Killing Eve: Fort Myers composer Kat Epple has musical moment on hit TV show
Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press Published 12:39 p.m. ET May 1, 2020 | Updated 1:57 p.m. ET May 1, 2020
A promotional photo for Killing Eve. (Photo: Courtesy of Jack Garner)
Kat Epple is an Emmy Award-winning flutist, keyboardist and composer. She lives in Fort Myers. (Photo: Ed Chappell)
Fort Myers musician Kat Epple was already a fan of the hit TV show “Killing Eve.” Now she gets to be a part of it, too.
One of Epple’s songs, “Flight of the Raven,” appears in Sunday’s episode of the British spy thriller. It airs at 9 p.m. on AMC and BBC America.
Just don’t expect her signature instrument, the flute. It’s all synthesizer and Epple’s voice.
The song comes from the Emmy Award winner’s first album, 1979’s “Dragon Wings and Wizard Tales” with the duo Emerald Web.
“The music is very mysterious and fantasy-based,” she says.
The 96-second song is used in a scene with MI6 boss Carolyn Martens (played by Fiona Shaw). Carolyn, still dealing with a death, goes upstairs to her bedroom after an argument with her daughter.
“Carolyn is very dry and funny, but we see her at her lowest in this episode,” says the show’s music supervisor, Catherine Grieves. “We know that she isn’t coping.”
Grieves says they needed a song that would bring out Carolyn’s emotion without being too saccharine. Composer David Holmes had the Emerald Web album and suggested using the song “Flight of the Raven.”
“It has a lightness and otherworldly feel to it,” Grieves says, “and has the psychedelic sound that we love.”
Epple recorded the song with her late husband and Emerald Web bandmate, Bob Stohl, who died about 30 years ago.
The fantasy-themed lyrics describe a dark bird silently flying over a land of dreams and crystal waters. “It’s very visual,” Epple says. “I think most of my music is very visual.”
The season 3 premiere of “Killing Eve” drew 1.06 million same-day viewers last month, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The show’s already been renewed for a fourth season.
The comedy-drama follows the mutual obsession between a stylish, psychopathic assassin (Jodie Comer) and the British intelligence investigator trying to catch her (Sandra Oh).
Epple hasn’t seen Sunday’s episode yet. The show’s producers are careful about leaks and spoilers, she says.
She was a fan of the show long before getting involved in its music, though.
“I really love how cool and hip the show is,” she says. “And I love the production, the way it’s shot. And the score is really amazing.”
Epple is an Emmy Award-winning flutist and composer who’s recorded 35 albums and composed music for TV and film scores. She also performs live in Southwest Florida, including with the band Sonic Combine.
Her music has been featured on documentaries, PBS programs, the soap operas “Guiding Light” and “Another World,” and the reality TV shows “Basketball Wives,” “Hollywood Love Story” and “Making It.”
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Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Eve (Sandra Oh) on "Killing Eve" (Photo: BBC America)