The Waiting Room is a documentary from Peter Nicks about one 24-hour period in the waiting room of Oakland’ Highland Hospital. The film touches on on how the patients (many of whom are uninsured), staff and caregivers deal with the injuries, disease, frustration and bureaucracy.
The score too is from an Oakland resident.
You might know William Ryan Fritch from his role as bandleader in Anticon stalwart Sole’ Skyrider Band, or via a slew of fourth world excursions under his Vieo Abiungo moniker. Yet his score for the Oscar nominated The Waiting Room demonstrates another string to his bow – an ability to craft subtle emotive suites of sound for cinema. The results are remarkable and affecting, even without having seen the film.
Fritch’ score is sparse, recorded in his home studio, and imbued with an uplifting feeling, a certain hope, and dignity, despite the dire situation of many of the films participants. In this sense it does what all too few scores do, which is communicate something different than the images, and in doing so add a further level of complexity to the film.
The music is deceptively minimal, modern classical music, pretending to be film music, with some intricate gestures that posses an almost pop sensibility. Utilising strings, piano, glockenspiel, cello, electric bass, electric guitar and various other percussive instruments, it’s clear that Fritch isn’ simply following conventions here. It really feels like a synthesis of his numerous musical preoccupations.
At times you can hear a tip of the hat to say Michael Nyman, on the piano based ‘Coda’, yet as the piece progresses Fritch allows elements of his Vieo Abuingo personality to creep in via some resonant glockenspiel and it becomes all his. Much of the album consists of big swells of sound, followed by gentle pulses that breathe through the music, providing an unexpected somewhat rhythmic base.
The reason this album is so good is that it shares elements of nu music and neo classical music, however he approaches the form with a pop sensibility, and Fritch is keen to drag elements of his other guises to creep in. A groaning bottom end on The Last Line Of Defense, the unusual percussion in the cost, the value of health, even the mischievous stomp of hold high your head, in which sweeping noisy strings threaten to and ultimately are allowed to engulf a gorgeous melodic run of first piano, then glockenspiel notes
This is score is really quite remarkable, it’s complex and emotive music that not only elevates the form, but allows Fritch to do so on his own terms, without losing his distinctive musical personality.
Bob Baker Fish
