Video Interview with Immediate Music

Published on: August 25, 2009June 8, 2014Author: Michael MoroneComment: 0

We were more than excited when Yoav Goren agreed to do an interview at Immediate Music’s HQ. Michael Morone, Trailer Music News’ videographer travelled to Santa Monica with his friend to meet Mr. Goren and he returned with more than we expected. Our cameras could see the place where the magical music of Immediate Music library born, the whole “facility”.

Thursday March 5th, 2009. Forty-five minutes before the interview my friend Ryan Ramirez and I are standing outside the building that we had the address to. The small plaque next to the door said ‘300: Immediate Music’. I wondered if I was in the right place. The building was very non-descript. There was no sign revealing the composing magic that happens on the inside. The composers of the music for major motion picture trailers such as “Spider-man 2”, “Pirates of the Caribbean 3”, and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” made their music here, but no one could have known. I had to call, just to make sure we were in the right place. We took the extra time to drive around the area. The studio is just a half mile away from the beach. The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day in Santa Monica.

At five minutes to 10, we got buzzed inside. Once on the third floor, we headed towards the studio. It was a lot to take in. Immediate Music sticks out among the other suites in the building, as it’s glass walls display a beautifully decorated studio. We’re welcomed inside by Kyle Biane, the Assistant Engineer, offered drinks, and told that Yoav Goren would be with us shortly. We waited in anticipation, looking at the lighting, and looking around for good places to film the interview. As you can see in the video the lobby is adorned very nicely with artwork by Yoav’s parents. After waiting a few minutes, Yoav came in, and we shook hands with him. Yoav was very gracious, offering drinks to us as well. Knowing our time was limited, we declined, and then we proceeded to his office. Thankfully it was brightly lit. Unfortunately Yoav told us Jeffery Fayman wasn’t in that day. Yoav also said he had only 15 minutes. We scrambled to get the camera ready to film.

This is a great thing for the fans, and it was also personally exciting for me as well. Ryan, working the camera, was the person that had introduced me to the company almost two years before. I had watched the trailer for “X-Men: The Last Stand” from the Immediate Music website, and heard the song “Rising Empire”. Since then, my life’s never been the same, and I listened to every song on their website, realizing that I’d always loved this type of music. It sparked a personal interest in composing. Now, I sat in a chair across from Yoav Goren, interviewing him for the many fans who have all been moved by Immediate Music in their own way. Talk about “music with impact”.

We filmed the interview that you see above. We had so many questions from fans, and our own questions. There just wasn’t the time, but I think we covered a lot of ground. Yoav was very detailed in his answers, and generous with his time. It seemed like he had a lot on his mind. After all, he co-owns the company, composes, plans live concerts for Globus, and more. We were very grateful he made the time for us, as I’m sure I mentioned many times. After 15 minutes I was nervous, because I didn’t want to keep him from his work. He didn’t seem to mind though, and after we finally stopped recording, we talked with him a while longer, about the industry, and it’s growing fanbase. It was obvious to me that Yoav really enjoys his job, and that he truly appreciates his fans. Finally it was over, and he gave us both his card. He stepped out as Kyle stepped back in, ready to give us a tour of the facility.

Again, we rushed slightly to prepare for this. However, we really need not have. Kyle was relaxed, enthusiastic, and more than willing to show us around. We set off to take the tour. What you see in the video is probably more about Immediate Music and their studio then you will ever see anywhere else. It was great hearing about all the technical aspects of their production studio. I could barely understand it, and was paying more attention to the exposure of the camera, but appreciative all the same that he took the time to explain their facilities. Rather apprehensively we went into Yoav’s mixing and composition studio. We shot a bit of him working on a track for the upcoming film, “Land of the Lost”. I felt out of place with my video camera, but it’s great we got to see Yoav at work. We left, and continued the tour, stopping by to meet Mark Phillips, another composer for the company. We even went up to the top of the building to see the view. After filming the introduction to the tour at the end, in traditional film fashion, we thanked Kyle.

Before we left I decided to ask about music rights for the video. Kyle directed me to Emily Weber, Director of Operations, who said I should email Yoav and ask. Rather than leave it at that we stayed for a few minutes longer, discussing the new Angles and Demons trailer. Kyle was wondering whether Immediate’s music was in it. After Emily searched a database on her computer, she found out it was. We listened to the track “With An Iron Fist” from her iTunes; great track that sounded wonderful. The entire Immediate Music library was on the shelf, and Kyle showed us one of the CD’s still in the shrink wrap. These CD’s were how this company made their living. Holding it, I realized that as fans, we are lucky that some of these tracks are available to us. The promise of future releases is a testament to the growing fanbase, and continued support.

After a wonderful hour interviewing Yoav, and meeting the others that worked there, we said our goodbyes, left the building, and drove away. As we did I realized that meeting the composers of Immediate Music is what had preoccupied us beforehand. Now it was over, what I walked away from was a great company where everyone seemed to love what they do. Everyone was working hard, but they made time for us, and welcomed us graciously into their workplace. As fans we will always be grateful for that. I’ll admit, it was intimidating starting with Immediate Music, especially with how their music resonated with me personally. However, perhaps I shouldn’t have been. Yoav referred to their company as a small company. Sitting behind the desk as a fan I found this hard to believe, but after having spent just over an hour with him, and the employees, I came to understand what he meant, and the importance of that. I hope that this video interview and tour can give other fans a glimpse at what kind of a company Immediate Music is.