Composer Daniel Pemberton has long built a reputation on musical risk-taking, from his genre-bending work on “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” to the bold classical bombast of Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon.” But in Season 7 of “Black Mirror,” Pemberton found himself navigating two wildly different sonic worlds—each demanding its own creative extremity.
In “USS Callister: Into Infinity,” Pemberton returns to the world of the Emmy-winning episode he first scored in 2017, this time scaling up the sound to match the sequel’s expanded scope. As the first fully orchestral score in “Black Mirror” history, the new installment channels classic space opera grandeur while carefully threading narrative tension across two interwoven realities.
In stark contrast, “Bête Noire” represents a career-long dream realized: scoring an entire episode using just one instrument. Built entirely around the tones of a single organ, the score is a masterclass in restraint and atmosphere, perfectly mirroring the episode’s eerie minimalism and claustrophobic corporate setting.
Across both episodes, Pemberton’s ability to construct self-contained sonic identities is on full display—a talent honed through years of deliberate versatility. The British composer’s current slate alone includes a rom-com with Celine Song, a wild jazz documentary for HBO, and a family animation sequel from DreamWorks, underscoring a career defined by eclecticism and artistic freedom.
Daniel Pemberton spoke to Awards Focus about reuniting with the “Callister” team, convincing Charlie Brooker to let him score “Bête Noire” on one organ, and how he views the rising influence of AI on the future of creative originality.
Awards Focus: It’s great to meet you. I’ve really enjoyed diving back into the world of “Black Mirror” these past few weeks—especially through these interviews. I’ll start with a question I’ve asked a few others: you scored the original “USS Callister” several years ago, but what originally brought you into the world of “Black Mirror”?
Pemberton: It’s quite a weird one. I actually sort of know Charlie from years and years ago. Me and Charlie used to work on the same video game magazine, PC Zone, which appears in “Playtest.” So we weirdly have a kind of connection from a long, long time ago, because I used to be a video game journalist when I was very, very young.
I was always a fan of “Black Mirror,” and I can’t remember how the first one happened. They reached out to me for the first “Callister,” and I was like, oh great—I get the most complicated “Black Mirror” that’s ever been made. Why don’t I get the episode where I can just make some strange synthesizer noises for 30 minutes? Why do I have to get the most complicated musical conundrum?
But, you know, I love that episode. It’s really rewarding. The challenge is always exciting for me. So yeah, that’s how I came on for the first “Callister,” back in 2018. And a lot of the crew from “Callister” have become quite good friends. There’s sort of this weird friendship group between Toby Haynes, the director—I’ve worked with him a lot since.
AF: You’ve mentioned it was one of the more difficult episodes to score. I imagine that’s partly due to the space opera scale and genre mashup, but what made it so complex from your perspective as a composer?
Pemberton: Well, first of all, you have these two different worlds. You’ve got the modern, near-future world—Infinity, Daly’s office, the day-to-day reality. Then you jump into the space opera—this epic, over-the-top blockbuster kind of world. Both of those require pretty different musical approaches.
Trying to make sure they don’t feel jarring, that they feel connected… creating the sonic language that allows those two worlds to interact with each other—that was the big challenge.
AF: And did you find those two soundscapes merging more in the sequel?
Pemberton: Yeah. In the second one, “Into Infinity,” you can really feel as the film progresses, those two musical worlds begin to merge more.
AF: The tone also shifts slightly in the sequel. It feels less sinister but more suspenseful—especially with the survival stakes. Would you agree?
Pemberton: Yeah, I feel the second one is a lot more epic. We went bigger—huge space battles, different planets, and it builds to this crescendo. I think it’s the first time “Black Mirror” has done a massive orchestral score. We had a 70-piece orchestra on it.
It was funny—talking to Charlie and Jessica, they were like, “We’ve never done one this big musically.” It was exciting for them, too, to come to the recording sessions and see this big orchestra performing the score. It was about finding a balance between that large scale and the more modern electronic elements.
AF: Was that scale always your plan, or something you conceived after signing on for the season?
Pemberton: Yeah, I was always like—this looks and feels like a movie. Sure, it’s technically a TV episode, but the ambition and scale are that of a blockbuster. So I said, if we want to do this properly, we need to match that ambition in the music. And that meant a bigger production than most “Black Mirror” scores.
AF: And then you pivoted completely for “Bête Noire.” What drew you to something so radically stripped down?
Pemberton: I also did the episode “Bête Noire,” which in some ways is the complete opposite of “Callister.” It’s incredibly simple—it’s all done with one organ. It’s the opposite in every way. “Callister” is ridiculously complicated; “Bête Noire” is all about minimalism. I love that contrast, having two totally different scoring experiences in the same season.
AF: Let’s talk about “Bête Noire.” I think of it as a corporate horror story. What kind of tonal palette were you going for?
Pemberton: One of my all-time favorite scores is from “The Third Man” by Carol Reed, with music by Anton Karas, all done on one instrument. It captures humor, pathos, danger, excitement—all with this one weird instrument. It’s always been a dream of mine to do an entire score using just one instrument.
“Bête Noire” was the first time I really pulled that off. They had temped it with more traditional dramatic TV and film music, but I felt like we needed to stamp a stronger, more individual identity on the episode.
AF: Was the organ always your first choice for that identity?
