We caught up with Lisn artist Joel Garnier – responsible for some fine ambient and atmospheric pieces on the Lisnmusic site. Originally from Strasbourg in France, Joel now lives in Menasha, Wisconsin.
What is your musical background?
I began by playing a banjo that was left behind at our house between age 10 and 15. I also had a nylon string acoustic that was decent. Later I stumbled upon the McNally Strum Stick. He also designed the Martin travel guitar which is similar. It’s funny that I began to take playing music seriously with a toy. After borrowing a very fine classical guitar at college I finally purchased a Guild Jumbo. With that I adapted my older finger picking techniques and learned by myself taking step by step. I simply played to learn and enjoy.
Then I moved back to the home town and discovered early techno. Old friends taught me to use Fasttracker and Soundforge to take a diversion from just playing guitar. Finally I bought a recording computer and set off on that journey. I combined the improvisational guitar work with the electro in a DAW. I helped other artists record. I worked at a youth center teaching recording techniques. Now I like to make ambient music for myself and produce whole records with friends.
How would you describe the style(s) of music you make? Do you focus on any specific instruments or equipment in your work?
I like to learn from experiments on my own and apply what I know when I record others. I have a certain range between noise and beauty. I usually begin with a guitar improvisation or a Reason track. In the end I have done my best to innovate and sound good.
What successes have you had in the music/synchronisation industry so far?
Aside from one DC Comics internet promotion Lisn is my first licensing contract.
Have you been involved in any exciting projects? Do you have anything new (music or projects) in the pipeline?
All I have in the pipeline are locals and friends trying to make time for the studio. I have other income so I can afford to help people.
What are you goals for the future?
I simply hope that I sell via Lisn. I have changed course to do so. I have many ideas like any artist. I do what I can.
Anything else you would like us to know?
I am also a painter. I have worked an art foundry (dirty, nasty but awesome), worked at glassblowing (awesome!), and a few other skills and arts.
To license music from Joel Garnier’s catalogue for TV, film, advertisements, games, corporate or other media projecst please visit the Joel Garnier page on Lisnmusic. If you are interested in Joel Garnier creating a bespoke composition please contact us.
Ethereal Motion is the personal music project of Scott Ross, an accomplished recording engineer/producer/composer based in Seattle. The sounds and songs of Ethereal Motion blend melodic grooves, real drums, live drum loops, tasteful keyboard layers and real horn sections. Here’s what Scott had to say when we caught up with him for a chat…
Ethereal has a diverse catalogue of music – how would you describe the style(s) of music you release?
I record and produce in a large variety of styles, including rock/hard rock, jazz, new age, pop, dance etc. Most of my songs are instrumental, as I am predominantly a horn player (sax and trumpet).
What is your musical background?
I’ve been playing the saxophone (alto and tenor) for many years now, along with the clarinet. I picked up the trumpet about 10 years ago, as I wanted to be my own horn section!!
How would you describe the style(s) of music you make? Do you focus on any specific instruments or equipment in your work?
Being a horn player, a lot of my music tends to have big horn sections and be more pop/jazz oriented. I own a commercial recording studio in Seattle, WA, so I use the studio as a home base for all my personal recording.
Do you have plans to bring other artists into your publishing company?
When I can’t play the various instruments the way I want, I’ll bring in other people (drummer, bassist, guitarist etc.) to enhance my songs and add a little variety.
What are your biggest achievements in the synchronisation industry so far?
As a recording studio owner, engineer and producer (see Elliott Bay Recording Company), I have recorded over 500 songs for Muzak, and 150 for Pioneer America, which have been played all over the world in restaurants, airports, on hold music etc. My own music has played on various reality shows, indie productions, radio spots etc.
When creating music what is your inspiration? Do you make music with specific ideas and projects in mind?
When I start a new song, I generally don’t have a specific idea in mind! I’ll start with an idea, go somewhere with it, and it generally changes many times before it’s finished. I might start out trying to do a hard rock song, and in the end it will have a complete horn section and be more of a pop jazz song!
Do you have any specific goals for the future?
I will continue to produce music for the rest of my life. It’s my life’s work and my hobby. I enjoy producing and engineering for other artists and I certainly like working on my own music too. I continue to try to get my music out into the world!
Anything else you would like us to know?
