Composer & Sound Designer

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: One project I’m particularly proud of is an animatic called The Sun and the Moon (太陽と月), which was presented at Pixelatl. I was the composer and sound designer for the project, and it won the award for the best idea to animate it into a series for the Ventana Sur competition. Although it wasn’t continued, I’m proud of it because it was my first professional project, and it did really well. The judges and investors praised the music, calling it beautiful and romantic, exactly what they were looking for. That’s why I’m so proud of this project.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: At the moment, I’m focused on improving my studio setup and taking on more work in film and TV series, with the goal of growing my presence and reputation in the industry.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: This is my first time on the platform, but if I come across someone truly talented, I would definitely recommend them.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: It depends on the project, but generally, I lean toward digital for convenience and accessibility. However, analog instruments always win when it comes to texture and character. I prefer recording a live string section rather than using a library.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: My promise is that your project will turn out much better than you imagined; it will be spectacular.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: What I love most is the professionalism and originality. I always strive to make every project feel completely unique and versatile, tailored to the needs and emotions of each project.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: Do you think you can do it being so young?" My answer is always: 'Yes, I can do it. I’ve been practicing and working in this field for a long time, and I feel fully capable. Just give me the opportunity.'

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

A: One of the biggest misconceptions is that because I’m young, people assume I don’t have the experience or skill to handle complex projects. In reality, I’ve been working and honing my craft for several years, constantly learning and pushing my limits. Age doesn't define my capability—passion, dedication, and practice do.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are you aiming to project with this project? Do you have a specific style you'd like to maintain? What do you like most about your project that you'd like to highlight? And I always ask, how do you imagine it would sound?

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

A: It's important that they have a clear vision of what they want, and not be afraid to ask questions or experiment. The project can go as far as the client is willing to take it.

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

A: If I could somehow connect to power, haha, the first thing I’d need is a laptop—without it, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. Next, a mouse, since I’m not great with the built-in laptop trackpad, haha. After that, a pair of closed-back headphones, a 25-key MIDI controller, and finally, a cheap speaker to compare the final master alongside the good headphones and the bad speaker.

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

A: I’ve been in the industry for 5 years, which includes my time in my degree program, plus an additional year as a sound engineer. Over the past 3 years, I’ve worked with indie game companies like Quachic Games, as well as collaborating for a year with emerging animators such as Sandy Stobschinski and short film production companies like Keeme Studios.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I would describe my style as grand, dramatic, and cinematic—almost fantastical, in a way that takes you out of reality and immerses you in new, unexplored worlds.

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

A: I would love to work with Yuka Kitamura, as I find her way of composing extraordinary. I feel that I would learn so much from her and improve my skills and perspective on music.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: One music production tip I can give is to start slowly by understanding the processes and effects that can be used. For example, take the most basic limiter and understand it perfectly. Then, apply it to a song until you achieve what you need with that process. After that, move on to the next one, and keep going until you understand all the creative and corrective processes that shape you as a producer.

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

A: I usually work with soundtrack or cinematic music, but I’ve also worked with pop, electronic artists, and I’ve made music in various genres myself, such as rock, blues, and jazz.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: At the moment, my strongest skill is that, since I still don’t know my limits, I push myself even further to achieve things I haven't done yet. I always find a way to reach those goals. Every day, I practice a lot to improve my sound design, composition, and other skills.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: What I bring to a song is that it’s not just a song, but something that truly transports you to another world or makes you feel emotions, depending on what’s being sought. I always try to ensure that each song or sound design has a purpose and emotion behind it, so it can become something deeper.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My work process varies depending on whether I have an image or not. When I don’t have an image, I first record everything that comes to mind that could be useful for sound design. After that, I start to put everything together and experiment with things that resemble what I’m aiming for, and then I begin working. In music, I work with various composition methods that I really enjoy, such as polychords, minimalism, and other techniques, and I experiment with many instrumentation methods. When I have an image, I first watch the whole video, imagining exaggerated sounds in my mind, as well as music that I think would fit. From there, I work scene by scene

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My current setup is very basic since I just graduated from university. I have a MIDI Launchkey 49, some PreSonus 3.5 monitors, and a decent computer for work. I don’t have my own studio yet, but I work at one that has a booth, a QU32 console, and Adam 7 monitors.

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

A: I'm really inspired by Yuka Kitamura, the composer of Dark Souls, as she's not widely recognized but everyone admires her music. I feel she deserves much more recognition. I also follow Ludwig Göransson and Hans Zimmer a lot.

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

A: I usually do sound design or original music for scenes. They send me their scene, tell me their approach and what they're looking for, and I start working. Sometimes, they also ask me for music for videos, either specifying how they want it to sound or just giving me an idea, and I deliver proposals.