Pemberton: We played around with these big organ chords, and I said, “I think I can do the whole thing on organ.” Charlie wasn’t sure at first, and I said, let me just show you. And then they were like, oh fuck, this works really well.
I love that it’s conceptually pure but also works dramatically. It gives the episode a very singular feel, and again, “Callister” is the total opposite.
AF: Did Charlie question it because of the concept—whether one instrument could carry it?
Pemberton: I was questioning it myself, honestly. The organ can do some things really well, but not everything. You’ve got to find ways to create tension and emotion without trampling over dialogue. For “Bête Noire,” it worked great. For “Callister,” it absolutely wouldn’t have.
AF: At this stage in your career, do you still gravitate toward certain types of projects or genres?
Pemberton: I really try to do different things all the time. What drives me is the chance to be creative, to do something new, or something that feels like me. I stay away from franchises and sequels—anywhere I can’t exercise real creativity.
I’d rather go do some weird, small indie film than a massive robot blockbuster or something like “Smash Fight 16.” This year’s a good example—I’ve got these two very different “Black Mirror” episodes, plus a documentary on HBO called “The Mortician” with mad free jazz, a UK spoof with Bryce Dallas Howard called “Deep Cover,” a rom-com with Celine Song called “Materialists,” a crazy Ari Aster film called “Eddington,” and “Bad Guys 2,” a family animated film. That variety keeps me excited.
AF: When it comes to something massive like “USS Callister,” how long does a score like that take you?
Pemberton: A long time. It’s very complicated. We’ve got the official Netflix team on this call, so I won’t moan about them getting a blockbuster score for a TV episode budget.
But seriously, I try to do what the project needs. Time doesn’t always make things better—but sometimes it does. “Bête Noire” I did really fast—it just worked, and I didn’t mess with it. All the time I saved on that went into “Callister.”
AF: Were you at least working from the final cut on “Bête Noire”?
Pemberton: Yeah, “Bête Noire” was pretty close to final. “Callister” was more iterative. And the big challenge there is that when you’re writing that kind of music—like Star Wars, John Williams–type stuff—it’s harmonically and melodically complex, and very frame-specific. If they keep changing the cut, it’s hard to rewrite. So sometimes it comes together quickly, and sometimes you spend forever—“Callister” was the latter.
AF: If you go back to childhood, what first sparked your interest in scoring?
Pemberton: Weirdly, it wasn’t film. It was synthesizer music. I wasn’t interested in music until my dad took me to a planetarium laser show. It had this crazy synthesizer music—Jean-Michel Jarre, “Oxygene,” “Equinox.” I became obsessed with Jarre, Vangelis—all these composers who were building entire sound worlds.
That’s what I try to do with every project. If you look at “Oxygene,” “Equinox,” “Magnetic Fields”—each has its own sound world. That’s what I aim for. “Callister” and “Bête Noire” sound completely different. So do “Materialists” and “Bad Guys.” For me, great score music can be heard away from the project and still pull you back into its world. If it’s too generic, it just doesn’t.
AF: Do you feel there’s a “Black Mirror” sound world overall that you need to work within, or is it a clean slate each episode?
Pemberton: That’s the great—and challenging—thing. Every episode is a new world. I also work on “Slow Horses,” and we’ve locked in a very distinctive sound world for that. So now, writing for that show, I know the boundaries. It took a while to build, and now we’re in it.
But with “Black Mirror,” it’s like reinventing from scratch every time.
AF: Just a couple of last fun questions. From the recent season, is there an episode you didn’t work on but wish you had?
Pemberton: Yeah—“Playtest.” It’s set in the ’90s British video game world, which was a huge part of my life. They even have an office that’s supposed to be the magazine I worked at—though it looks nothing like it. I used to work for Game Zone and PC Zone, in this basement office in London. No big windows like they show in the episode.
Also, the game in that story feels very Peter Molyneux–esque. I did some work for him, and he was a legendary designer. So that episode hits home.
AF: “Black Mirror” often explores AI and how tech can go awry. What’s your personal view on AI—not just in music, but in general?
Pemberton: I’ve used it a little just to experiment with sound. Creatively, it has potential. But AI is like the internet. I was online in ’95, and back then it felt utopian. We believed it would empower individuals, amplify different voices, take power from corporations.
That didn’t happen. It crushed individuality and creativity. It handed control to corporations and created groupthink. That’s my fear with AI—it’ll just unleash a tidal wave of noise and slop. It’ll be even harder for individual creativity to break through.
I just watched a Google demo where the humans talk like they’re on TikTok—overly upbeat and performative. And now AI is learning that style and reinforcing it. So we’re all pushed toward generic behavior. AI can only repeat what’s been done. A great example—when you upload music to Spotify, you have to tick boxes about what kind of music it is. Most of the things I do don’t fit into any of those. And if I can’t tick a box, I feel like I’ve succeeded—because that means I made something new. Something people don’t quite have language for yet. And that’s what I think artists should strive for.
AF: But then, the platforms haven’t built those boxes for users to find that kind of work…
Pemberton: Right. That’s the problem. You end up choosing between chasing the market or chasing the art. And you’ve got to find your way through that.
AF: Well, it was a real pleasure talking with you. Congratulations on all the great work—this season and beyond. Looking forward to seeing how it’s received at the Emmys.
Pemberton: Thanks very much, Ben. Lovely talking to you.