Be a Better Artist

Adam Fligsten is a composer for games and other media, based in Los Angeles, California. Video game credits include Outreach (Pixel Spill) and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, and his music has been licensed to countless TV shows and commercials. He is the founder of Silen Audio, a full service video game audio house, and also now maker of virtual instruments.

ADAM FLIGSTEN LINKS:

Website: https://adamfligsten.com/

Silen Audio: https://www.silen.audio/

https://x.com/adamfligsten?s=20

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:09) - Creativity and sleep patterns

(00:05:14) - Credits

(00:07:03) - Silent Audio

(00:10:12) - Background and upbringing

(00:15:03) - Live music, studio music, working in a band

(00:16:28) - Transitioning towards electronic music

(00:18:59) - Music as a coping mechanism

(00:21:14) - Music as a teacher and inspiration

(00:24:05) - Pursuing music professionally

(00:29:58) - Staying creative while working another job

(00:35:03) - Negotiation skills

(00:38:00) - Longevity in a career as a film composer

(00:43:08) - Finding passion in media composition

(00:49:42) - Experience working for a composer

(00:52:52) - Adaptability and growth

(00:59:03) - Managing stress in high-pressure situations.

(01:01:28) - Leadership - Cultivating a positive atmosphere

(01:11:23) - Experience at UCLA's music composition program

(01:15:00) - Education and Transition to Entrepreneurship

(01:19:25) - Business Lessons Learned

(01:30:06) - Building Trust and Collaboration in the Creative Industry

(01:32:45) - Selling Yourself as a Composer

(01:36:00) - Understanding Clients' Needs and Expectations

(01:45:04) - Pouring Heart and Soul into Work

(01:46:17) - Commitment to Artistry

(01:51:30) - Effective Branding as a Composer

(01:56:20) - Transitioning to Full-time Entrepreneurship

(02:00:00) - Existential fear and dread

(02:11:19) - Time and the creative process

(02:15:01) - Trusting instincts

(02:19:01) - Challenges of maintaining inspiration

(02:22:08) - Ego, humility, and the creative process

(02:30:03) - Work and self-worth.

(02:35:22) - Infinite Flow Synth

(02:42:49) - Importance of interface design

(02:45:03) - Silen Audio future plans

(02:52:28) - Retaining creativity

(02:55:52) - Definition of an artist

(02:58:48) - Message sent to everyone’s smartphone

Arnaud Roy is a composer, music producer, and sound designer. He has written music for video games and films, and is most notably known for composing the music for Amplitude Studios' Endless video game series, Humankind, and Neoproxima.

ARNAUD ROY LINKS:

http://www.arnaudroy.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ArnaudRoyMusic/

https://www.instagram.com/arnaudroymusic/

https://twitter.com/ArnaudRoyMusic

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:18) - The Harp, professional harp players, harp tech

(00:11:04) - Early life

(00:15:01) - Music education and classical music

(00:19:14) - Finding the bass guitar

(00:21:31) - Discovering improvisation

(00:26:15) - Benefits of classical music education

(00:28:00) - Hands-on instrument playing as a part of composition

(00:29:04) - Early life continued

(00:34:20) - Choosing a career path

(00:39:02) - Discovering compositional potential

(00:45:02) - Texture and flow as compositional elements

(00:47:10) - Sound design and mixing for animation

(00:54:00) - Perfectionism

(00:57:23) - Reflecting on career milestones

(01:02:34) - Childhood influences

(01:09:27) - Non-musical sources of inspiration

(01:12:05) - Musical influences

(01:25:31) - Composition process

(01:30:54) - Collaboration and Creativity

(01:34:05) - Personal Limits and Style

(01:39:06) - Balancing Work and Life

(01:49:51) - Dealing with Creative Blocks

(01:54:12) - Studio Setup and Gear

(02:06:05) - Mixing

(02:19:55) - Overcoming Challenges and Maintaining Perspective

(02:25:40) - Live Music Performances

(02:35:03) - Collaboration with Amplitude Studios

(02:42:21) - Qualities in Collaborators

(02:47:04) - Definition of an Artist

(02:49:57) - Message to Everyone's Smartphone

Peter Dyer is an LA-based keyboardist, producer, and sound designer. He has toured extensively with artists like Mariah Carey, Adam Lambert, Aloe Blacc, & St. Vincent, as a keyboardist, musical director, and sound designer. He is currently in the house band for American Idol on ABC. Notable cowrites include Avicii’s #1 hit “Wake Me Up”, "Shame On Me", & Flo Rida’s “Wobble” & “Can’t Believe It”. He also works as a sound designer and consultant for Sequential, Novation Music, Strymon Effects, Moog Music, & Pioneer DJ, and has scored commercials for B.M.W., Chevrolet, and WWE.

