Emile Mosseri on Tour, Fatherhood, and “Writing Music That Hurts”

Emile Mosseri on Tour, Fatherhood, and Writing Music That Hurts

Emile Mosseri just kicked off his tour for Tryin’ to Be Born, his newest album, and he is figuring out how to balance life on the road with life at home. At 39, this is his first tour since becoming a father and since being nominated for an Academy Award.

Mosseri’s name carries weight in indie film circles. His Oscar nomination for Minari pushed him into a different tier. Whether he is scoring a film or writing his own record, the anchor is always the same. Feeling.

Picking the Right Projects

When I started writing about Mosseri, I wanted to understand how he chooses what he works on. Scoring films looks like a dream job from the outside, but he is quick to cut through that idea.

“It is time consuming and stressful.”

So what makes a project worth it?

Roots

Mosseri grew up in Westchester, New York, in a house built for creativity. His mom was an architect. His dad was a therapist. Structure and introspection in the same place. He ended up at Berklee, where composing became the center of everything.

“We spent a lot of nights just sitting in our dorms, no girls around, just listening to jazz.”

There is something refreshing about the honesty. No tortured genius myth. No dramatic self branding. Just friends, a dorm room, and a commitment to music.

Choosing What Matters

He gets plenty of offers now, but he does not take everything. The filmmaker and the material have to feel real to him.

“If I connect with the filmmaker, if there is a humanity in their work, if they respond to what I do naturally, it makes a big difference.”

That connection worked for Minari, which earned him the Academy Award nomination. The nomination came in the middle of a pandemic, in an industry where awards season often feels like a political campaign more than a celebration.

“You have to campaign for all that.”

The best part was sharing it with his wife.

“We have been together since we were kids, and to walk into this wild, surreal world was really special.”

Film Music vs Personal Music

Scoring films frees him in a specific way.

“I get to be free from the agony of lyrics, from the vulnerability of it. It is fulfilling but it is not my own story.”

His own records are different.

“People’s reactions hit differently when it is your own record. The highs are higher, the lows are lower. There is no mask.”

That is why performing these songs hits so hard.

“Playing these shows is the most fun thing ever.”

Fun looks different now. It has weight. There is someone waiting for him at home.

Fatherhood and What Comes Next

This tour is not like the others. He is not just a musician traveling from city to city. He is a father counting the days until he gets back. Fatherhood shifted the stakes. The music feels heavier. The highs and lows are not just his anymore.

When I ask about a dream collaborator, he answers instantly.

“Derek Cianfrance.”
The director of Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines. “I love everything he does.”

With Tryin’ to Be Born pushing him back on the road, Mosseri is stepping into a new chapter. One defined by balance. Art and life. Creation and family.

He has always chased the emotional weight in music. Now the weight feels different. It belongs to more than just him.