Likes: Cats, Synthesizers, Space
Dislikes: Cold Coffee
Favorite Food: Japanese Ramen
Favorite Quote: „All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us“ – Gandalf
Jan Pfitzer is a Dublin based composer. Since he bought his first analog synthesizer, many of his works include electronic processed sounds. In addition to working with the conventional sound of the orchestra, Jan is always interested in combining electronic, classical instruments and foreign traditional instruments in search for new sonic colours to create a unique sound. He holds a Master Degree in Music Informatics with major in scoring for film and games. He had masterclasses with award winning composers like Christopher Young, Richard Bellis, Andy Hill and Jesse Harlin. In 2016 he spent one semester in Tokyo at the Kunitachi College of Music where he studied a completely different musical and sonic world. Alongside university, Jan produced music for german games companies, several short films and public art installations.
Check out Jan’s ‘Artist Series’ album. Now on YouTube!
Velvet Green Music Artist Series Interview – Jan Pfitzer
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) of choice
Logic Pro
Favorite Media Composers
Cliff Martinez, Mica Levi, Jóhann Jóhannson, Joe Hisaishi
Favorite Scores
Solaris, Under the skin, Final Fantasy, Ghost in the shell, Sicario
Discuss your personal creative workflow
I usually start with collecting different kinds of audio material and crafting a sound palette. I record instruments, process field-recordings or just sit in front of a synth to program patches. Then afterwards I create a structure, think about the harmonic nature of the composition and use my sound palette to produce my ideas.
Define you personal sound
Almost all my compositions are built around acoustic sound material that got heavily processed. The sound source can vary, it could be a percussion instrument played with extended techniques, a classic guitar or just a pen hitting against a glass of water. The important part is the processing afterwards, to develop the timbre and change the meaning of it.
Describe how you tackle a creative brief
The most important part of a brief is to understand the atmosphere and creative world that the track should help the audience to immerse in. Knowing that helps me the most to then think about instrumentation, sound palette or compositional ideas.
Discuss the theme of your Artist Series album
For me, as a composer with a contemporary music education, but as a fan of electronic pop music, it’s most interesting to process the conventional sound of orchestral instruments and combine them with synthetic sounds or foreign traditional instruments in search for new sonic colors to create a unique sound.
Discuss gear that is important to your workflow
The most important gear for me is a good and portable microphone and preamp to get a good results for recording any kind of sound source, noise or instrument at the studio or outside.