{"id":88847,"date":"2023-08-29T16:30:23","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T20:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&#038;p=88847"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:37:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:37:05","slug":"white-lotus-music-rich-people-bad-behaviour","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/white-lotus-music-rich-people-bad-behaviour\/","title":{"rendered":"HBO&#8217;s The White Lotus: Eerie music heightens drama of rich people&#8217;s bad behaviour and emotional dysfunction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-max  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n                    \n                    \n            \n    <div class=\"cu-wideimage relative flex items-center justify-center mx-auto px-8 overflow-hidden md:px-16 rounded-xl not-prose  my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 bg-opacity-50 bg-cover bg-cu-black-50 pt-24 pb-32 md:pt-28 md:pb-44 lg:pt-36 lg:pb-60 xl:pt-48 xl:pb-72\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/hbo-white-lotus-1200x900-1.jpg); background-position: 50% 50%;\">\n\n                    <div class=\"absolute top-0 w-full h-screen\" style=\"background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.600);\"><\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"relative z-[2] max-w-4xl w-full flex flex-col items-center gap-2 cu-wideimage-image cu-zero-first-last\">\n            <header class=\"mx-auto mb-6 text-center text-white cu-pageheader cu-component-updated cu-pageheader--center md:mb-12\">\n\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold mb-2 text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] cu-pageheader--center text-center mx-auto after:left-px\">\n                        HBO&#039;s The White Lotus: Eerie music heightens drama of rich people&#039;s bad behaviour and emotional dysfunction\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                            <\/header>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"absolute bottom-0 w-full z-[1]\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 1280 312\">\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M26.412 315.608c-.602-.268-6.655-2.412-13.524-4.769a1943.84 1943.84 0 0 1-14.682-5.144l-2.276-.858v-5.358c0-4.876.086-5.358.773-5.09 1.674.643 21.38 5.84 34.646 9.109 14.682 3.59 28.935 6.858 45.936 10.449l9.874 2.089H57.322c-16.4 0-30.31-.16-30.91-.428ZM460.019 315.233c42.974-10.074 75.602-19.88 132.443-39.867 76.16-26.791 152.063-57.709 222.385-90.663 16.7-7.823 21.336-10.074 44.262-21.273 85.004-41.688 134.719-64.193 195.291-88.413 66.55-26.577 145.2-53.584 194.27-66.765C1258.5 5.626 1281.34 0 1282.24 0c.17 0 .34 27.596.34 61.3v61.299l-2.23.375c-84.7 13.718-165.93 35.955-310.736 84.931-46.494 15.753-65.427 22.076-96.166 32.15-9.102 3-24.814 8.198-34.989 11.574-107.543 35.954-153.008 50.422-196.626 62.639l-6.74 1.876-89.126-.054c-78.135-.054-88.782-.161-85.948-.857ZM729.628 312.875c33.229-10.985 69.248-23.523 127.506-44.207 118.705-42.223 164.596-57.709 217.446-73.302 2.62-.75 8.29-2.465 12.67-3.751 56.19-16.772 126.94-33.597 184.17-43.671 5.07-.91 9.66-1.768 10.22-1.875l.94-.161v170.236l-281.28-.054H719.968l9.66-3.215ZM246.864 313.411c-65.041-2.251-143.047-12.11-208.432-26.256-18.375-3.965-41.73-9.538-42.202-10.074-.171-.214-.257-21.38-.214-47.046l.129-46.618 6.654 3.697c57.313 32.043 118.491 56.531 197.699 79.143 40.313 11.521 83.459 18.058 138.669 21.059 15.584.857 65.685.857 81.14 0 33.744-1.876 61.306-4.93 88.396-9.806 6.396-1.126 11.634-1.983 11.722-1.929.255.375-20.48 7.769-30.999 11.038-28.592 8.948-59.288 15.646-91.873 20.147-26.36 3.59-50.015 5.627-78.35 6.698-15.584.59-55.209.59-72.339-.053Z\"><\/path>\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M-3.066 295.067 32.06 304.1v9.033H-3.066v-18.066Z\"><\/path>\n            <\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n\n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<p>This article is <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/hbos-the-white-lotus-eerie-music-heightens-drama-of-rich-peoples-bad-behaviour-and-emotional-dysfunction-211321\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">republished<\/a> from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. All photos provided by <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Conversation<\/a> from various sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/music\/people\/deaville-james\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Deaville<\/a> is a music professor at Carleton University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/narrations.ad-auris.com\/widget\/the-conversation-canada\/hbos-the-white-lotus-eerie-music-heightens-drama-of-rich-peoples-bad-behaviour-and-emotional-dysfunction\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The HBO series <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hbo.com\/the-white-lotus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The White Lotus<\/em><\/a> faced stiff competition when it was launched in summer 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It emerged into a glut of post-pandemic quality television programming, from continuing hit shows like <em>Succession<\/em>, <em>Ozark<\/em> and <em>Ted Lasso<\/em>, and aired the same year as a new crop of startups like <em>Yellowjackets<\/em> and <em>Only Murders in the Building<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The solid reputation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/12\/05\/1140224760\/white-lotus-mike-white\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">of <em>White Lotus<\/em> creator, <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/canneseries.com\/en\/online\/mike-white-the-atypical-mind-behind-the-white-lotus-the-satirical-comedy-of-the-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">writer and director<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0925234\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike White<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/mike-white\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">staff writer for <em>Dawson&#8217;s Creek<\/em><\/a>, writer of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paramount.com\/news\/content-and-experiences\/school-of-rock-oral-history#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>School of Rock<\/em> and also actor who played Jack Black&#8217;s sidekick<\/a> in the film) was sufficient to attract an audience and elevate excitement about the series amid a crop of shows about rich people acting badly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TGLq7_MonZ4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">show&#8217;s trailer<\/a> was released in June 2021, its