UK based Cinephonix composer Richard Hunter produces for a range of productions, including music for games, films, advertisements, and animation. He is also a talented bass player and a very flexible musician, composing music in a range of genres, from jazz to rock. We recently caught up with Richard to find up what he’s been up to and where we can expect to see him in the future.
Hi Richard, thanks for taking the time to chat with us! When did you start composing music?
I started composing music with bands since the age of 18. Almost all of them were Rock influenced and I discovered that I really enjoyed being able to communicate my ideas in a band setting. Being the bass player for these bands taught me ways on how to alter ideas to fit an overall theme or vision. It high lighted the importance of perfecting your craft to really hit home your ideas. Although, there’s a limit on how much should and would be accepted with these types of collaborations, therefore orchestral scoring and learning how to effectively produce music became a huge creative awakening at BIMM University (London). I finished my first short film score for a film called the “Invention of Love” during my third year at university (2012). After that I was inspired to peruse orchestral composition and have been building my gear, gaining work experience with working composers, co-producing bands and writing different types of music until I manage to start my own composition studio (2015-present). However, being in these types of bands earlier provided me with the confidence to write music under my own name, and the experience from the studio or otherwise is very much an inspiration to the way I work.
What’s your favourite genre of music to compose?
I’m sure this is popular with most composers, but I enjoy composing thematic orchestral music with a strict melodic theme throughout. Composers such as Bernard Herrmann and John Williams are masters at this, their attention and development to their initial theme is something that always inspires me. When writing music, I always try to include effective orchestration to compliment the main melody theme without over complicating ideas. Certain game and Japanese film composers have some very intense melody driven music, I always enjoy making music that follows a similar compositional goal.
How did you find Cinephonix?
Cinephonix was actually recommended to me during my work experience with Tom Howe a few years back. Tom at the time was composing music for various channel 4 programs and advertising agencies. I recall asking him what avenues he recommended for promoting and selling contemporary and orchestral music, he spoke very highly of Cinephonix.
What’s your favourite track you’ve composed so far in your career?
To me, a lot of the enjoyment from composing music is the creative process of doing it. The song “Market”, which is intended for film and games, had a very straight forward and clear compositional goal. The orchestration and instrumentation worked out naturally, and the production for the song had very little hassle. I had immense fun creating it and I hope that it came across in the recording.
Listen to Market here
What bands and artists do you listen to when you’re not composing?
It’s usually music that is separate from the style I am composing. I think it is important to respect and listen to all types of music for ideas and to broaden your composer pallet. For inspiration and enjoyment, I always tend to listen to music that got me originally interested in music. I love synthesizers, synth composers like Perturbator and Vince Di Cola are always playing in the background. I am a big fan of heavy music, bands like Devin Townsend and Meshuggah, tend to be the most played music on my playlist. The production and general quality of arrangement found on modern orchestral records from composers such as Olafur Arnalds and Thomas Bergersen is something that is always a joy to listen to. I was also a Jazz cruise musician for a time, listening to traditional Jazz from Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong brings back great memories.
What would be your dream project to compose music for?
Scoring music for a drama or fantasy series would be a dream. You can really sky the limit with orchestration with fantasy. The doom and dark nature of dramas is great for experimenting with sounds in the studio. I do enjoy playing and listening to video game music, composing music for a Final Fantasy or Sonic the Hedgehog game would probably be a childhood dream.
What type of projects do you enjoy composing for the most?
I would say game music. There is a little more freedom with game music regards tempos and production design. By referring to music I have composed before, game music has been the quickest and more straight forward to release to the market. Game music melodic themes can be at times more recognisable than film because of its repeated nature. As I’ve mentioned before, reoccurring melodic themes is something that I enjoy homing into in my music.
Have you got any upcoming projects that you’re working on?
I am currently mixing some interactive game loop music to be used with sound engines. They are orchestral in nature but the idea is to have the music adjustable to the interactive nature of games. I should be releasing that soon as a sound pack to developers and to the market. Next week I will be starting and producing metal band Maelstrom's new record, I am looking forward to having a slight change of pace with that. There’s a few other recording artist projects that I should be producing later this year but I am just waiting confirmation and organising dates. I will be composing music for a video game early next year, however the development is still too early to mention what type of game it is. Other than that I will composing material for music libraries such as Cinephonix who have been great!
Once again we’d like to thank Richard for taking the time to talk to us, we’re looking forward to hearing your upcoming work. Richard has a range of music available to listen to on the Cinephonix Music Library so make sure you have a listen.
Listen to Richard's Cinephonix Tracks
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