If we start from the beginning, where does your interest in music stem from?
Both sides of my family are deeply into music (and film). My dad in particular always showed me amazing music as a kid in the 1990s and early 2000s (Pat Metheny Group, Radiohead, Porcupine Tree, Morrissey, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, etc). But even before learning about all of that, I realized I loved music as early as my first time seeing Beetlejuice and Batman 1989 (Tim Burton) as a kid – maybe 1990/1991. The music connected with me and was almost as important (at the time) as the aesthetics of Tim Burton’s films. As an adult, the music is dominant in his films for me – but as a kid, the characters and scenery always blew my mind. I spent a lot of my allowance and kid-jobs buying music, anything from White Zombie, Stone Temple Pilots, to Mazzy Star, Wu-Tang Clan, Sade, etc.

Coming from a band background, how did you fall into composing for films and games? Was it always something that you had in the back of your mind and something you gravitated towards?
My band, Binary Code, slowly started making our way towards a more cinematic sound. By the time we got to our most recent release in 2020 (which we recorded in 2017), we were already full-tilt cinematic. But even before that, I started leaning into film for influence on the stories that I had in my head. We started out as a silly technical metal band in 2004, and just changed constantly. At this point, if I wrote another album it’d be 100% cinematic, nothing for showmanship or technicality. Which leads to 2018, when I had my first chance to compose for Marvel. The person who graciously asked me to write music for them connected with me over the album my band released in 2020. It got the gears turning, and the career just kind of happened.

Your first gig for Marvel turned out to be hugely successful and even got you a WEBBY AWARD. From there, you’ve completed several other major projects. Out of all projects you’ve worked on so far, which one stands out to you on a personal and professional level?
What we’re working on with Riot Games right now is the stuff of dreams for me. I wish I could share more than that, but I am so proud of how the production is coming together so far that I have to say that this is a crowning achievement we’re working towards. But I will always love the grass roots nature of my work with Marvel early on. The series we won awards with was grown from personal conversations, so to see that happen and then win awards is monumental for fueling a career in composing.

Your productions range anything from orchestral to synth and metal – sometimes all combined and often with a dark and industrial twist. Out of all these styles, is there one you prefer or is it the combination that excites you?
One of the things about working with companies like Marvel or Riot, is that you have to be able to do everything. And for anyone reading this who may be interested in composing – there are a few types of folks who get the gigs: those who can say “yes!” to anything and deliver a fantastic production – and those who can say “yes!” to things they are quantifiably the best at, and they deliver unparalleled productions of specific genres/styles. I enjoy doing EVERYTHING at this point. If you name a genre, I will find an example of something that I enjoy. I will always learn towards the darker side of music by nature — but I have truly enjoyed challenging my comfort zones with Riot. I think my favorite styles of metal to write are dissonant black metal (hugely into Deathspell Omega’s “Paracletus”), the styles my band Daath does (virtuoso-centric orchestral progressive metal), post-metal (huge fan of Cult of Luna), but also stuff that melds influences of mine, like: Extol, Failure, Harm’s Way, Decapitated, Anata, Textures, etc.

Working in all fields from series to games, trailers and traditional songwriting for bands, is there one you prefer? If so, why?
At this point, I prefer to write for games, but have a deep desire to push forward into film pretty heavily at some point soon. I’ve had some interest from film folks I really admire and I think that’s where I will end up long-term. And that’s only because it’s my first love for storytelling. Games are fantastic and I love how incredible the productions are, but I truly love dark cinema – especially dark fantasy, horror and sci-fi.

When composing for different medias, does your process differ a lot depending on where the track you’re writing is supposed to end up? Is there a lot of creative freedom when writing for something that already has a narrative and a context, like a game, for example?
Absolutely, games prefer a much more pre-determined approach to them, you can’t just write and expect it to work. You have to consider so many things, from sound design to foley work, etc. – but also how it works transitionally when the action is driven by a human being. And when you’re working with any company who has a dedicated fanbase, characters, lore, etc., you have to respect all of that with every decision you make.  We work with music guides and they’re written by incredibly intelligent musicians/composers who put a ton of time into musicology/ethnomusicology, research and theory into developing resources for us to work from.  We have everything spelled out up to the music and then we have to basically be professional interpreters who translate the ideas of a greater team into music!

Walk us through a typical day of yours – on the job composing!
Typically, I start my music-centric work in the afternoon into late night. I do my best work when my country is asleep. Before I even start composing, I do a lot of desk work, ranging from answering emails, networking, following up, getting all of my affairs straight for the day. Our music team meets twice a week, where we showcase where we’re at with music from the last meeting and we “demo derby” — getting feedback, taking notes, fixing issues, trying out new ideas. So before I even start opening a session to work on music, I’ll go through notes, re-read them a handful of times, maybe interpret a wordy bit of feedback into something more concise, make a list of all of the notes, and then – and only then – do I start opening a session to crack in. A lot of mistakes can be made rushing into a session without a game plan. Wasted time is a huge problem for a company with 5,000 people who are all working on deadlines for something!

You’ve been an avid Toontrack user for a long time. In your work, which products make the biggest difference and, overall, how does the programs help in your day-to-day work?
I am never ashamed to admit how much I love Toontrack’s product line. I’ve been using Toontrack since 2002 – I still have an install disc for Drumkit From Hell. And to this day, I still very actively use Toontrack, including wherever appropriate for clients who have budgets to hire live musicians. EZkeys 2 in particular is one that my household uses (as only a few may know, my partner is a fantastic pianist who helped launch EZkeys 2 with video performances). It sounds incredible, and frankly blows aways any recommended piano VST I’ve ever heard about. EZkeys 2 in particular has an environmental performance sound that simply doesn’t exist with other libraries – this is crucial for actual pianists. I can’t even begin to imagine how Toontrack will outdo that library. The ease and functionality of the EZdrummer 3 EZX libraries are always fabulous for quick, high quality sounds I need in my workflows. I especially love the Synthwave EZX, Number 1 Hits, and Hip-Hop EZX drum expansions. Toontrack have done the best job at making kits functional for writing, not just audiologically, but also functionally and technically speaking.