strikingly novel soundtrack stood out. This could be heard in full on YouTube and Spotify before HBO aired the first episode that July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This unsettling soundscape of odd rhythms and unusual uses of instruments and voices persisted throughout Season 1 and 2, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emmys.com\/bios\/cristobal-tapia-de-veer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">garnering two 2022 Emmy awards<\/a> and a <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/tv\/news\/2023-emmy-nominations-list-1235666521\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">current Emmy nomination<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.socanmagazine.ca\/features\/cristobal-tapia-de-veer-its-a-small-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chilean-born Canadian<\/a> composer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm4423632\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cristobal Tapia de Veer<\/a>, who wrote the original score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/l2wj6lJtg_8?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"800\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Primetime Emmy Awards 2023 were originally scheduled to take place in September, but are now <a href=\"https:\/\/exclaim.ca\/film\/article\/emmys_awards_postponed_until_2024_as_hollywood_strikes_continue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">re-scheduled to January 2024 due to the ongoing actors&#8217; and writers&#8217; strikes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"canadian-composers-in-film-and-tv\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Canadian composers in film and TV<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tapia de Veer joins Emmy-winning Canadian composers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christophebeck.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christophe Beck<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emmys.com\/bios\/mychael-danna\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mychael Danna<\/a>, demonstrating the important role Canada has occupied in producing music for film and television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tapia de Veer studied classical music <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lapresse.ca\/arts\/musique\/2022-10-14\/l-automne-tout-sourire-de-cristobal-tapia-de-veer.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in Qu\u00e9bec<\/a>, and then performed popular music with his <a href=\"https:\/\/screencomposers.ca\/studio\/cristobal-tapia-de-veer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">band OneTon<\/a>. In the early 2000s, he had a Canadian hit with the song &#8220;Supersex World,&#8221; but then turned to working on music for film and television, creating scores for series like <em>Hunters<\/em>, <em>Humans<\/em> and <em>Utopia<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to Emmy nominations, Tapia de Veer&#8217;s creations have garnered him two <a href=\"https:\/\/academie.ca\/prixgemeaux\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Prix G\u00e9meaux<\/a> for best theme and best original music for the <a href=\"https:\/\/ici.radio-canada.ca\/info\/videos\/1-6994800\/serie-noire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ICI Radio-Canada T\u00e9l\u00e9 show <em>S\u00e9rie noire<\/em><\/a> (2014, 2016). The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.socan.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SOCAN<\/a>) has honoured him multiple times, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.socanmagazine.ca\/news\/composerswhoscore-cristobal-tapia-de-veer-nominated-for-a-2021-bafta\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in 2017 and 2021<\/a>, and most recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.socanmagazine.ca\/news\/socan-gala-2023-in-montreal-honours-incredible-talent-of-music-creators-publishers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in spring 2023<\/a> with the Outstanding Screen Composer Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"haunting-sounds\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8216;Haunting&#8217; sounds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tapia de Veer&#8217;s work for <em>The White Lotus<\/em> has brought him a global notoriety: NPR described <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/08\/21\/1029957360\/music-moment-white-lotus-composer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the show&#8217;s soundtrack as keeping fans talking and haunting people&#8217;s lives<\/a>. The composer told <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/artisans\/awards\/white-lotus-season-2-theme-music-1235631287\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Variety<\/em><\/a> White &#8220;wanted the music to feel like it was boiling under these characters.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Tapia de Veer&#8217;s admission, the theme &#8220;Aloha&#8221; provided the show&#8217;s Season 1 audience with a sonic foretaste of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.spotify.com\/2023-06-08\/white-lotus-theme-song-composer-s3-thailand-reveals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the wild stuff coming for the characters<\/a>,&#8221; as he notes in an interview with Spotify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In doing so, Tapia de Veer presents the themes and sounds that dominate the six Season 1 episodes. His characteristic blurring of the boundaries between music and sound design is clearly displayed here. The &#8220;Aloha&#8221; theme combines vocal and percussive sounds the composer calls &#8220;tribal&#8221; and &#8220;primal,&#8221; with bird calls &#8220;for an island feel with a spooky tropical depth.