#69: Today's guest is Aaron Cherof, a composer based in Seattle. He has been composing for indie games for well over a decade and has most recently worked on two games that have become huge hits, such as Cobalt Core and Minecraft.    In this episode, we talk about how Aaron has spent 15 years as a composer before he was able to go full-time. We also talk about the importance of creating work, even when you're not getting hired to work on projects, how to find your own musical voice as a...

#68: Today's guest is Zach Heyde, a composer based out of Los Angeles. He has worked on a ton of different projects with clients like Disney, Dreamworks, Roblox, and many others. He also runs an online course called "The Composing Career Bootcamp" where he teaches composers how to build a full-time career.    In this episode, Zach and I talk about the importance of being uncomfortable, the types of opportunities there are in the world of composition, how to start networking as an introvert,...

#67: Today's guest is Kian How, a composer, sound designer, and music performer based out of Shanghai, China. Kian has worked on a ton of different projects, such as games like Spec Ops The Line, Dishonored, and Marvel: Heroes Unite. He has also worked with clients such as Huawei and is also a player of the Egyptian oud, which is similar to a lute.    In this episode, we talk about Kian's start in Boston and how he ended up moving to China after college, the truth of what a sound designer...

#66: Today's guest is James Landino, a composer and DJ based out of Tokyo, Japan. He has worked on a variety of projects including Battlegrounds Mobile, No Straight Roads, Tower of God, Roblox, and many, many others.    In this episode, we talk about how James developed his iconic electronic music style, what upcoming composers can do to stand out in a saturated industry, what's next for James now that he's been composing for 20 years, and so much more.     Find James Landino here: Youtube:...

#65: Today's guest is Jett Galindo, a mixing and mastering engineer and soprano singer based in Los Angeles. She has worked on countless high-profile projects such as the soundtracks for La La Land, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, and has worked with artists such as Pink Floyd, Towa Bird, and countless others. In this episode, we talk about Jett's journey from the Philippines to the U.S., how she got into music mastering in the first place, how she faced overt sexism in the industry she wanted to...

#64: Today's guest is Bastian Gerner, a Foley artist based out of Düsseldorf, Germany. He has worked in the film and game industries as a Foley artist for decades and, most recently, worked as a full-time senior Foley artist for Ubisoft. Nowadays, on top of his freelancing business, he also coaches up and coming sound designers on breaking into the film and game industry, as well as how to record high quality using a home setup.    In this episode, we talk about Bastian's career and how he...

#63: Today's guest is Nicolas Gasparini, also known as Myuu. Nicolas is a long-time pianist and composer who's been uploading dark piano horror music since 2006 and has built a huge following in that time with over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and another 300,000 subscribers on YouTube. He's also worked on short films and video games and is currently working on the upcoming horror game Post Trauma. In this episode we talk about finding your niche as a composer and how important it is...

#62: Today's guest is Joy Ngiaw, an award-winning composer based in Los Angeles. Joy has worked on a ton of projects including the animated short Blush, Disney's experimental short series Short Circuit, Cobra Kai, What Remains of Edith Finch, and many others.    In this episode, we talk about how she grew up in rural Malaysia, made her way to Shanghai, China, and eventually Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. We also talk about how she got into composition from her early days as...

#61: Today's guest is ZW Buckley, a musician, producer, and composer based in Seattle writing in a broad variety of genres and styles for a ton of different projects. His work includes writing a pop soundtrack for Barbie: You Can Be A Fashion Designer VR, teaching music production at Point Blank Music School and running the game audio co-op, Plant Based Audio.    In this episode, ZW and I talk about how to join and be a part of the game dev community quickly, how to find your first projects,...

#60: Today's guest is Christian Büttner A.K.A. TheFatRat, who is a producer, DJ, and musician based mainly out of Germany. Chris has millions of listeners from all over the world, and has accumulated billions of plays so far. He did this without a major record label, all while giving his music away for free.    In this episode, we talk about how he started in the world of classical music and transitioned into electronic music much later. We also go into how he taught himself electric music...

#59: Today's guest is Henri Sorvali, a musician and composer based in Finland. He started off his career has a classical and jazz pianist who ended up starting two successful Finnish black metal bands, Moonsorrow and Finntroll. He is also a full-time game composer working in-house at Rovio Entertainment, the company most famously known for The Angry Birds games.    In this episode, we talk about how why Henri stopped his life of being a touring musician in front of thousands of screaming...

#58: Today's guest is Nuno Fonseca, founder of the company Sound Particles. Sound Particles started off their journey by making a piece of software with the same name, which allows anyone to create immersive 3D audio. Since their founding, Sound Particles has gone on to be used in countless movies, TV shows, and video games such as Oppenheimer, Assassin's Creed Origins, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and many others.     In this episode, we talk about how Nuno got started in the world of...

