A college freshman finds more than finals and dorm life on his mind when he joins the secret magical society known as the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose in Netflix's new series The Order. Following a first season filled with ravenous werewolves and dark magic, The Order was renewed for a second season by Netflix, and we caught up with the series' composer, Patric Carid, to discuss the eclectic musical arsenal he used to create the show's grand, atmospheric musical elements.

Thanks for taking the time to catch up with us, Patric, and congratulations on your score for The Order! How did you get involved as the composer for The Order?

Patric Caird: Thanks, and it’s my pleasure. Showrunner Dennis Heaton and I have been friends/colleagues for many years, starting in the ’90s on an NFB animated short entitled Deadly Deposits. Over the years, we’ve sought out opportunities to collaborate. We worked together on the SyFy/Netflix series Ghost Wars (with showrunner Simon Barry) and when Chris Regina at Netflix approved The Order, Dennis asked me to join him on the show.

When did you initially become interested in music and what did you listen to in your formative years?

Patric Caird: I started playing music—the tenor saxophone—in high school. I was lucky enough to have a great teacher who instilled a strong practice ethic. I took naturally to the instrument and worked hard at it, dropping out of college to play in bands and continue studying jazz and the saxophone independently. My early influences were jazz musicians (Coltrane, Miles, Duke) and 20th century classical composers (Stravinsky, Berg, Ravel).

When you set out to compose the music for The Order, were there any pre-existing guidelines to follow from Netflix or series creator Dennis Heaton, or did you have total creative freedom?

Patric Caird: Dennis and I discussed possible directions for the show based on the scripts. I was excited to explore some more electronic textures (having just come off Ghost Wars, which had a more organic, yet “modern” orchestral sound). Dennis was very supportive of this, however, once we got into making the show—as often happens—the material called for something more than we had imagined. Something more “grand,” more “epic.” We found that to capture the vastness of the story, we needed to go “full opera” (without the singing, of course…). In the end, I feel we arrived at an exciting blend of aggressive distressed percussion, a touch of synths, and primary, elemental emotional textures of a string orchestra.

What types of instruments did you utilize to create the score for The Order?

Patric Caird: I used processed electronics, percussion, guitars, clay pots, orchestral samples, pianos, flutes, and just about anything I could get my hands on.

Were you influenced or inspired by any occult, werewolf, or magic-based movies or TV series while creating the music for The Order?

Patric Caird: I like to research my projects and did a lot of watching, listening, and absorbing before launching on The Order. I feel that it’s important to understand the language of any genre, but in end it’s my job is to invent a sound to express and serve the emotional essence of the story. That’s what I hope to do on every project.

What was it like watching The Order for the first time and hearing your music through the speakers?

Patric Caird: I LOVE that part of it!! I live and work in Los Angeles and the show is mixed in Vancouver, so I couldn’t attend every mix. Kirby Jinnah, the re-recording mixer, and I have worked on many projects together over the years and he seems to have a special touch with my music (Kirby also mixed Ghost Wars). He always makes my music sound wonderful and finds the place in the mix where it can really shine.

Do you have a favorite musical moment from The Order?

Patric Caird: I LOVE the big Edward Coventry/Vade Maecum climax with Alyssa crossing over. It’s thematic and epic and theatrical in all the right ways! I also love the random clay pot percussion I made for Renee and her twin sister… it is such a small and unsettling sound… great contrast!

In addition to The Order, what other projects do you have coming up that you’re excited about, and where can our readers go online to keep up to date on your work?

Patric Caird: I am just wrapping up a horror score for Karen Lam’s next project, The Curse of Willow Song. Karen and I have worked together on many projects and she’s a wonderful collaborator with whom I can really stretch my palette to make unique and exciting music. A web series I’m very proud of, Save Me, with Fab Filippo and iThentic for CBC is launching its second season. The music I create for this show is very different from anything you might hear in The Order—I even arranged a choral version of Loverboy’s “Everybody’s Working For The Weekend” for the final episode! And finally, I love my collaborations with the Hallmark Channel and just finished a beautiful show called Paris Romance that airs in early May. You can find me and links to my music at PatricCaird.com and https://soundcloud.com/patriccaird (some of my favorite cues from The Order are up there for those who might want a little more!).

[Photo credit: Above Patric Caird photo by Michael Becker.]

  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.