Interview by Carol Wright | Photographer: Sabra Binder
World’s First Cinema, an indie rock project from the Los Angeles-based duo John Sinclair and Fil Thorpe, is making music that pushes the boundaries. With each project, they’ve experimented with their sound and proven why they’re a band to watch. Sinclair and Thorpe talked to NYOTA about their song “The Underneath,” working with Luigi Calabrese, and their goal of creating music for television and film in the future.
You two met at a game night, and the rest is history. How did you discover you both had this passion for creating music?
Well, it really started around our love for film and the music that goes along with it. It really started as a sync project – music exclusively for TV, film, and stuff like that. But we both discovered pretty early on in the process that we wanted to make a bigger project with a bold vision for the cinematic. So WFC was made.
I love the connection between your music and cinema. What are some of your favorite scores or musical moments in film?
John: For me it has to be the classic ‘big scores’ – Gladiator, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings. Hans, Williams, and Howard write scores that are equally as massive as the films themselves. There are entire worlds present in those pieces.
Fil: Arrival, The VVitch, and Tenet. The flavor of these scores are definitely reflected in WFC’s production.
Your latest release, “The Underneath,” focuses on not giving in to the darker parts of yourself. Was it therapeutic to write?
Yeah, it was. We like to focus on themes that give a little bit of a different perspective – something that’s not just about a relationship beginning or ending. “The Underneath” touches on a really cool concept that I struggle with all the time. Not giving into the weaker side of you is a struggle I think we can all relate to.
For both singles, “Freak Show” and “The Underneath,” a lot of world-building has gone into the artwork and visuals. Does creating a specific environment around certain songs help the creative juices flow?
Absolutely. I think it goes back to our love of cinema, too. A lot of these songs are meant to be vignettes, little self contained cinematic moments that tell their own little stories. I think the artwork and world-building all plays into that narrative.
Luigi Calabrese, who directed the “Freak Show” music video, has a unique eye. During the planning phase, did you two share a lot of your vision that you wanted Calabrese to bring to life, or did you let him steer?
We gave Luigi a framework to work off of, but he most definitely took our vision and ran with it. He did our previous track “Palm Reader” as well and completely blew us away with the production. I feel like every time we come to him with an over the top idea, he makes the impossible possible.
When I listen to “Can’t Feel Anything,” there are hints of “The Underneath,” but overall, you’ve taken your music in an interesting new direction. Is it essential for you both to explore new sounds and push your music to new places?
Absolutely. I think that is core to what makes WFC. Pushing limits here and there and exploring new spaces are what makes this band so exciting to us.
Could you ever see yourselves creating music for film and television shows?
Of course! That’s the goal. Blending the visual and musical spaces is a core part of the band. Bringing something large-scale to life on screen with an original score is a huge goal of ours.
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
Keep pushing and keep being curious. Don’t wait for permission to write ‘that’ song or ‘that’ production. And don’t be afraid to trash stuff along the way.
This story first ran in Issue 38: The Music Issue. Read more from the issue here.
