How do you proceed when you’re commissioned to work on movies soundtrack? Could you describe your workflow?
Movie soundtracks are an interesting art form in and of themselves. Truthfully the best soundtracks in the world are not just collections of songs. They have to bring the story to life, they have to dive into not just the film, or what is happening on screen, but the intent of the characters themselves. When I’m asked to work on film soundtracks, it’s my job to pick instruments, and pick styles that work to make you feel something for the people in the story. It is my goal for a movie soundtrack to live on, outside of the film, and out of context. If it can still make you feel something, then it did its job. Thousands of people have written me to say that the movie soundtrack work I do, inspires them above and beyond the movie. I can’t ask for more than that. I put my heart into everything I do, and movie soundtracks in particular are really fun to craft. I love picking artists, I love augmenting and remixing music, I love putting together an unexpected collection of music. Theme and cohesion are my religion when I’m crafting a soundtrack. I appreciate the art of commercialism as well, so I find it a fun challenge to mix and match artists that will help to make the soundtrack a success or a cult-classic.
What project do you enjoy the most
I enjoy video game work a lot. You get much more freedom as a composer when working on video game soundtracks. In my opinion, video games are the most advanced form of storytelling today, and a good soundtrack helps you immerse yourself in that world, in a way that film and tv series soundtrack work just cannot. Video game music has come a long way, and It’s been nice to be a part of that history and progress.
Which composer inspired you in your style?
I think naturally, the top composers that people can relate my work to being influenced by are Sergei Rachmoninov, Danny Elfman, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Philip Glass and Aphex Twin. However, I listen to music you wouldn’t expect. I love pop music. I love most music, even unpopular music. 🙂
What are your future projects ?
I’m currently working on a soundtrack for the creator of The Walking Dead. He’s working on a new project right now, and I’m honored to have been chosen as the composer for it. I wish I could say more about it. It’s going to rock though!
I’m also working on an electronic project called Darkly Ever After, which I’ll be singing on. It will be an album of amazing music. I am so excited to be collaborating with friend and fellow composer David L Puga on this project. He’s absolutely amazing. We’re excited. 🙂 It’s been many years in the making. We’ve finally made it a reality, and it’s a dream come true for me. We’ll have more to announce on this soon.
I’ve been composing music for an exciting new CG/Music project, which will be a follow-up to my Synaesthesia series. But this time, I’m collaborating with one artist, a dear friend of mine and world renowned CG painter, Alex Ruiz! A truly kindred spirit. How cool is it that I get to work with people that I adore? I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to work with some of the worlds best talented artists.
In general, I’m always juggling a bunch of different projects and commissions and an even higher amount of untitled, unannounced and secret projects. Stay tuned. You never know what I’ll announce next. The pattern for me, is that there is no pattern. Always expect the unexpected.
Can you explain your special relationship with the Cg industry?
I’m not sure what happened exactly. I started creating music for artists that I loved, just for free, from my heart, and it magically skyrocketed to international attention seemingly overnight. I’m a composer, yet I’ve been featured on the cover of almost every major CG magazine and website, alongside my heroes of CG, like animators, designers, painters, conceptualists, etc. For some reason I fell in love with CG artists and they accepted me into their world. I am so grateful that the Synaesthesia series took off like it did. It has become a truly unique phenomenon. There are thousands, perhaps millions of composers on the planet, and for some reason, it was my music that caught the imagination of so many great and well known CG artists. Synaesthesia has become a staple of the community. I will always respect that relationship I have with them. I am thankful every single day. I think part of me, deep down inside wishes I could paint with colors, but I paint with sounds and music instead. So it works out perfectly. I love to help other artists visions come to life. I absolutely love collaborations. I’m always collaborating with so many artists in so many different countries around the world.
