VGM086 Artist Series Vol 5 – Nick Kelly – Sinister Intentions

01-04-2018

Album Description

The criminal underground has risen to great power. The future is dismal and all hope seems to be lost. An unlikely hero emerges to defend good from evil. Now he must navigate the grit and grime of the underworld to seek personal revenge and justice for the masses. The percussion is gritty, the basses throbbing and the sound design industrial. Program these tracks when you need a tense gritty vibe to tell your stories of betrayal and discord.

Check out the full album!

Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) of choice

FL Studio

Favorite Media Composers

I am a really big fan of composers like Cliff Martinez and Tyler Bates. When i first started flirting with the idea of being a composer for film they were huge influences on me. I come from a background of playing guitar and keyboards in rock bands, and i felt their approach to film scoring was something i cold relate to. They were using instruments i was familiar with, but in ways I hadn’t considered, and it really motivated to branch out creatively. I am also a really big fan of Trent Reznor and Dave Porter, and classic synth composers like Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, and John Carpenter.

Favorite Scores

Lincoln Lawyer, Drive, Doomsday, Watchmen, Social Network, Blade Runner, Traffic.

Discuss your personal creative workflow

My creative workflow involves a fair amount of trial and error. I generally don’t think of any big ideas or themes ahead of time, I like to open a synth patch or plug in my guitar and start making noises until something clicks. Through this process i usually find a couple of ideas I can latch on to, and then I will start writing more purposely. I spend just as much time manipulating and tweaking sounds as i do writing melodies, I am always trying to find things that surprise me as I am creating them.

Define you personal sound

I would say the concepts that tie most of my compositions together are experimentation and ambiance. I am always trying to create a sense of space and texture in my music.

Describe how you tackle a creative brief

My approach to tackling a creative brief, generally is to find a way I can relate to what is needed through my own musical lense. There are usually specific reference tracks given in a brief, and instead of trying make carbon copies of them, I try to think about what is at the core of that music, and also what purpose it serves, and then use my own organic creative process and musical language to hopefully arrive at a similar place.

Discuss the theme of your Artist Series album

I wrote my artist series album with the theme of a dark thriller in mind. I wanted to write music that could underscore dramatic tension and the ideas of betrayal and discord, and i wanted to explore different musical ideas within that world. There are some tracks that are very atmospheric and emotional, and others that are very aggressive and gritty. I chose this genre simply because i wanted to compose music that would be fitting for the types of film and television that I most enjoy watching. Many of my favorite films and film scores are modern thrillers and I wanted to do my take on it.

Offer any advice to fellow artists

guitars and synths are my go to gear when composing, also anything I can hit with a drumstick or throw against a wall to get an interesting sound out of.

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