“Taxidermists do what they do not because they see death; they do what they do because they see life.”

Like many of you, no doubt, my only real exposure to the world of taxidermy were the occasional visits to natural history museums… and stereotypes. I grew up going to (and later volunteering at) Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences, which houses untold wonders and dozens of amazing full-scale dioramas. I can remember being a kid and standing in awe as I was eye to eye with a moose or polar bear.

Then, later, when I was in high school, I volunteered with the collections department and was responsible for many of the specimens and animals in storage. Sadly, many of those were in disrepair and falling apart – but that revealed some of the taxidermists’ secrets, and I found it fascinating.

As I grew up, however, the bloom fell off that rose a bit, and my conception of what taxidermists do fell into the realm of stereotype. Like many of you, my immediate mental image turned to someone like Norman Bates – a dark, brooding loner; probably mentally disturbed; and someone who enjoys playing with dead things.

In Erin Derham’s Stuffed, however, we see that nothing could be further from the truth. Stuffed is a documentary that premiered at the 2019 SXSW festival and takes an honest look at the world of taxidermy through the eyes of about half a dozen taxidermists from around the world.

The film is a fascinating look into a world most of us know nothing (or very little) about. And contrary to the profession’s stereotypes and reputation, it’s pure joy.

The score also goes against what you might expect a film like this to sound like. Composer Ben Lovett has created an uplifting soundtrack that presents taxidermists not as dark, brooding morticians but as eclectic, upbeat artists. Because that’s the truth. Taxidermy is indisputably an art.

And this film – and this soundtrack (out now from Lakeshore Records) – celebrate that art, which itself is a vivacious celebration of life.

We caught up with Ben Lovett to chat about his career, Stuffed, and how this film differs from his previous work (The Ritual, Synchronicity).

Roarbots: The music, on its own, is so uplifting, melodic, and light. Was that an intentional statement, given the subject matter?

Ben Lovett: Absolutely. It was sort of a mission statement of the director’s to challenge the stereotypes and misconceptions associated with taxidermy. I think what she discovered while shooting the film was a vibrant subculture of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs who were all dedicated to this art form based on a very deep and sincere love for animals. It’s that childlike spirit they all share that I felt was at the heart of the film.

Roarbots: What was the back and forth like with Erin Derham? Did she have a specific sound in mind for the film?

Lovett: Erin told me she wanted it to sound like the love child of Jane Austen and Wes Anderson. Or something like that. She knew she wanted something melodic and elegant, but at the same time full of charm and whimsy. She hired me at the very beginning of the process because she wanted to use the score to help inform the edit. Erin responds to music in a very specific way and didn’t want to use temporary music to build the cut but rather to shape the scenes around the score because she wanted to make a movie built on emotions – not facts.

Roarbots: There’s a lot of unique instrumentation in the soundtrack. A lot of instruments you don’t typically hear in soundtracks (such as acoustic guitar, banjo, the clarinet, bells, and probably a few others I can’t place). And it sounds like you made an effort to push much of that forward and highlight it in various tracks. Was there something about Stuffed that inspired those sounds?

Lovett: That was directly inspired by the tools the taxidermists use in their work. When I started to see footage, one of the first things I noticed was how they all used an array of tiny instruments and how everyone’s process seemed to entail a procedure of tiny, precise movements. I thought about the score as becoming this patchwork of tiny sounds and patterns woven into a larger musical quilt.

Roarbots: Is scoring a documentary much different from scoring other films? Did you have to adapt your process at all?

Lovett: Yes and no. It’s all storytelling, but there are some differences. I find there’s a wider bandwidth for the music to really change the temperature of the piece in a documentary. The score always has the power to shape the emotional experience of a film in any given way, but it can be really subversive and effective in a documentary. One could have scored Stuffed with a different palette of emotions and made it an entirely different film.

Roarbots: If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?

Lovett: I’m really just a writer who tinkers with instruments. I’m a boxer disguised as a storyteller. Maybe one of those things.

Roarbots: If you had to hold up one score of yours that best exemplifies your career or that you’d want everyone to hear, which would it be?

Lovett: Well, I’m as proud of this one as any I’ve done, truly. Besides, would I really be doing my job here if I named a different one? I’ll go with Stuffed!

Roarbots: Fair enough! Who’s the one composer working today that everyone should listen to?

Lovett: If there is one, I hope I never hear their stuff or I’d probably be inclined to throw in the towel. But a few I enjoy who are consistently making great stuff right now are Daniel Hart, Nicholas Britell, and Daniel Pemberton. Stuffed has a couple love letters to Jon Brion and Mark Mothersbaugh, who have been making amazing stuff for decades.

[Ed: For Mothersbaugh fans, you might want to check out our ranking of the scores of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.]

Roarbots: From where you’re sitting now, what advice would you give to your 10-year-old self?

Lovett: Brace yourself kid, the 90s are coming and things are going to get weird.

Roarbots: What are you working on now?

Lovett: The most recent score I did was for a film with Rebecca Hall called The Night House, which premiered at Sundance and is being released this fall by Searchlight Pictures. I also scored Jim Cummings’s new tragicomedy The Werewolf, which is out in the fall as well. I’m working on a Hulu show and a couple indie thrillers right now that will all be out later in the year. Other than that, I’m working on fixing the porch steps out back. Wish me luck.