Composer / Producer for Media

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: The amount of time it took to get to the point I'm at, and the effort that goes in to really finding the exact tone of voice for the film.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What would you like your project to feel like ? In as non musical terms as possible.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Try to convey the 'why' of the project, the true meaning and motivation behind it. Sometimes it's great when people know exactly what kind of music they want, but the deeper meaning of a story can tell so much more.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: Fender Stratocaster, VOX AC30, Schimmel Piano, Prophet T8 and a laptop stacked with every plugin and sample thinkable (but that would probably count as cheating).

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I've been a professional record producer for about 8 years, first in hiphop and electronica but as of late more in pop and every other genre thinkable. I've been making music to picture for 6 years, starting out with commercials and gradually moving to short films, TV and film.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Eclectic and layered.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Kendrick Lamar because, well he's the greatest at the moment. And Junkie XL because we're both Dutch and he's just doing great in Hollywood.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Think in service of the film or song.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: The only certain factor it's different every day.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Having a very broad taste and skillset, and able to learn and adapt fast. Also being able to function on little sleep and coffee.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to think I bring depth to a project. Be it an extra layer of meaning to the lyrics of a pop song, or just the right tone to bring out an emotion in a scene.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to start with creating a toolkit for the job, I select or create instruments I think fit the mood and storyline and start building from there. Most of the time not to picture right away, but from the vision the director or producer has in mind.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I run a studio where I produce, write and record small sessions. I'm on a mac system working with Logic, Ableton Live and Pro Tools, and use a Apollo X8 with several mic's and outboard compression and pre-amps. I own some hardware synths and modular, a lot of electric and acoustic guitars, and some amp's and pedals. Also I use a lot of sample libaries ranging from orchestral to synth, big band and a large amount of instruments of my own creation.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: The artists that cross genres en forms of media. For example newer composers like Johan Johannson, Jon Hopkins and Bonobo, but also Anderson Paak., Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters or Radiohead. Anything that's unique and just done exceptionally gets me.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: Composing music to picture or sometimes only to a script or idea. This varies a lot but, most of the time I get asked to develop a sound or musical palette from a core idea that represents the storyline and tone, from which I get to working on specific scenes.