I’ve been producing and engineering for over 25 years now. I’ve recorded over 400 records for various artists around the world. 8 records have been certified gold so far. I’ve worked with a wide variety of artists throughout the years and will continue to do what I do for as long as possible.
To license music from the Ethereal Motion catalogue for TV, film, advertisement, game, corporate or other media projects please visit the Ethereal Motion page on Lisnmusic. If you are interested in Scott Ross from Ethereal Motion creating a bespoke composition please contact us.
Downstream Records say of themselves, “We’re a label dedicated to bringing you ‘electronica’ in all its forms. From downtempo to minimal techno the aim is to deliver the best music we can, with both consistency and regularity.” With a steadily increasing catalogue of music available through Lisnmusic we thought it was about time we caught up with their top man Damon Vallero for a chat.
When was the label created, what was the reason for setting up your label, who is behind it and what is your musical background?
The label was started in 2004 and was a means for me (Damon Vallero) to release different styles of music to that which I had previously been producing. I had/have been running the Electracom label since 1996 which was predominantly hard techno and it was difficult to vary too much from that style when releasing.
My background is that I grew up in South Africa where I started out on a musical path dabbling in synth based music in the 1980s. I formed a duo with a friend and we got signed to Warner Bros for two singles which didn’t really achieve any widespread success. In the late eighties I joined with another friend and formed The Swanhunters who released an anti Apartheid single in collaboration with the Sheffield band Chakk, of whom Mark Brydon of Moloko was a member.
Moving to the UK in 1988 and after a break of three years or so I began producing dance music, predominantly techno and started the Electracom label in 1996. I produced a number of releases for the label as well as releasing other artists and in 2001 began DJing and playing live around Europe. In 2004 I started Downstream Records to allow me to produce other styles of electronic music under different guises.
How would you describe the style(s) of music you release?
I have released a number of different styles of music on the label. Downtempo/lounge music under the Admon name resulted in the 2005 album “4AM Life”. Following that I released “Let The Trend Be Your Friend” as Megatrend which had elements of broken beat, techno, dubcore, glitch, ambient and most points in between. The next album I released was as Displayaz called “Control The Event” and incorporated elements of Dubstep and Drum & Bass. In between these albums I have released singles mainly in the tech/deep house genre. All the releases have been my own projects and I have not worked with any other artists on Downstream to date.
Your output covers a number of different styles within electronic music when many other labels tend to stay close to one sound they can be identified with. What was it that made you take this broader approach?
With the proliferation of music genres and the advance of technology, I found that producing one style of music was becoming quite restictive. In the electronic field it is much easier to be able to produce under different names and so I wanted to experiment and explore areas I had never tried before. Latterly more and more labels are diversifying their music style which can only be a good thing for artists and listeners alike.
What successes have you had in the music industry so far, and in particular any in synchronisation?
My tracks have been played out by the likes of Ritchie Hawtin, Dave Clarke and many others and my music has also been aired on Radio 1 a number of times by John Peel years ago to more recently Mary Anne Hobbs. I won the 2002 Diesel U Music competition in the house category playing at Fabric in London and was interviwed on MTV. Three of my downtempo tracks were used by a US company to launch a new product.
What are you goals for the future?
The goals for the future are to keep releasing a diverse range of music that is both enjoyable and challenging and try and reach as wider audience as possible.
To license music from the Downstream Records catalogue for TV, film, advertisement, game, corporate or other media project please visit the Downstream Records page on Lisnmusic. If you are interested in Damon Vallero from Downstream creating a bespoke composition please contact us.
Kultur-Time Productions has been running for 5 years creating music which focuses on Latin soundscapes, European club music and unique 70s classic wah-funk sounds, all underpinned by cool, live grooves. For another instalment of our Profiles series we caught up with Kultur Time Productions’ main main Andy.
What is your musical background?
For me music has always been a very important aspect to my life. My first tastes of the industry came in 1990 from working as a live sound engineer for a company called Time Bomb artists, an event management company specializing in onstage artist performance and sound management. For 5 years I worked in various venues across the United Kingdom and Mainland Europe mastering the art of live audio engineering and onstage production. I moved over into the studio recording side of things when a position came up at Eternity Records studio in Witham Essex in 1996. This was a small production outfit specializing in the current dance sector with a group of song writers, producers and engineers recording demos for dance acts signed to Timebomb Artists. I later had ideas and dreams of my own so I started my own label Kultur Time – a music production company based in Colchester in Essex which I have been growing over the past 5 years.
