Testimonials
"Dave Merson Hess is an extremely talented composer and film scorer. As an astute professional in many areas including film, animation, and music of all genres, Dave has the unique ability to instantly grasp the intended mood of a film and then interpret that mood into music. The score he contributed to my film was one of the most complimented and commented on aspects of that production. I would jump at the chance to work with him again and highly recommend him to anyone in need of a composer."
, Writer/Director of "Goodbye" (2001)
"I was in a bad spot. I had been working on my film for a year and a half. I had a deadline, no composer, and a tricky tone to hit musically. What was I going to do? Dave Merson Hess answered my prayers. He was fast and easy to work with and best of all, he took my disparately influenced temp score and interpreted it into a cohesive, innovative, and boldly original score of his own. A score that I am proud to say is one of the best parts of my film. For this I am eternally grateful to Dave and recommend him highly to anyone looking for imaginative and inspired music from a truly remarkable talent."
, Writer/Director of PRESENCE (2008)
PRESS for "PRESENCE"
"Haunting and evocative."
"Unsettling and stellar..."
"[A] down-tempo marvel of a film score."
"I'm reminded of Brian Eno's comment that texture and atmosphere now takes predominance over melody in contemporary pop music. The cues here are driven along by various beats which provide a sense of forward-momentum, while also underlining a sense of essential stasis, of going round in circles, that resembles the trapped situation of the film's lone protagonist....A sense of dread hovers over most of the tracks -- most palpably on the grinding electric guitars of 'Drive', but even on the 'Love Theme', in which electronic organ sounds and throbbing electronics seem stuck in a minimalist loop that soon fades into a whirr of ghost-voiced static. This is then, in many ways, a bleak listen, the open-ended nature of its sounds reflecting the empty spaces and slow-paced, dream-like quality of the film it accompanies: spaced-out and often rather melancholy."