018 — Ben's Plea

Back in March 2020, during lockdowns, I decided to pursue this lifelong desire to write music for film. To some it was an extremely hard pivot. But I felt like it was sort of a sink or swim moment and I didn’t have a lot to lose.

So I decided to do what I’ve always done when I was curious about a thing, I began teaching myself how to compose. I went all in.

I would pay really close attention to the music in the background of a movie or show. But in a lot of ways I always did.

At the time, I was watching Manifest.

I was sort of obsessed.

It was the kind of show that had so many mysteries and spiritual elements and complex characters.

I signed myself up as the ‘composer’ of the show.

I know it sounds weird.

But I would watch an episode and be so moved by the storylines and start writing for different scenes/scenarios. Even wrote music specific for some of the characters.

It was sort of healing for me.

I had just gotten back from living in a different country and then had to get surgery. The post surgery recovery was hard but I had this thing inside me to write music again.

So any chance I got I did.

I wrote all kinds of stuff.

Some of it I have already released here in this newsletter. Some of it are deep inside of folders in my 2020 Pandemic HardDrive.

Just recently I started going back to the beginning.

Back to where I didn’t have any ‘musical filters’ per se and I just wrote continuously without thinking too hard about techniques and the ‘should do this’ or ‘should do that’.

I found this unfinished piece of music I wrote called ‘Ben’s Prayer’.

There’s a scene in Season 2 of Manifest, where Ben (one of the main characters) had to make a decision about whether to save his wife, Grace, or his unborn baby. A decision no parent should have to make. He chose Grace and in the scene he’s explaining to her, who is unconscious, why he decided to save her. He’s asking for forgiveness cause it isn’t what Grace wants.

Then there’s a moment where Ben is asking the baby to pull through. He says he has faith that she will. And that she needs to fight to stay alive.

It’s really a beautiful scene.

And I was so moved.

So I started writing a melody.

If you’re wondering if the reason why I’m releasing this particular piece of music is so that you can go watch Manifest, then the answer is, yes of course.

But also I wrote so much during lockdowns that I feel like since the show just released its final batch of episodes, it's probably a good time to finish and release what I had written as sort of a way to say THANK YOU.

This show helped me hold on to my faith.

2020 for all of us was a very difficult year.

And for me it was this show and writing music that saved me. I hope you enjoy it!