Scoring Music For A "Socialist Propaganda" Buddy Cop Series - Joe Kraemer & "Comrade Detective"

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) With the current political climate, no tv show seems more timely than Comrade Detective - a six part Amazon miniseries that purports to be a lost Romanian crime procedural from the waning end of the Cold War. A raucous romp in the style of socialist propaganda, obviously this unique series needed a soundtrack just as singular.

Music composer Joe Kraemer (Jack Reacher, Mission Impossible 6), crafted the "step-back-in-time" score for Comrade Detective.

"Comrade Detective offered a unique opportunity to compose new music in the classic style of cop shows and movies from the 1970's and 80's. The bizarro concept of the series meant we had to do everything old-school, with a minimum of artificial sounds (i.e. synthesizers). This necessitated live musicians playing themes and arrangements that sounded authentic but also fresh.
Joe recorded the score with a live orchestra in Vienna, Austria, with a Romanian Concertmaster, which gave it a proper sense of time and place. He wrote a motivic score, with leitmotifs for the major characters, both heroes and villains.

He also incorporated various anthems and signature pieces from various countries around the world, as the story dictated, lending the soundtrack an ironic intelligence that reflected the sensibilities of the director, writers, and producers.
"It was a really rewarding experience writing the music for this series, and I anxiously await the opportunity to revisit these strange characters from decades ago..." says Joe Kraemer.