5 minutes with Ryan Amon
Immortality is the latest album from Fired Earth Music featuring 12 cues from the extremely talented composer, Ryan Amon. I can’t describe this album better than the designer of the cover art Scott Eaton whose work was inspired by Ryan’s epic music: “It was powerful & orchestral with that unmistakable cinematic sound. This epic music resonated with the type of classically inspired artwork I create, whether characters for Hollywood films or creating my own artwork.” Know more about this album from the composer himself!
Tell us about the project brief and the direction you took for Immortality?
The brief for Immortality was for a traditional epic trailer album. I was looking for that big sound without the hybrid elements, and it was a thrill to work on it knowing that a large orchestra would be recording it. The goal was also to make it very editor-friendly…
If you could pick three movies, past or present that Immortality‘s cues could advertise, what would they be?
I think this album would fit the superhero genre really well. I wrote with the combination of action and drama in my mind, so I think it would lend itself to films like Thor, The Fantastic Four, and Captain America, although there are also tracks that would work well for epic films like Troy or The Immortals.
Can you tell us a little bit about the process of working with Fired Earth Music from initial discussions to final sign off?
Working with Hannah and Sara at Fired Earth Music was great. They are really down to earth and enjoy what they do, which makes it a lot of fun to be a part of. As far as the first discussions for the album, it was basically conversations of what kinds of movies these tracks might be used for and they kind of let me run with it. They were looking for something epic and traditional, keeping away from the electronic influences. Sometimes as a composer the writing you initially start out with takes a different turn from where you thought the idea might be wanting to go, and I actually like that part of the process, you know, being able to let it go where it wants. There were some tweaks made here and there along the way that they knew would make it easier for editors to cut to.
You’ve written a lot of trailer tracks in your career, is this your first album that has been entirely composed by you?
Well I started working on trailer music just a couple of years ago. Before that I was doing music for TV and I wanted to branch out and challenge myself more. I always really enjoyed listening to epic music, and I think composers enjoy writing what they like to listen to. So it was a pretty natural next step for me. I started up my own personal project in 2009 so I could write the kind of trailer music I wanted to with complete freedom, and that was a lot of fun for me. ‘Immortality’ is the first full album outside of my own company that I’ve done.
What other projects have you been working on in the last 12 months?
I finished up a trailer music album called Divine Power for my own company this past year, and I’ve been working on my first film as well. I absolutely love writing film music and I feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to open a new door to my career.
What does the future hold for Ryan Amon? Where would you like to go next?
I’d love to do films. It’s what got me into orchestral music in the first place, and I can’t think of anything more powerful than the marriage of music to picture… the whole storytelling process. I was a photography student in school, so getting to work with both of those mediums (the visual and aural) is the perfect fit for the way my brain works. I’m also looking forward to doing some more trailer music in the future, maybe pushing things outside the box a little bit. Most people who know me know that I’m a Christian, and that my faith inspires the music I write. So I’m open to whatever God has in store for me in the future. It took me a while to understand how being a composer can truly help others, like the profession of a doctor or teacher can. But I realized that we have the ability to inspire, and that is my goal for the future – to inspire people with the music I write.
UPDATE – April 5, 2012: Immortal is now available to the public for purchase through iTunes and Amazon. For licensing information, contact Fired Earth Music.