#57: Today's guest is Katherine Tole, a voice actor and dialogue editor based in Seattle. She's a dialogue editor at Jackbox Games and is working on the soon-to-be released Jackbox Party Pack 10. She's also teaching courses on how to get jobs as a voice actor, especially through the voiceover marketplace Voice123. She's currently working on some exciting top-secret projects as well.    In this episode, we talk about how Katherine transitioned from being a full-time engineer in Silicon...

#56: Today's guest is Dawn M. Bennett, a voice actor based in Los Angeles. Dawn has been a professional voice actor for almost ten years, and has voiced hundreds of characters across games, movies, and anime. She's worked on iconic franchises such as Dragon Ball Super, World of Warcraft, Street Fighter VI, Monster Hunter, Diablo IV, Pokemon, and Attack on Titan, among many others.    In this episode, we talk about Dawn's rise to voice acting success considering she didn't go to theater or...

#55: Today's guest is Amit May Cohen, a composer based in Los Angeles. Amit has worked on projects such as Zombies 2 and 3, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone, and many others.   In this episode, we talk about her journey into becoming a film composer in L.A., her growth as a musician over the years, how she recommends new composers break into the industry and Hollywood scene, and so much more.    Find Amit May Cohen here: Website:...

#54: Today's guest is Chris Parker, a freelance sound designer based in Seattle. He has worked on games such as Shadows Over Loathing, Wizard with a Gun, Beast Breaker, and is also the wonderful editor of this podcast.    In this episode, we talk about how I met Chris years ago at a PAX Conference in Seattle. Since moving from Seattle, Chris has gone from being a budding sound designer to a being a full-time pro. We also talk about his journey on becoming a full-time sound designer knowing...

#53: Today's guests are Adam Lukas and James Everingham, composers based out of Los Angeles and working in Hans Zimmer's collective known as Bleeding Fingers Music. Adam and James have worked on tons of film and TV projects over their careers and have recently written music for the document Frozen Planet II, alongside Hans Zimmer.     In this episode we talk about how there's quite a lot of opportunity for film composers and how you have to be willing to look for it and why these composers...

#52: Today's guest is Nathan Ruyle. He is a sound designer and founder of the company This Is Sound Design.   In this episode, we talk about Nathan's climb in the industry, why he decided to start a sound design company that focuses on more creative and independent projects over the big Hollywood blockbusters, the identity crisis that sound for film is currently going through, and much more.   Find Nathan Ruyle here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tisdstudios/ Facebook:...

#51: Today's guest is Philip White, a composer who has worked on video game, TV, and film projects such as Agent Carter, The Sims 3, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. He has composed for over 142 episodes of Supernatural and is also currently composing for Supernatural's pre-sequel, The Winchesters.  In this episode, we talk about how what it's like to compose for hundreds of episodes of the same TV show, how he stays fresh creatively between projects, and how he started as a drama...

#50: Today's guest is Tony Manfredonia, who is a composer and singer-songwriter based in rural Michigan. He's worked on projects such as Kharon's Crypt and Call of Saregnar. He is also a concert composer who teaches composition students online.  In this episode, we talk about how Tony manages to make a living in music online while living in a rural town, how he handled low points in his career, and how balancing work and life is one of the best decisions he has ever made, among many other...

#49: Today's guest is Mason Lieberman, a composer for games, TV,  film, and anime. He has worked on a huge variety of projects including RWBY, Beyblade, Gundam, Apex Legends, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).   In this episode, we talk about how Mason grew such a successful career in a short amount of time, how he learned to write in so many musical styles, how he networks with people around the world, and so much more.    Find Mason Lieberman here: Instagram:...

#48: Today's guest is Troupe Gammage, a composer, voice actor, and sound designer who's currently travelling the world and not staying in one place for very long.     In this episode, we talk about Troupe's work on games such as Solar Ash and Lord of the Rings Online, how he learned the skills of both music and sound design, and how he got into voice acting and voicing multiple characters. We also talk about his days touring with his bands SPEAK, RAC, and The Chain Gang of 1974 and how he's...

#47: Today's guest is Joel Corelitz, who is a composer for film and games based in Chicago. He has worked on a large number of projects such as Hyper Light Breaker, Halo Infinite, Solar Ash, Death Stranding, The Unfinished Swan, and many others.   In this episode, we talk about Joel's creative process, how he ended up working on such huge projects despite his distance from LA, what he does when feeling a creative block, and so much more.    Find Joel Corelitz here: Instagram:...

#46: Our guest today is Bill Lacey, a grammy-award winning sound designer,  re-recording mixer, and mastering engineer based in New York City. He has worked on countless projects including Major League Baseball, the Halo TV series, Showtime, and much more.    In this episode, we talk about the industry changes Bill has seen in his time in the audio field and how he broke into doing such a varied amount of projects. We also talk about his teaching work and how he brings up the next...