Rock Burwell, lead composer behind Obsession, crafts, layers, and brings an outside perspective into a score that immediately sets itself apart. The film has been a standout success, and his work is a significant part of why. Working closely with writer-director Curry Barker, he spent time crafting the specific feelings they wanted to evoke, with discomfort as the guiding goal. Throughout the film, the score builds an atmosphere where discomfort is inescapable present in every note, every silence, every shift in tone.

The score itself provides traits between warmth and dread, nostalgia and estrangement, even love and claustrophobia. Songs such as 'One Wish Willow' and 'Make a Wish' carry an almost tender quality that mirrors the film's theme of longing, while 'Go Back to Sleep' and 'Can You Sleep With Me?' pull that warmth into something far more unsettling. 'Love is in the Air' operates in the same pattern, a title that sounds romantic with a feeling that doesn't quite land that way. The score is atmospheric, synth-driven, and disorienting, built to keep you emotionally off-balance in a way that serves the story without ever overpowering it.

In Episode 43, we sit down with him exploring his journey as a composer tracing the roots that shaped his sound, exploring the creative process behind the Obsession score, and unpacking how his growth as a composer. For him, the goal has always been to create sound that is atmospheric and immersive while never letting the listener fully settle. The discomfort is intentional, woven into every layer of the score so that what you feel watching the film and what you hear are connected.

He’s an artist growing in real time and the success of the film is what happens when talent meets intention. Every cue on the soundtrack reflects a composer who focuses on the details and understands the importance of expression. His attention to craft, the precision in how each sound is placed and how each moment is built, speaks to someone who takes the work seriously at every level. With Obsession turning heads and his profile rising, the trajectory is undeniable. He isn't just on the rise, he's laying the foundation for a body of work that will resonates for a while.