PETER DYER LINKS:

Website: https://www.peterdyer.net/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgfrmrO0pxm920zbVZw7mrQ

https://www.instagram.com/peterjdyer/

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:00:16) Audio equipment tech issues, SM7B and Cloudlifter

(00:01:22) Sleep problems

(00:07:21) Stress management

(00:21:01) Benefits of exercise and diet, lifestyle changes, stoic philosophy

(00:25:55) Change takes time

(00:30:01) Pandemic, stress, insomnia

(00:45:01) Adversity and change

(01:00:01) Seizing opportunities

(01:11:04) Creativity and artistic sensibility as an instrumentalist

(01:17:11) Teamwork and social skills in professional music settings

(01:30:01) Managing emotions and the ego, humility

(01:34:14) Significance of Social Connections

(01:37:30) Managing Expectations

(01:39:15) Personal Background and Inspirations

(01:45:05) Synths, Moving, Musician's Institute, networking, Van Hunt

(01:46:23) Time at the Musicians Institute (MI), audition for Mariah Carey, stage fright

(02:00:05) Humility and observation as skills

(02:04:05) Career choices, honesty in musical preferences

(02:09:02) Emulation, crossing boundaries, parental influence

(02:15:04) Learning music theory by singing in a choir

(02:17:08) Software vs hardware

(02:19:06) Favourite synths

(02:23:50) Music tech

(02:30:03) General public understanding of an audio engineer

(02:35:46) Collaboration with Strymon and Sequential

(02:40:17) Creative retention

(02:45:00) Purity of creation

(02:47:03) Definition of an artist

(02:52:04) Message sent to everyone's smartphone

Danimal Cannon (Dan Behrens) is an artist and musician best known for his guitar-driven Gameboy/chiptune music. He's also a mixing and mastering engineer, and has toured and performed live extensively.

DANIMAL CANNON LINKS:

Website: https://www.danimalcannon.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0AqwYovalxngrN9eVyiUXg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danimalcannonmusic

X: https://twitter.com/armcannon

Bandcamp: https://danimalcannon.bandcamp.com/music

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1RFcDZxxdM1jEchZNxJMAs?si=wmbYBTnVT7K-teJIiioqCA

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/danimal-cannon/617198535

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:02:03) Finland trivia

(00:03:59) About Danimal Cannon

(00:09:37) Importance of music production

(00:12:36) Working with non-musician clients

(00:16:36) How people perceive music

(00:20:30) Relationship between composition, arrangement, and orchestration

(00:26:16) Danimal Cannon’s mixing process

(00:30:51) Danimal Cannon’s reference audio tracks

(00:33:11) Markus’ musical background

(00:38:51) Reference audio tracks (continued)

(00:45:30) Thoughts on Hans Zimmer

(00:52:30) Oblivion (movie) OST by M83 and Joseph Trapanese

(00:55:29) Working on the video game Soundfall OST

(00:58:52) Modern sample libraries

(01:06:32) Soundfall OST continued

(01:08:13) Creative constraints, creative block

(01:17:15) Current work and life situation

(01:21:23) Current gaming industry landscape

(01:22:05) Balancing personal life with work

(01:29:16) Luck and Preparation

(01:31:28) Future of the industry and AI

(01:45:01) Dealing with change

(01:47:29) Staying a student and preparing

(01:50:43) Perfectionism

(01:54:07) Studying video game music

(02:00:01) Chiptune music and the indie video game industry

(02:01:30) Modern music technology

(02:06:13) Music tool user interfaces, Sample libraries

(02:10:12) How Danimal Cannon got into music

(02:15:04) Central musical concepts

(02:18:20) Musical notation/scores

(02:30:02) Music engineering

(02:33:04) Guitar playing

(02:35:37) Collaboration, ego, competitiveness, trusting yourself

(02:43:06) Retaining creativity; Obsession

(02:49:13) Balancing personal life with work, Loneliness in creativity

(03:05:03) Definition of an Artist

(03:08:10) Sending a message to everyone’s smartphone

Creatives need to be open. It's what allows them to see the depth and nuance of life. You then take those observations, and speak of them through your creative medium. But that openness is a two-way street. While it feeds your creativity, it can leave you open to attack. In this episode, we discuss why it's still important to remain open, and how one can manage this state constructively and effectively.

In this episode we talk about complaining and how it drains your time, energy, and willpower. I discuss my past experiences with it, as well as some of the approaches I've taken to reduce the amount of it, and how it has positively impacted my life.

In this episode we explore attitudes as tools that you should be able to deploy at will to explore and enforce certain perspectives against the outcomes you want to see in life.

Despite our current emotions and feelings, we can choose to act in contrast to those emotions. We can choose to follow a set of actions that support us in moving towards the outcomes we want to see, despite how we're feeling right now.

Attitudes are one of the tools that we can use to recontextualize the situations we're in, to rekindle a new, more empowering and energizing approach that supports us in getting to where we want to go.

In today's episode we explore the idea of how learning new things, expanding your understanding, equates to moving around to discover new perspectives. You must not let yourself become stagnant in life when it comes to your mind. You have to keep moving. Learn new things. Garner new perspectives. Observe problems from multiple angles. This is how you revivify your outlook on life and maintain a more realistic picture of what's possible and how to move past barriers. You do so by learning. By experiencing. By expanding your understanding. You must entertain the possibility that a different, better perspective is out there. Pick up that new book. Start listening to that new podcast. Change is possible. You just lack a key piece of information.

We're back. It's been a heck of a year, but for me there can be no life without BABA, so let's go.

In this episode we talk about the need for management for creative people, especially for those who work alone, and how you can use a schedule to assure stuff gets done faster, more effectively, and more reliably.

BABA interviews will be coming back, so let me know if there's an artist you'd like me to interview.

Thanks for sticking around. Your interest means the world to me.

It's been a while since I released an episode, but I haven't been sitting on my laurels. I've been tremendously prolific, filming over 100+ episodes of this podcast, but the audio is not salvageable unfortunately.

In this episode, we talk about how all creatives can look at these types of "lost and wasted work" -scenarios, and how to orient themselves towards these challenges in the most constructive and positive manner possible.

I want to thank you for sticking around, and for tuning in once again. This podcast is a deeply meaningful and important mission for me. I want to do better in the future, and deliver you the best possible content I can make.

As always, let me know if there's a topic you'd like me to discuss!