The Violin in Bluey
In 2018 I got a call from my old pal Joff to lay down some violin for a new kids TV show he was working on. He was living in Brisbane, composing for various TV shows and productions, and I was scraping together a living in Berlin. Five years down the track, that TV show has become a global phenomenon - I’m talking, of course, about the show all your kids are addicted to: Bluey.
Bluey is an Emmy® award-winner and recently became the most streamed show in the USA. It has garnered critical acclaim from celebrities worldwide and has become a household name in many countries, including its birthplace of Australia. The show’s soundtrack and spin-off albums have contributed hugely to the identity and success of the show. My old pal Joff Bush is now an internationally recognised composer, and rightfully so I reckon!
Over the past five years, I’ve worked regularly with Joff and the other Bluey composers to add violin arrangements to the Bluey score, mostly via remote recording from my home studio in Berlin. All in all, I’ve recorded for over 80 episodes, 16 album tracks, a live theatre show soundtrack, and even appeared in a Bluey music video. Check it out below (yep that’s me randomly playing harmonica at the beginning).
It may sound like a cliché, but my favourite thing about being on the Bluey music team is witnessing the extreme talent and hard work of the show’s composers.
Joff Bush, the lead composer, is an old friend - we studied jazz together, played gigs, threw costume parties, drank jugs upon jugs of cheap beer - the foundations of a professional relationship. Over the subsequent 12 years or so we’d collaborate occasionally, until Bluey hit and we began collaborating regularly. Joff is not only a savant-like talent, he is also the hardest working musician I know. His success as a result of this show is a testament to the hard-earned experience he has racked up in his years as a screen composer. They say it takes 10,000 hours to make a master - I wouldn’t flinch if you told me Joff had doubled that.
Joff and me as university kids, jamming in a park in Brisbane
Besides Joff, I worked with some other wonderful composers on Bluey, including Joe Twist, Jazz D’Arcy, Daniel O’Brien, Ack Kinmonth, Pluto Jonze, Steve Peach, and my personal favourite and now collaborator, Helena Czajka. Helena is a Sydney-based composer who is as talented as she is delightful to work with. We enjoyed working together so much, we ended up creating our own project.
I’ve learned so much from working on Bluey. After dozens of episodes, with quick turnarounds, I learned a more efficient workflow and simpler modes of communication with composers. I’ve also loosened my sense of attachment to material - the priority is finding the right mood or energy, and elevating the composer’s voice. This means listening carefully to really hear what’s being called for. Throwing your best at the wall and seeing what sticks. Not being concerned if half of it gets scrapped or a different direction emerges. This has carried through into all my work, not just for screen music, but also working with artists in music of all genres.
My favourite Bluey episode is, of course, Rain. There is no dialogue in this episode, it’s all music with a silent storyline unfolding on a rainy day, in a tender ode to committing to the moment. When Joff sent me this episode to work on, he said, “go nuts, get in the sandpit and play.” Engaging in ‘serious play’ is such an important part of music creation, and funnily enough, one of the major themes of Bluey.
I’ll finish up with an admission: every episode of Bluey makes me cry. At the beginning of a session, before I start recording, I watch the whole 7-minute episode first to get a feel for it. Without fail – tears. I’d like to think that this was a ritual, the alchemy by which I could tap in to my inner child, get in the sandpit and play.
Youka Snell is a violinist, performer and recording artist based in Berlin, Germany. For collaboration enquiries, contact Youka.
