Mysterious Mader Enjoys Odd Music

A middle-aged man, dressed in a dark sweater is sitting in the lobby bar of Hotel Tammer.

There are no fans around to disturb him, although his list of merits boasts compositions for two Ang Lee films as well as for the Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize winner In the Soup (1992).

He uses the name Mader. He was born in France and he is 46 years old. All you can find about him on the Internet, besides his filmography and biography, is half a photo of his face. Why all the mystery?

”Well, why not? There is no special reason, it was my nickname when I lived in France in the 70’s. We just picked up names for ourselves with a group of friends, it was kind of dada and surreal”, Mader explains.

At the time he was living with his group in a 17th century castle near Marseilles.

”We were like the caretakers of the castle. It was a big, empty place, and we made a lot of music there”, Mader says.

Chinese Cuban music worked

Mader was selected among 50 candidates as the composer for the Ang Lee films Wedding Banquet (1993), and he also composed the music for Eat Drink Man Woman (1994).

”I met Ang Lee and he liked my ideas and my approach. It also helped that I’m a collector of odd music. I’ve collected popular music from around the world, and I played him Cuban music imported from China in the 50’s and 60’s, sang in Chinese, though”, Mader laughs.

The composer considers Ang Lee a wonderful and very articulate director.

”It was a great and unique experience to work with him. He’s very dedicated and takes care of even the smallest details.”

Competition extremely hard in Hollywood

According to Mader, it is now more difficult than ever to succeed in Hollywood, and he sees the change in music industry as one factor. It is also hard for the recording artists to land contracts with record labels.

”Companies want to make profit. If an artist doesn’t have an album that is selling well, it is difficult to get support. The bohemian spirit of the 60’s has completely vanished from the music scene”, Mader explains.

As a consequence, many artists have turned to film music to make a living. Mader says that 15 years ago, when he started, there were far fewer composers than today.

Indie film is not doing very well today, either. Because of the distribition system, it is very difficult for independent producers to have their films screened in theatres.

”Film theatres are owned by the big studios. Unless you gain success at film festivals and make a distribution contract with the studios, it’s likely that your films will end up left on the shelf.”