do we feel looking at the animals, and what do they feel looking at us?

I also play Cymbały Wileńskie (a Lithuanian version of the hammered dulcimer), Armenian Duduk, and Ukrainian flutes such as Tylynka and Sopilka, and I was determined to finally use them in a soundtrack. In the process, I added a rhythmic "trompette" (or 'chien' in French) drone note from my hurdy-gurdy paired with a Brazilian gourd monochord, the Berimbau.

The scoring was meant to be a fusion of negative and positive emotions, with an underlying gravity and heaviness reflecting the circumstances. The film is essentially a story of a journey, and I approached it technically in that way. In my template, I changed the instrumentation slightly as we moved through the timeline. Some instruments remained, carrying the echo of the previous scene, while new combinations were introduced, just like driving through the countryside: features of the landscape appear and disappear gradually, dovetailing and blending into each other.

You're known for your broad range in your compositional practice. How did you land on the musical direction for this score? Were there any themes or ideas that you explored throughout?

My initial ideas were heavily influenced by my background in ethnomusicology and world music. However, Olha (the director) suggested we try something less folkloric. I began working with basic harmonic and melodic ideas on the piano and celesta. The piano serves as a great foundation, acting as the glue that holds the other instruments together in the score. The celesta, with its metallic sound, symbolizes a certain animal innocence and our obligation towards them, reflecting Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's quote from The Little Prince: "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." The celesta's "toy quality" brings a certain sorrowfulness, even though it is meant to be bright and happy. For me, it symbolizes deep yearning disguised as happiness.

The dynamic nature of some scenes required constant tension, which can be wearying and tricky to balance. Using ostinato with unique combinations, such as a hammered dulcimer plucked behind the bridge and a mandolin, helped create interesting pulsating textures with a wide dynamic range, as no two plucks are identical in this combination.

There is also a lot of sound from string instruments played in slightly unorthodox manners, such as detuning, "untidy" intonation, and playing without rosin. While strings and piano persist throughout the score, it's the traditional lutes, dulcimers, and woodwinds from Ukraine and Eurasia that give the work its most unique qualities.

Listening back to the score, I realized how much my work was inspired by my eternal fascination with composers such as Michał Lorenc, Zbigniew Preisner, and Vladimir Cosma, even though it has been almost two decades since I last heard their music.

The War Tails soundtrack includes 25 tracks - what were some of your favourite tracks to write? Or perhaps, were there memorable scenes that you particularly loved writing for?

Many of these tracks came together spontaneously in the sequencer. I was experimenting with instrumental combinations, harmonic progressions, and time signatures, and many ideas were discarded before they fully developed. In this way, many of the tracks were born as improvisations before being refined into viable pieces.

I often work in this manner, including when composing music for theater, so I particularly enjoyed creating the main theme (the "War Tails" track). I decided to sit down at the keyboard, using a retro AKAI SG01p module chained with an old Roland SC88v, and write down on paper all the notes I wanted to hear, from chord progressions to the melody. It was a rather rudimentary and orthodox process of composing: a set 6/8 rhythm guitar, no experiments, no wandering around. Initially, the melody was written for a traditional orchestral flute. Although I had composed for the instrument a decade before I started to play it, it has become a new fascination of mine. However, considering the narrator's voice during that scene, I opted for a less sustained instrument.

It's hard to pinpoint one particular scene that made the biggest impression, but a few will stay with me for the rest of my life. One of those is a scene where Dan Fine is cuddling a tiny two-legged puppy and singing a lullaby to him on the side of the road. I had to wipe my eyes a few times before I could return to my desk. Another memorable scene is Krystyna, one of the main rescuers we follow throughout the film, talking about being aware that her life might end at any time, all while wearing a poignant smile. Needless to say, "The Lullaby for the Two-Legged Puppy" and "So Be It" are track titles inspired by these moments.

There is, of course, more to say, but I am mindful of the word count.

How was War Tails different from other documentary scoring projects you've done in the past? Has your approach to scoring evolved over the years?

I have scored shorter pieces in the past, but this was my longest documentary to date. It was a challenge, but also an opportunity to explore and test my concepts. In non-technical terms, it was very liberating to work on a non-commercial, NGO-based piece with no monetary obligations or expectations.

I decided to donate my music to the Ukraine War Animals Relief Fund (UWARF) and publish the soundtrack through a separate aggregator to ensure all royalties go to Ukrainian rescuers. Additionally, I set up a Bandcamp page where listeners can purchase the music, with all proceeds going to Krystyna's shelter in Odesa.

The most important aspect of this project was its meaning, purpose, and the message it conveys. Participating in this brilliant team effort was a very healthy process for my soul.

What projects are you working on currently?

Currently, I am preparing for a performance with Polish musicians and an amazing Kyivan vocalist, July Vitraniuk. Although we worked together remotely in 2023, this will be our first time meeting on stage. Our performance will be a fusion of jazz, folklore, classical, and improvised instrumental music, featuring instruments from around the world-from China, through Europe, to Brazil.

Additionally, I am working on a long-term ongoing project called Enso, which encapsulates all my musical connections, friendships, and experiences from the past decade. The project is partially completed, and I hope to see it fully realized within the next year or so. However, it often takes a back seat when more pressing projects arise.

The War Tails Soundtrack is now available to listen and purchase on Bandcamp. All purchases via Bandcamp will directly aid the shelter A Place in the Sun (Місце Під Сонцем) in Odesa, Ukraine.

The album is also available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music.