Composing Electronic Music (Masters Graduate - Distinction) - All styles welcome (Electronic / Pop / Indie / Experimental / Ambient / etc.)

Find out more about Sam

• When did you first develop a passion for music and your favourite instrument?

  I began learning the piano when I was 4, after falling in love with the sound when given the chance to play on the piano of a relative (so I’m told - I was too young to remember). As a dyslexic child, music was a way for me to enjoy learning while other subjects were more difficult.
  
  My interest in music technology started when I was given a small Yamaha keyboard for my 11th birthday. This keyboard had a few hundred preset sounds and I spent hours exploring them before eventually feeling the need to create my own. Around this time I was lucky enough to live close to a music centre offering free weekly music technology workshops which I attended for several years.

• Is there a particular type music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  I could listen to Boards of Canada forever! There is always another layer to uncover in their music.

• Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  One of the things I love about teaching music technology is how wide the scope can be. Difficulty in the context of music technology is mostly defined by how well you want to do something: understanding how to use a compressor could be more difficult than designing an FM synthesiser from scratch. It all depends on perspective and where you draw your finish line.

• What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  I’m probably biased, but I think a computer is probably the most complicated instrument to master. Even within a single synthesiser or sampler there can be enough depth to take years to truly master but software like MAX/MSP or Reaktor allows you design and modify instruments, truly giving you endless possibilities.

• What are your keys to success?

  1. Always be open to learning new skills: They can be directly or loosely related to your practice, but any kind of development keeps you on your toes.
  
  2. Don’t overlook the fundamentals: The most simple tools and techniques can often be the most powerful ones when they’re properly understood. EQ is a great example of that.
  
  3.There are no right or wrong answers: It can be easy to feel like there’s a correct way of doing things and everything else is wrong but there’s always another option and some of the most interesting music is made by doing things the wrong way.

• Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  At the moment, I’d love to meet Floating Points. I think he has a great mix of making very thoughtful music, making great dance music and being a big nerd. I’d also love to meet the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, from what I know of him, it seems like he would have had a lot of interesting things to say around mixing acoustic sounds with electronic ones. His album Async is also one of my favourites. Finally, Kadhja Bonet, her music makes such creative use of harmony and instrumentation and I’d love to hear her talk about her writing process and how she uses the studio as a tool in her work to create such lush sound worlds.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  During my time at university studying music, one of the most important experiences was seeing how much creativity is nurtured by limitation. Many of my composition assignments had briefs that felt unreasonably restrictive, but every time I opened myself up to working around a limitation, I was always very pleased to experience new avenues for composition, sound design or other aspects of the creative process.

• What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  I enjoy learning with students. If there is a unfamiliar topic or a tool that a student wants to learn, I’ll spend the time to research and learn about it myself. This allows me to experience the area as a beginner and understand the problems and solutions that come with that.
  I pride myself on my ability to adapt my teaching style and lesson content to my students, their needs and moods. Sometimes a student might have had a hard day and learning something really technical just isn’t going to work. I’m comfortable switching gears when required, to do something more relaxed or exciting.