Recently caught up with musician, composer, producer, member of Survive and co-creator of the Stranger Things score, Michael Stein (
@michaelstein ).
Michael recently created the music for
@moogsynthesizers ’s Arrival of the Messenger, a video short showcasing the company’s new synth. He created everything from musical sequences, to birds, insects, and other synthesized foley textures using only the Moog Messenger.
We talk about his approach to creating the music, his first impressions of the Messenger, and what he’s working on now.
Here’s an excerpt on writing the music:
[“I’ve always loved Moog. We had a creative talk. They told me they’d be shooting the video soon and I’d have just a couple of days to write the music so they could play it on set. So I wouldn’t be scoring to picture, it was more like shaping a mood in advance. They wanted it to start ambiguously, not too dark or too ominous, real mysterious, then become frenetic and end on a revelatory, positive note - where everything comes to fruition. That’s tricky without a visual to anchor it.
At first, I didn’t really know what to do because it’s a monosynth, but then I started playing Rhodes through the audio in, finding chords to fit a mood. I figured out a chord progression, then came up with a sequence with the internal sequencer. It still felt empty without having visuals to match, so I started creating foley with The Messenger: birds and streams, a textural background of nature sounds. That gave me something more imaginative to write over. Then for the ending, I made this pseudo-choir through overdubs, just stacking layers. It was spontaneous and really fun.
I think the coolest part about it was after I was done, I asked them, “Are you cool with all the foley? The birds, the insects, the water?” and they were like, “Yeah, do more if you want!” I was like, “Ok, well can you tell me some of the items that might be in the video?” So basically, I started creating wind, crickets, owls, frogs, a bog/marsh. Every sound in that piece was made with the Messenger. Even the pelican case opening, people walking on leaves… everything.“]
Photos + interview:
@danz_cm
Read the whole thing online.
![Recently caught up with musician, composer, producer, member of Survive and co-creator of the Stranger Things score, Michael Stein (@michaelstein).Michael recently created the music for @moogsynthesizers’s Arrival of the Messenger, a video short showcasing the company’s new synth. He created everything from musical sequences, to birds, insects, and other synthesized foley textures using only the Moog Messenger.We talk about his approach to creating the music, his first impressions of the Messenger, and what he’s working on now.Here’s an excerpt on writing the music:[“I’ve always loved Moog. We had a creative talk. They told me they’d be shooting the video soon and I’d have just a couple of days to write the music so they could play it on set. So I wouldn’t be scoring to picture, it was more like shaping a mood in advance. They wanted it to start ambiguously, not too dark or too ominous, real mysterious, then become frenetic and end on a revelatory, positive note - where everything comes to fruition. That’s tricky without a visual to anchor it.At first, I didn’t really know what to do because it’s a monosynth, but then I started playing Rhodes through the audio in, finding chords to fit a mood. I figured out a chord progression, then came up with a sequence with the internal sequencer. It still felt empty without having visuals to match, so I started creating foley with The Messenger: birds and streams, a textural background of nature sounds. That gave me something more imaginative to write over. Then for the ending, I made this pseudo-choir through overdubs, just stacking layers. It was spontaneous and really fun.I think the coolest part about it was after I was done, I asked them, “Are you cool with all the foley? The birds, the insects, the water?” and they were like, “Yeah, do more if you want!” I was like, “Ok, well can you tell me some of the items that might be in the video?” So basically, I started creating wind, crickets, owls, frogs, a bog/marsh. Every sound in that piece was made with the Messenger. Even the pelican case opening, people walking on leaves… everything.“]Photos + interview: @danz_cmRead the whole thing online.](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6724364770701759361573_0_618c91b19c6935502d485a635825b559.jpg?o=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&h=1a4c4d62e90cadcd57821d6cce917ac8)
