“You Don’t Get the Opportunity to Use Enya Every Day” Says Widow’s Bay Music Supervisor, Toko Nagata

Music supervisor Toko Nagata talks to The Contending about Widow’s Bay’s memorable needle drops. 

You know you’ve hit the zeitgeist when you can’t hear a song without thinking of a TV show. And that’s just what happened with Widow’s Bay’s soundtrack this year, with Corona’s “Rhythm of the Night” popping up all over social media. 

“It feels increasingly rare to get a story that’s so original and so different,” said Widow’s Bay music supervisor Toko Nagata. “I just loved this world that [showrunner] Katie (Dippold) had created, and I was just very fascinated by the characters. I knew I needed to work on this because I need to find out what happens.”

In this interview with The Contending, Nagata reveals the stories behind some of the show’s best needle drops, including her favorite one.  

Corona “Rhythm of the Night” – Episode 4 “Beach Reads”

“I think we went through a lot of iterations for that party sequence. It was basically all hands on deck deciding not necessarily the tone of the show, since it’s like a fantasy sequence, but how much are we going to lean into the traditional sound of the island, and how much of it is this fantasy and finding a song where Patricia’s in her element?

I think the script read, ‘The party is at a 14,’ so the most fun song ever. Katie, of course, is super involved. Kate [O’Flynn] just did such a good job, and the dance was so amazing, and it was just shot beautifully.

I think in the end, Katie was like, this is the song. We went through a ton of different options, exploring different eras, different styles. Time is a big factor in TV, which is good, because we could go through options forever. Even when we get to post, theoretically, we could still change it, but Jen Bryson was our editor on that episode, and she cut it all together, and I was, like, oh, this looks so good, because you never, you never know what it’s going to look like until the very first cut.” 

Looking Glass “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” – Episode 6 “Our History”

“So that one, I think, was one of the only songs that was scripted. It feels timeless, obviously. The lyrics are very relevant; you know, Wick’s off being Wick. Kyle Reiter, our editor, came up with this idea that maybe the radio station is just one guy picking songs or records from his collection. It’s unclear whether Wick puts that on, or if it’s on the Widow’s Bay Island radio station.”

311 “Amber” – Episode 5, “What to Expect on Your Trip”

“The place is lost in time, and it’s separated by water and access to information. It’s a little behind. So, we wanted everything to be shifted back a little bit. I don’t really know how the music makes it over. There are obviously ferries that come back and forth. 

We wanted this gas station to be very 2000s MTV alt-rock. And I think that was initially what we had in mind for the teens. This convenience store gas station attendant seems a little bit stonery. He encounters a lot of mayhem. He’s also the gas station guy when Patricia’s spraying the boogeyman with the gas.

So I imagine he has a sense of humor and can hang. And then the episode ends on such a crazy note. Loftis is over the toilet and this insane muttering. Honestly, one of the scariest noises I’ve ever heard. And I think it was like a nice relief to come back to that song.”

Enya “Caribbean Blue” – Episode 8, “Your Baggage”

“The whole season, everyone was like, what does Patricia listen to? In Episode 4, she’s trying to make everything perfect, really projecting an image. Her high school friends are coming, and she wants to seem cool, she wants the party to be the best ever. I think she wrote down a list of every song she’d ever heard. Then, in Episode 8, she’s listening to [Enya] as she cleans out her closet. And so it’s like, okay, this is the song she puts on when she’s by herself.

I think our composer was supposed to score that scene, her heroic moment where she proves everyone wrong. And, you know, she has this triumphant sequence. We were going to use Enya again for the end titles. And then I think Katie and Kaitlin (Waldron), our post producer, just loved it so much. And so luckily, Enya allowed us to use another usage there. I think this is my favorite needle drop. I feel like you don’t get the opportunity to use Enya every day.”

 All episodes of Widow’s Bay are streaming on Apple TV.