How would you describe the style(s) of music you make? Do you focus on any specific instruments or equipment in your work?
It’s a hard thing to say where our musical tastes lay as they change with ever evolving new projects that I work on and also with other new artists constantly put new ideas and new musical concepts into our minds. Dance of all genres is of interest to us, we have a particular keen interested in Latin soundscapes merged with European club music and 70’s wah funk. We love to focus on customer ideas and really listen to their musical needs and arise to the challenge of filling a once blank canvas. We can make great music from an idea set to us and excel in turning the idea into a living breathing masterpiece that fits with the original idea. We can tailor make all genres of musical types using the latest in cutting edge music technology software and hardware, techniques from old and new and our intuition.
What successes have you had in the music/synchronisation industry so far?
We have just finished scoring a 30 minute nature documentary and are in the final stages of post production with the film makers. It’s been a very interesting project to work on and we have also been involved in the film editing process.
Have you been involved in any exciting projects?
Recently I have been working on some sessions for a company based in Slovenia (Urban Karma Productions) who record and master samples for publication to sample CDs/DVDs. We have also just landed a contract with a web travel company to supply 100% of the music scores and voice overs for their latest online travel videos.
What are your goals for the future?
Working mainly within the film/television/radio media industry excelling in our strengths of current up to date music and soundscapes for the latest ear catching music on screen and on the airwaves, Increasing our stockpile of pre-recorded material for web music sales. We plan next year to tour some dates in the UK and in Europe with a new live act we are developing currently.
Anything else you would like us to know?
We also work closely with a network of musicians from around the globe for real ethnic blends with original ethnic instruments and artists from countries of the instruments’ origin.
To license music from the Kultur-Time Productions catalogue for TV, film, advertisement, game, corporate or other media project please visit the Kultur-Time page on Lisnmusic. If you are interested in Andy from Kultur-Time creating a bespoke composition please contact us.
Nestled at the edge of the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland, Aedan Sherry doesn’t have to look far for inspiration. Through his music, he shares with us this inspiration. With his enrapturing, moving, evolving melodies and creative beats and rhythms, you can get lost in Aedans playful compositions. With over 14 years experience in writing music, his tracks convey happiness, optimism and more! Aedan works in several styles and genres, including Electronica, Dance, Chill Out, Alternative, and Electro.
What is your musical background?
Apart from being sent to accordion lessons when I was younger, I would say I’m mostly a self taught musician. I think my love for music probably began unconsciously throughout all those years of growing up at home to the background score of my Dad’s record collection. I would be playing with colourful toy bricks and building little wooden train tracks to the score of Vivaldi or the Beatles or even Kraftwerk. So I’m sure I’ve been influenced right from the beginning to have an ear for music. Also there was the Playstation era where I did nothing but play games for hours on end providing me with a soundtrack of mixed musical genres and styles from right across the globe. I could be playing Final Fantasy for an hour or two with its wonderfully melodic Japanese instrumentals, then later I could switch to Tony Hawks Skateboarding and be listening to the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop. So I definitely wasn’t left short for inspiration.
Things really started to evolve for me when I received a music sequencing game for the Playstation (Music/Music 2000). At last I could sit and create a whole song from scratch using my own melodies, beats and rhythms. I got lost in a world of composition which continues right to this present day. The love never dies.
How would you describe the style(s) of music you make? Do you focus on any specific instruments or equipment in your work?
My style varies a lot. I could be working on an orchestral piece for a week or 2 and when I’m done I could move straight into a trance or electronic tune for my next project. It all depends on how I’m feeling when I start writing. If I had to categorise my style or styles I would say I mostly work in electronica and in its many forms (electronica, ambient, dance, trance, break-beat, IDM), then in orchestral and then in world music. A lot of the time when submitting music for synchronisation I am asked what bands or existing acts my musical style sounds similar to. I find that the most difficult question to answer as I feel my music usually doesn’t sound very similar to any of them!
Most of the time I won’t have a specific idea of what I want to create. Just a very strong urge to start creating. Sometimes I’ll start with a beat, sometimes a melody, and then build from there.
At the moment my computer is my studio. I always use the same software which consists of three or four electronic synths, one software drum machine and one sampler. I have all the sounds in there that I could ever possibly need. Real instruments, flowing strings, woodwinds, brass etc. right down to hard and heavy electronic leads, fat basses and thousands of individual drum hits which I use to compile my beats and rhythms.
