# Hey hey from Gothenburg, Sweden



## Mikecheck (Jun 16, 2017)

Hello fellow creators! 

I live in beautiful Scandinavia and I am a listener of all kinds of music but my main inspiration comes from the world of rock and heavy metal. I'm just getting started with orchestrating some compositions of mine in hope of someday having them used for cinema or TV. This interest in cinematic music is something I discovered rather recently and I by no means claim to have reached where you experts out there are.

I am a percussionist above anything else. Naturally my weapon of choice in most musical contexts would be the drum stick but I've also had some basic training in how to create sounds without smashing things (just in case). I've played guitar and some piano on the side for about a decade and a half so I also have some knowledge about instruments with strings besides those with bruises. 

For the compositions I'm referring to here though I mainly use an Akai MPC Renaissance and the Akai MPC software along with Cubase. Being a poor and stupid university student I tend to prioritize recreational substances over expensive vst plugins which I obviously understand is something I could change to take my pieces to another level. Atm though I'm happy with having Edirol at my disposal for my orchestral compositions.

When I came across this forum I just felt like it could be a good place to learn more about the arts of scoring and orchestration and maybe in time also to show members what I have created myself. I'm looking forward to hearing from people with passions similar to mine and I am thankful for any input that could potentially make me a better composer/producer.

Peace

/Mike


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## J-M (Jun 17, 2017)

Hello and welcome to the forum. I too started with heavier music (my main instrument is the guitar, how predictable) and got slowly pulled into the world of soundtracks!


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## Mikecheck (Jun 19, 2017)

Hello and thank you! 

Fantastic to find a fellow metalhead on the forum so soon. 

How do you make use of these influences when making cinematic music in your opinion?

Hope the attraction of the world of soundtracks hasn't pulled you away from the heavy stuff. Not that I think it has. It certainly hasn't been the case for me anyway. So what kind of heavy music are we talking about? 

I always go back to listening to Alice in Chains, Machine Head and Mastodon. Growing up in this city though it is hard for a musician that is into metal not to be exposed to our local legends such as The Haunted and In Flames but I luckily love their music too so that has been all good for me I believe.


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## J-M (Jun 20, 2017)

How do I make use of my influences? Hmm, well, I certainly know my way around the guitar. Definitely useful when I make something like this:  or when I need to lay down some acoustic guitars, etc. Drum programming is also something that's proven to be a very useful skill in the world of soundtracks.

I listen to all kinds music and metal, but my favorites are on the technical side, like Dream Theater, Periphery, AAL, Monuments, Tesseract, etc. But when I want to watch some heavy and simple (yet glorious) riffing I type "Ola Englund" on youtube... 

Musically, I don't think my metal side has influenced my traditional soundtrack music that much, it's the other way around: I constantly feel the need to add some orchestra in my metal songs...and no, I still make lots of heavier stuff, it's just not on Soundcloud, saving that stuff for the upcoming EP and the album...


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## Mikecheck (Jun 20, 2017)

Wow that was some darkness! I like it! Makes me feel like hunting monsters in first person shooter video games. 

Btw I forgot to mention the biggest soundtrack influence of all for me: Sascha Dikiciyan of Sonic Mayhem who made the soundtrack for the PC-shooter Quake 2 that came out in the 90's. Really good heavy stuff right there.

Yeah I can understand why you would have use for your guitar skills in your soundtrack making. 

I hear you. Love all those bands too except DT... I'm telling you man Ola riffs his axe to pieces. 

Metal with orchestra sounds sweet, that's certainly something I want to hear when the time has come for it's release.
Is it a solo album you are working on or are you producing with a band?


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## J-M (Jun 20, 2017)

Mikecheck said:


> Wow that was some darkness! I like it! Makes me feel like hunting monsters in first person shooter video games.
> 
> Btw I forgot to mention the biggest soundtrack influence of all for me: Sascha Dikiciyan of Sonic Mayhem who made the soundtrack for the PC-shooter Quake 2 that came out in the 90's. Really good heavy stuff right there.
> 
> ...



Thank you!

Yeah, I remember Quake II, such an awesome soundtrack, I was actually recently thinking about covering "Descent into Cerberon"...Funny thing, Sascha was also involved with the OST (which I love) for Mass Effec 3.

Both releases are pretty much solo efforts. I do have a drummer and a singer, but I wrote everything...of course I appreciate any suggestions they make because both are talented dudes! the EP is a bit lighter and the album is much more heavier and darker. The orchestra is not the main point, though, it's not featured on every song. We'll start recording in a few months when everybody is in the same city again, going to be a busy year with the university stuff and all...

Once you're ready, be sure to post your music on this forum so we all can hear it!


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## Mikecheck (Jun 20, 2017)

Interesting. That's the song besides Quad Machine that we used to jam on in the rehearsal studio with my old band.  Gotta check that Mass Effect soundtrack out too. Man, Sascha has a great sense for riffs that go with shotguns that's for sure. 

Sounds like you have a lot going on over there. Looking forward to hearing both your EP and your album. I'm sure you will do well even without the orchestra. I noticed you live in Finland so I think managing to find both a drummer and a singer in your own country is a quite remarkable thing to accomplish so I understand having them all in the same city, let alone under the same roof must be even harder. No offense, I love Finland. The same would be true in my case here in Sweden if it wasn't for the fact that I've only had to look for guitar players so far and they seem to grow like weeds everywhere. No offense again, I love guitar players too.

University huh? I think I know what you're talking about my friend. It's a lot of fun too though. What is your major? I got the same stuff going on you know. I'm hopefully writing my thesis in psychology this fall. It would be cool if I could make it about music somehow but we'll see.

I'll definitely post my soundtrack music here when I have some of that ready. In the meantime you could check out this song if you want to hear something I've made in the past. 

[soundcloud url="" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]

It isn't as cinematic as the stuff I'm working on right now but anyway at least it's something.


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## J-M (Jun 21, 2017)

My major is English Philology. And yes, finding GOOD musicians in general is a bit of a hassle...I found both by a pure accident!  Interesting stuff you got there...feels a bit ominous and disturbing...


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## Mikecheck (Jun 30, 2017)

Cool. Sounds interesting. 

I know man. Especially when you're looking for them. Accidents sure can bring good things. 

Thank you! I think the other stuff I'm working on will feel more comfortable. I've now found the flute in Edirol!


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## Wibben (Jun 30, 2017)

Välkommen 

I also started, and never really left, the world of rock and metal. Guitar being my weapon of choice 

I hope you'll enjoy the forums, it's been indispensable in my journey into the cinematic world


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## Mikecheck (Jul 7, 2017)

Wibben said:


> Välkommen
> 
> I also started, and never really left, the world of rock and metal. Guitar being my weapon of choice
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy the forums, it's been indispensable in my journey into the cinematic world



Tackar!

Sweet! Great to hear that my fellow Nordic metal heads are armed and present on the forum. 

How far into the cinematic world have you gotten so far? Is it a profession or are you maybe more like me hoping to get there someday?

Do you have any links to your music posted somewhere on this forum? 

I would love to hear your stuff!


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