CR 009: Evan Frankfort on Music, Creativity, and AI’s Inevitable Impact

The Emmy Award-winning composer and musician discusses his storied career, his collaborations with Liz Phair, and his passion for innovation.

The Spiritual Machines, photo by Caroline Malouf

Evan Frankfort loves music. Over the past 30 years, the seasoned musician has built an impressive portfolio of work. As a composer, he’s provided the score for dozens of television shows, including The 100, Swingtown, and 90210, earning a Daytime Emmy Award (for Guiding Light) and a BMI TV Music Award (for Rules of Engagement) along the way. Through his role as Head of Music for Hearst Media Production Group, he oversees the music for 25 educational series, including Mission Unstoppable and Wildlife Nation with Jeff Corwin. As an engineer, sound designer, and songwriter, he has collaborated with numerous artists, including the Bangles, Rancid, and Liz Phair. And as a performer, he explores creativity through his bands, the Spiritual Machines and Les Friction.

To put it simply, music is just something Frankfort must do. “I can never see myself retiring,” he says. “I could never see myself being over it. I mean, it may not always be music,…