What successes have you had in the music/synchronisation industry so far?
I’ve been writing music for about 14 – 15 years now but only decided about a year and a half ago to go full steam ahead into writing music for synchronisation . It took a little while before things got started for me. You need patience in this business! A wait of about six months ensued before I’d made my first sale. After that it became more of a weekly or fortnightly occurrence. I am now at the point where I’ve made nearly forty sales in total since I started. My biggest success in the industry so far has actually come from right here at Lisn Music where I’ve had a song synced into an American TV series, VP Challenge . So thanks for that Lisn! I’ve also had music placed in a couple of live theatre performances for the Open Learning Initiative and for the Colorado Children’s Hospital and just recently I’ve been asked to provide music for an up and coming free running online video project which I’m quite excited about. Also there were a few television sync opportunities I had to turn down due to conflicting contracts between libraries which was unfortunate, but it was still a boost to hear that my music had been successfully selected for use in sync for television here in the UK.
Have you been involved in any exciting projects?
I had a single released on iTunes about 3 years ago with a small label in the US. It was a one off project but it was still a cool experience. The label heard my track on Myspace and got in touch with me asking if they could put some lyrics down on it. I said yes and then 2-3 months later the track was released on iTunes. Even the local paper called round to my house, did an interview and had me on the front page of their music section. It was great!
What are your goals for the future?
My main goal for the future is to be able to continue writing and hopefully reach the point where I can write on a full time basis and support my family from my musical income. At the moment I’m only writing on a part-time basis which is enough to get some good music together but with a little more time I think I could produce something that little bit extra special. One personal goal of mine is to be the guy who writes the theme music for the coverage of the next world cup on the BBC or on ITV. Its in Brazil, and there’s plenty of musical culture to source inspiration from there! You never know, it might happen! But even just to be able to tell people that I write music for a living would be a nice feeling.
To license music from the Aedan Sherry Publishing catalogue for TV, film, advertisement, game, corporate or other media project please visit the Aedan Sherry page on Lisnmusic. If you are interested in Aedan Sherry creating a bespoke composition please drop us a line.
The mysterious Thin White Dude says “I just like making ‘weird’ music, and I’ve been doing it on and off for 10 years.” We’ve been really impressed with the tracks he has made available to license on Lisnmusic so far and asked him to answer a few questions to find out a bit more about the music and man behind it.
What is your musical background?
Since childhood I have had a love of music. At school I played the trumpet (badly) and piano (even worse). I first started creating my own music about 10 years ago when I get a demo of the Sony ACID software. Since then I have continued to make and re-mix music, although with some long breaks in between. There has been steady ‘improvement’ with the quality and constancy in my work, culminating on the tracks on offer by Lisnmusic, all of which were created over a fairly manic 3 week period between April and May of 2011.
How would you describe the style of music you make? Do you focus on any specific instruments or equipment in your work?
I would describe my musical style as ‘quirky’. Some may say ‘zany’, but I don’t like that word. Over the years my range has been quite eclectic (from full on dance to boarder-line thrash metal). I have recently been very eager to include a fair amount of acoustic guitars as it is giving my music a much warmer sound, as well as providing a lot more ‘width’. I tend not to use vocals in my own music, except for the occasional sound-bite.
What successes have you had in the music industry so far?
My greatest achievement to date is one of my Sony contest re-mixes winning a prize of ‘The Listeners Award’ – it’s always good to get that peer judgement. The mix was also used on a commercially released EP by Intergalactic Faerie Funk, although I actually only discovered this recently after Googling my artist name (true story).
Have you been involved in any exciting projects?
I’m a one-man-band and I haven’t had much chance for collaboration work so far. I am currently in discussions with band in London (Echo the Sound) with a view to doing some production work for them (they have no drummer, so they need help in finishing off tracks). It could turn out to be exciting as their guitar work is great.
What are you goals for the future?
My main goal is to keep improving musically. On top of that I do want to get involved with visual media as I think my musical style has a lot to offer this particular sector of the music industry. Oh, and I want to carry on having fun making my music – if it ever becomes a chore, it’s time to stop!
Anything else you would like us to know?