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"menacing-undertone\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Menacing undertone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This unsettling soundscape persists throughout the season. It provides a menacing undertone to a surface layer of popular music that tourists to Hawaii may recognize, whether it&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/07\/10\/1013361477\/the-white-lotus-hbo-hawaiian-resort-mike-white\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Louis Armstrong singing<\/a> &#8220;On a Coconut Island&#8221; or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_-lv7IjDsQU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rose Ensemble performing &#8220;Aloha &#8216;Oe,&#8221;<\/a> a traditional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/smithsonian-institution\/how-music-hawaiis-last-ruler-guided-islands-people-through-crisis-180971783\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hawaiian song composed by Queen Lili\u02bbuokalani<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>White Lotus<\/em> &#8220;Aloha&#8221; theme is no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaiimagazine.com\/on-the-trail-of-hawaii-five-o\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Hawaii Five-0<\/em> evocation<\/a> of island culture! For example, when Tapia de Veer uses the human voice in the underscore, it is never with words but rather in bizarre vocalizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These disturb listeners through their uncanniness, reflecting the characters&#8217; flawed underlying motives and emotional dysfunction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"renaissance-set-in-italy\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8216;Renaissance&#8217; set in Italy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If the first season stresses rhythmic elements, the show&#8217;s Season 2 relocation to Sicily brings out the more traditionally melodic side of Tapia de Veer&#8217;s creativity. Season 2&#8217;s main theme, &#8220;Renaissance,&#8221; features flowing piano, harp and (wordless) operatic voice. These establish the season&#8217;s European setting. In later episodes, this setting is localized by the use of the mandolin, an Italian folk instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, &#8220;Renaissance&#8221; soon connects with the first season by reprising the &#8220;Aloha&#8221; theme and then adding tension through synth filtering and a techno beat. Again, Tapia de Veer&#8217;s dark and disturbing scoring undermines the surface elegance and <em>politezza<\/em> reinforced by songs like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vulture.com\/article\/white-lotus-season-2-music-playlist.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Raffaella Carr\u00e0&#8217;s &#8220;A Far l&#8217;Amore Comincia Tu&#8221; for the arrivals, or Alan Sorrenti&#8217;s &#8220;Figli Delle Stelle&#8221;<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/tvline.com\/%20recaps\/the-white-lotus-recap-season-2-episode-2-italian-dream-1234894804\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the threesome in Episode 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"disconcerting-background-tones\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Disconcerting background tones<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Stories of treachery and infidelity play out in the disconcerting background tones created by Tapia de Veer and longtime collaborator <a href=\"https:\/\/soundtracktracklist.com\/artist\/kim-neundorf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kim Neundorf<\/a>, who in Season 2 has contributed to or composed <a href=\"https:\/\/soundtracktracklist.com\/release\/the-white-lotus-season-2-soundtrack\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">over 10 tracks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neundorf also worked with Tapia de Veer on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm7768260\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the TV series <em>Humans<\/em> and <em>The Third Day<\/em>, as well as the horror film <em>Smile<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/545098\/original\/file-20230828-21-g4hgip.jpg\" alt=\"A young woman sits at a piano with a microphone in front of her.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beatrice Grann\u00f2 plays singer Mia in Season 2. (HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>The White Lotus<\/em> Season 2, these tracks stand in contrast to songs evoking stereotypical love and seduction fantasies performed by one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/hollywood\/2022\/11\/still-watching-podcast-white-lotus-episode-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the local characters, a singer<\/a>. The initially na\u00efve Mia performs multiple times during the season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/npr\/130432947\/amore-italian-american-singers-in-the-20th-century\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most notably &#8220;That&#8217;s Amore&#8221;<\/a> for the guests in Episode 5 and \u2014 in a lesbian seduction scene \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bustle.com\/entertainment\/beatrice-granno-the-white-lotus-season-2-finale-mia-lucia-interview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a rendition of &#8220;Happy Birthday&#8221; reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe<\/a> in Episode 6. Tapia de Veer and Neundorf effectively subvert our expectations of well-known songs by placing them in the context of the disturbing musical soundscapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"next-season-36-thai-gongs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Next season: 36 Thai gongs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It will be interesting to hear what White and Tapia de Veer decide to serve up as the music for the next &#8216;White Lotus&#8217; season in Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Already, the composer has teased his inclination for including the sounds of Buddhist temples and for <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.spotify.com\/2023-06-08\/white-lotus-theme-song-composer-s3-thailand-reveals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">using his collection of 36 Thai gongs &#8220;to go deep with it [and] make it take a journey.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>__<br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\">Carleton Newsroom<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The HBO series The White Lotus faced stiff competition when it was launched in summer 2021. It emerged into a glut of post-pandemic quality television programming, from continuing hit shows like Succession, Ozark and Ted Lasso, and aired the same year as a new crop of startups like Yellowjackets and Only Murders in the Building.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":88944,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[1623],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-88847","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-expert-perspectives"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/88847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/88847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89045,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/88847\/revisions\/89045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=88847"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=88847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}