Three weeks, no demo reel, and zero prior scoring credits, that's what Carter Burwell brought to Blood Simple after sound editor Skip Lievsay put him in touch with the Coen brothers. He built the score on piano, Synclavier and tape manipulation instead of the synth plan he'd sketched out, then bled in manipulated industrial noise and field recordings until the music sounded as flat and dangerous as the Texas dirt onscreen. That gamble bought him a job for life. The Coens have called him back for nearly every film since.