I’m also available for children’s parties and corporate booze-ups…
To license music by Thin White Dude directly for your TV, film, advertisement, game, corporate or other media project please visit the Thin White Dude page on Lisnmusic. If you are interested in Thin White Dude creating a bespoke composition please drop us a line.
UK label 9 Volt Records formed in 2009 and is home to Auto-Pilot. With a sound largely based in electronic music, but without being strictly pure to the genre, Auto-Pilot and 9 Volt covers everything from laid-back loungey grooves to punchy and atmospheric electronica. Prior to establishing 9 Volt, Auto-Pilot signed to Holophon in 2007, releasing 2 albums (Ocearina & Out Here). Three more releases followed over the next few years through various European labels and they signed a publishing deal with Warner-Chappell Music. Adrian Collier talked to Lisn about the label, successes and their future plans.
What is the musical philosophy of the label?
The 9 Volt philosophy is to release genuinely great music with real originality based around the electronic genre but somewhat deviating away into the crossover territory of live musicians and instruments.
Who is behind the label and what is their musical background?
The label was formed in 2009 by (myself) Adrian Collier and Shaun Herbert who together go back to the mid 90’s playing in the same band (Fokker Pilots). Back then I played bass and Shaun was the keyboards. Later the band dissolved and reformed into Auto-Pilot which went on to sign to a succession of labels including Holophon and Major Records in Europe.
Tell us a bit about your main artist(s)…
9 Volt was formed as an artist label for Auto-Pilot so for a while it remained that way, and the download sales reflect the hard work put in.
In 2010, Trance producer Cygnus X-1 aka Martin Craig came onboard and in a relatively short period established himself within the Trance community gaining real momentum.
What successes have you had in the synchronisation industry so far?
Relatively new to the synchronisation industry but since looking this way the most notable things we’ve done a global warming campaign for Greenpeace and work for Sky Sports 1.
Have you been involved in any exciting projects?
So far, in the 2 years the label has been running it has all been one big exciting project. Music synchronisation is the current project we are looking at and yes, were excited about the prospects.
What are you goals for the future?
We tread careful so goals are only baby steps ahead, I guess the word is tentative. Looking further ahead the prospect of running our own publishing is a real possibility.
Anything else you would like us to know?
We like the fact that we produce our own music videos and I guess in the short time we have looked in to synchronisation it has changed our outlook towards music. It’s opened doors to new ideas in song writing enabling us to think more out of the box.
If you’re interested in licensing music from 9 Volt Records for your project in a fast and efficient manner, with both the master and publishing copyright cleared for immediate use then visit the 9 Volt Records page on Lisnmusic.
Founded in South Africa, Oh So Coy Recordings further add to the diversity and worldwide coverage of the Lisnmusic catalogue. Headed up by Matt Prehn, himself a successful solo artist and collaborator, the Oh So Coy Catalogue is made up of the deeper and soulful side of electronica, together with world music, lounge & downtempo material.
What is the musical philosophy of the label?
Our philosophy at Oh So Coy is to release honest, sincere electronic music. Predominantly on a deeper or soul tinged tip and often with a warm vocal. There has and will continue to be some forays into more loungey and abstract types of music…especially for promotion in media and perfect for syncing purposes.
Who is behind the label and what is their musical background?
Matt Prehn, aka Leigh Deep, aka 1 third of live act Bang Bang, aka 1 half of Southbound. Matt started the label early 2010 as a means to release his own productions that were an overflow from these other projects. Matt has been DJing for the past 13 years and has been rather successful at it, holding down numerous residencies and gigs in South Africa and now looking to cement a name abroad following a recent move to Switzerland. Matt has a 2 year diploma in sound engineering and a 1 year advanced diploma in music production and arrangement.
Tell us a bit about your main artists…
Bang Bang is a live electronic 3 piece band that creates “Indie” deep house as coined by one of the more reputable online blogs. Their unique soulful sound has found fervour on some of the most respected underground house labels such as Lost My Dog, Kolour, Baker Street, Myna, Blockhead, the list goes on. Perfect for quirky and current media campaigns…their sound is accessible, unique and inspired.
Label head Matt Prehn writes under numerous guises and his sound ranges from slow, deep spaced-out house to soul drenched vocal tracks. Attention to detail and tight production has become the norm and he has been released on a number of labels too including Baker Street, Head Tunes, Onethirty and Open Bar.
