Peter Peter explains his “almost vulgar” first drafts, Scott and Kip Easter eggs, and the intentional quiet of “The Cottage.”
 

FEBRUARY 18, 2026

 

BACKSTORIES

He Had One Night to Write the Music for Shane and Ilya’s First Time Heated Rivalry composer Peter Peter explains his “almost vulgar” first drafts, Scott and Kip Easter eggs, and the intentional quiet of “The Cottage.”

By Iana Murray

Photo: HBO Max

At South London’s Clapham Grand, in the first of the venue’s now-weekly Heated Rivalry club nights, something was eliciting feral screams. The party hadn’t officially started yet, but as hockey-jersey-clad clubbers filtered onto the dance floor, a recognizable needle drop blared through the speakers. It wasn’t a soundtrack fan favorite like t.A.T.u.’s “All the Things She Said” or Wet Leg’s “mangetout.” It was “Rivalry,” the first episode’s gritty synth symphony of an opening track from the electronic score composed by Peter Jones, who is credited on the series under his stage name, Peter Peter.

In Jones’s ambient soundscape, competition thrums through crunchy synths and heavy drumbeats, while the show’s tender heart floats across dancing arpeggios. “I thought my job was more low profile on this one,” the Québécois synth-pop musician says of signing on to write the music for the Canadian sports romantic drama. “I didn’t want to be intrusive in the show.”

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