Let The Music Play: Scenery Samundra of Motive Creative Curates Vintage Japanese Folk And Classic Jazz Gems With DISCO Catalogs

Scenery Samundra is a music supervisor specializing in trailers at Motive Creative, where she works with such clients as A24, Focus Features, Searchlight Pictures, MAX, Netflix, Apple TV, and more.

Her most recent work includes the trailers for the third seasons of Euphoria and The White Lotus, The Drama, The Moment, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden Of Black Genius), and Priscilla.

Growing up in the Bay Area, Scenery started her career working for independent record labels and artists and eventually landed a role with The Sundance Institute's Film Music department. Following that, she was hired by The David Lynch Foundation to produce the director’s Festival Of Disruption, a three-day event celebrating the films, music and art of David Lynch.

Her first job in music supervision was with the three-time Emmy-winning music supervisor Robin Urdang on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Scenery also worked on several projects for the acclaimed director Luca Guadagnino.

“I've always been obsessed with music,” Scenery tells DISCO. “I grew up going to punk shows in the Bay Area at 924 Gilman Street, eventually finding my way into college radio at KDVS. I just kept following the music path deeper and deeper and eventually learned that there's no end to it… I think that's what keeps me interested: the fact that music exploration is an infinite journey back in time, and no matter how much I learn I'm always discovering new things every day.”

On doing music supervision for trailers, Scenery calls the work “very exciting and collaborative,” adding: “We get to work with composers to create custom trailerizations for practically everything we work on. It's fun to transform songs in ways you never knew were possible."

For our latest edition of DISCO’s Let The Music Play Series, Scenery has curated a playlist of songs she’s enjoying right now, with a focus on vintage and contemporary jazz, folk, and dream-pop from around the world. Scenery also shared some insight into why she selected a handful of songs from her playlist, which comprises 10 tracks overall. Each of the tracks can be found via DISCO Catalogs, where vetted music supervisors can access hundreds of Catalogs via the Discover Music browser.

“I find the DISCO Similarity Search feature extremely useful when I'm looking for song alts, when we're looking for a specific tone, genre, or structure,” Scenery says. “It allows me to easily find what I'm looking for and quickly add it to a playlist.”

Music Supervisors, you can access Scenery’s playlist in the Discover Music section of your DISCO account.

We hope you enjoy her picks!

Niningashi – "Ameagari (After The Rain)" (Time Capsule)

Niningashi's 1974 album Heavy Way is the solo project from Kazuhisa Okubo, who was a Japanese pharmacist / folk musician. The songs on this album are so dreamy and pastoral with lyrics touching on rural landscapes, chestnut forests, village elders, tea houses and a nostalgia for an old Japan, where the wind is gentle, the sun is warm, and it's always about to rain. I buy a lot of records from Time Capsule, so I trust that I'll like anything they release.

SOYUZ – "Song With No Words" (Mr. Bongo)

Belarusian band Soyuz has been one of my favorites in recent years. Everything they record feels so lush and dreamy with luxurious string arrangements. Their music is a unique blend of ‘70s-inspired folk pop with some Brazilian influence too. It feels completely contemporary and unique all on its own. Mr. Bongo consistently puts out great stuff.

Dan Hastie and Terin Ector – "Crows Height" (Now-Again)

This track features Dan Hastie and Terin Ector from Orgone doing their take on vintage library music in the style of Piero Umiliani. Now-Again always has great stuff.

Felt – "Primitive Painters" (Cherry Red Records)

Felt's seminal 1985 single "Primitive Painters" features vocals from Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins). I'm a big fan of Felt and obviously Cocteau Twins and any Robin Guthrie-associated project. The Cherry Red catalog is full of gems and so extensive.

Astrid Sonne - "Staying Here" (Terrorbird)

Danish artist Astrid Sonne has also been a favorite of mine over the past few years, and I was glad to see this album gain traction internationally. Terrorbird always has great stuff, too. It’s so easy to find gems in their catalog.

The Cosmic Tones Research Trio – "A Sleeping Planet" (Mississippi Records)

Lovely spiritual jazz album from this Portland collective. I've enjoyed albums from another member of this group, Roman Norfleet. This album is very peaceful and meditative. Mississippi Records doesn't disappoint.

Alabaster DePlume – "It's Only Now Once (Elbit Systems Windowpane)” (Local Rep)

I really love him and this album in particular. I also love that Shahzad Ismaily plays on the track; he's an incredible artist who I recently saw perform with Merope. Local Rep also has a wonderful catalog and roster of artists.

CK Mann Big Band – "Fa W'akoma Ma Me" (Analog Africa)

Nice laid-back tune from CK Mann, a legend of Ghanaian Highlife music. There's never a bad track in the Analog Africa catalog.

Hozan Yamamoto & Yu Imai - "Yubi" (Mr. Bongo)

This is from a really cool 1979 Japanese Jazz album, which roughly translates to "The Devil Comes Playing The Flute" or "The Devil Is Coming While Blowing The Whistle.” Both titles are hilarious. This track struck me because it feels very reminiscent of a soundtrack to a sultry ‘70s film noir soap. In fact, that's exactly what it is: an original soundtrack to Kôsei Saitô's 1979 film Devil's Flute, which is centered around a fictional Japanese detective.

Sun Ra – "Springtime Again" (Now-Again)

Closing it out with the legend Sun Ra, who needs no explanation.

Your repertoire could be next. Let the Music Play is curated from DISCO Catalogs. To create your own catalog, get Discovery Suite.