Lu Chase is a seriously seductive vocalist who has been working on a number of projects for Oh So Coy. She comes from a burlesque and dancing background and has a seriously diva’esque voice. Warm lyrics make for some top soul vibes.
Some upcoming artists in 2011 are Christopher Wilde – a very talented Cape Town artist who is capable of many sounds, Lotus aka Matthew Loots (another third of Bang Bang) who will be bringing the live instrumentation back with some slow burning nu disco sounds and respected underground artists like DK Watts, Da Sunlounge & B. Original are all working on some fresh remixes.
What successes have you had in the music/synchronisation industry so far?
Success is hard to judge and it depends if you are looking at a bank balance or at your peers. Oh So Coy has seen some chart action holding down a #3 spot for top soul sales on Stompy.com for a number of weeks and a few other tracks have been consistently in the top 30 for deep sales. Some chart action from underground househeads on various boutique download stores. A number of tracks have been popping up on podcasts so on that front I think the label is slowly gaining notoriety.
Sync wise it is still early days for the label and the focus has only recently been aimed toward the media industry so we will have to wait and see…but I am confident that once the music is heard by the “right ears” we will be popping up on a number of campaigns.
Have you been involved in any exciting projects?
Yes quite a few actually…a couple years back we did some library music for Synchro Music in South Africa. A full international African sound on 1 CD and a more urbansound on another. This was a lot of fun as we had guitars, bass, percussion everywhere for a couple weeks…in the long run it did fetch some syncs which was great.
Recently Matt was commissioned to write a full album of world music with a more current feel. This was for a Swiss company and turned out really well. A complete change of direction from the typical electronic stuff. The tracks can be heard on Lisn under the Oh So Coy catalogue.
There have also been some pitches for ads which bought about a fresh way of conceptualizing and working and it is always great to have a bit of pressure!
What are your goals for the future?
The goals for the future are constantly changing and morphing. We would very much like to get the label into peoples minds…you know get people talking about the music, playing the music, getting it out there. From that obviously the more compilations we can get on the better – lots of exposure. Film and ad syncs are definitely up there too…especially more customised writing for specific applications and campaigns. Ultimately it would be very nice to start pressing vinyl again so that’s definitely something we would like to start doing in the next year or so. And of course to keep providing quality music!
Anything else you would like us to know?
News of late…we have just tied up distribution with Oseao so looking forward to working with them and really getting the music out there! In terms of content we will be loading a bunch of new music to the Lisn site very soon and throughout the year we will be creating exclusive sync content…so keep your ears open!
Find out more about Oh So Coy Recordings on MySpace, YouTube,SoundCloud and check out their catalogue available for licensing on Lisnmusic.
“Soganic Music’s mission is to provide “soulfully organic” music to the masses. Music that waters the soul of every individual creating new positive energy that will blossom a better society. Music that embraces every element of life, people and progress.” We loved the images that created in our minds and were then blown away by the music created by main man ScholarMan. After getting the Soganic catalogue onto the Lisn website we decided to find out a little more…
What is the musical philosophy of the label?
Our philosophy is that music should be a true expression of self. Our ultimate goal at Soganic Music is to provide music with more depth and substance than what is commonly heard. Whether its a vocal track or instrumental, we pride ourselves in producing quality music that is unique and true to our name.
Who is behind the label?
Cameron Schmidt better known as “ScholarMan” is the owner and currently solo artist/producer on Soganic Music. ScholarMan is primarily a hip-hop artist, having loved and immersed himself in the culture since a young age, but has the ear and talent to produce music of multiple genres. ScholarMan has been producing music for many years at an “underground” level up until a few years ago when he began releasing internationally distributed retail material. Having a fan base primarily in Europe and neighboring territories, ScholarMan is known for socially conscious, hip-hop soul music. He has a huge catalog of music and has toured regionally thus far.
What’s the latest project from Scholarman we can check out?
ScholarMan has released his 7th album ”Existance” this year that is getting critical reviews from his fans and others. His first single “Lyrical Baptism” was aired on MTV in March 2011. He recently released a video for his second single “Reigndrops” in March 2011 as well.
What are you goals for the future?
Our goals are to continue expanding our catalog, improving our sound, technique and to immerse ourselves in great projects. We strive for a unique and authentic sound!
In the first of a new series of articles where we look in detail at our artist, label and publisher clients we caught up with Christian Andersson from Sweden, who holds a publisher account with Lisnmusic.
Swedish composer Christian Andersson recently received a scholarship from the Swedish Musicians’ Union for his unique artistic work. Starting music at an early age, he learned to play several instruments like the piano, recorder, trumpet, and guitar. His genres include Funk, Jazz, Rock, World, and Classical with a passion for huge orchestral arrangements perfect for films, trailers and video games where moods and styles vary from dark and epic orchestrations and spooky arrangements to bright and majestic.
What is your musical background?
I grew up in a family where all family members were involved in music, so music has always been a big part of my everyday life. My mother was a professional musician, a piano teacher, so I learned to play the piano, recorder, trumpet and guitar pretty early. The harmonic knowledge from piano and guitar gave me some great possibilities to start writing my own music and also to try some really big orchestral compositions. In the 1990s, I started to produce music on my Amiga 500, and then I simply followed the technical evolution for home studios from primitive tools to today’s high-end professional virtual instruments and production software. Today, I have a home studio with professional studio equipment and a huge collection of the best virtual instruments available on the market.
How would you describe the style(s) of music you make? Do you focus on any specific instruments in your work?
I focus on melodic production music with an orchestral sound. For me, it’s really important with a strong melody, so I try to enrich my songs with interesting melodies that make them stand out from the average music producer. I believe (and hope) that this was one of the reasons why I was awarded a scholarship by the Swedish Musicians’ Union. For instrumentation in my orchestral pieces, I love the mighty brass sounds from French horns and also the cello sections playing a tense spiccato/marcato in orchestral arrangements. I also enjoy working with emotional solo instruments, for instance a melancholic and lonely Stradivarius violin or a soft and melodic fairy-tale-like harp.
What successes have you had in the music/synchronisation industry so far?
One of my songs was recently picked out by a major cable network for usage by 20 TV-channels. This was a great success, as it will (very likely) give good royalty payouts. Right now, I am also very close to sign a deal with a feature film production for one of my songs where a nice sync-fee will be paid out, and then there will be royalties on that.
Have you been involved in any exciting projects?
Last year, I wrote the complete sound track for a great online video game. I also licensed music to many of the emerging video games produced for the iTunes/Android market.
What are you goals for the future?
My artistic goal is to continuously develop my skills and find new interesting styles and musical figures. I also aim to double the size of my portfolio and to write at least 10 new epic orchestral style tracks during this year. My commercial goal for this year is to double the amount of film placements from last year and to triple the sale figures from last year. I have worked hard during the beginning of 2011 to establish some really serious business relations, and I feel that Lisnmusic is a great partner in this business, and I look forward to a great partnership and a common success.
Anything else you would like us to know?
I’d like to say something about my relation to music as a profession. I often think about that. I used to work as a software developer. But after having written my first big orchestral compositions, everything around engineering and technical stuff suddenly seemed very dull, dry and boring. For me, music is art and passion. When I have written a new song that feels perfect, I get tears in my eyes, and it’s almost like falling in love. I have never felt something like that when I constructed some great piece of software or engineering work, and I doubt that someone can feel like that for those technical things.
Music is something completely different. Once you start to write music and once you get this strong emotional connection, like a direct link to your soul, there is no turning back. I understand that I am now stuck with music forever, so I will continue to write music as long as I live. I often think about a Latin inscription, written by Tycho Brahe, a famous Danish astronomer: “Non faces nec opes, sola artis sceptra perennant”. It means: “Neither power nor wealth, only Art and Science will endure”, which very much applies to music as an art form.
So can music as art coexist with financial interests? For example: I need to write music that sells, not only music as “art”. Yes, I believe so, but it’s a constant struggle to find a good balance. I allow myself to sometimes forget about if the music will sell or not. That will often yield a piece with a variety of moods, but with a very high quality, interesting melodies, and great emotional content – a song that is really interesting as piece of music art, but not very commercial (because it has too much variety in moods). However, from those creations, I can often spawn some new commercial creations. For example, one of my songs – “Tales from the Forgotten Monastery” – would be hard to place commercially, but it gave me 2 very nice separate creations that I could break out from it – “Peaceful Thousand Oaks Forest” and “The Desecrated Sanctum” (and I have had great commercial success with “The Desecrated Sanctum”). So yes, I think that it’s possible to create true art, and that this will give some great opportunities to find and produce commercial elements from this art.
