Thinking In Sound: Maiken Silverup on Why The Future of Music Is Bright
Maiken Silverup is a music supervisor at Leland Music, with over five years of experience in the industry. During those years she’s worked on a wide variety of clients ranging from H&M, KIA, CeraVe, Kurt Geiger and COS.
LBB> When you’re working on a new brief or project, what’s your typical starting point? How do you break it down and how do you like to generate your ideas or response?
Maiken> When diving into the brief, I try to map out the “hard” lines of the brief, and then the “soft” lines. What’s the directors goal, how can we amplify the idea and give that extra quality?
My ideal scenario is this: you’re my client. I take you to a listening bar in Japan. The place is empty, it’s 3pm. We don’t care - we have a cocktail and start going through the library. We’ll go through records you loved as a kid - building the music history of your life, so I can understand your references and perspectives. Together, we find the ultimate track.
LBB> Music and sound are in some ways the most collaborative and interactive forms of creativity - what are your thoughts on this? Do you prefer to work solo or with a gang - and what are some of your most memorable professional collaborations?
Maiken> I’m definitely a team person - I love having my co-workers around, sharing music finds, helping each other out when getting stuck on a brief. But I also think it’s important to trust your inner voice and gut. We all have different memories, references, ideas and thoughts, which I think is what draws us all to the job.
LBB> What’s the most satisfying part of your job and why?
Maiken> Obviously finding the perfect track and having the client loving it…! I often say (to myself and to others) that if I could tell my 15-year-old self that I’d work in music, I’d probably not believe myself. I’m still excited about everything we do. It sounds cheesy, but I love my job!
LBB> As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it?
Maiken> It’s everchanging - I think we’re in a really interesting phase currently with AI development. I bet it was a similar feeling when CDs died out and mp3s became the norm! Music will always be important for humans, it’s so integrated in what we do as a species.
I feel quite strongly about the craft - we’re not only interested in the pure sound but the story behind, the meaning of the lyrics, the people creating the music. So I’m looking to the future quite positively - some work will definitely be replaced with AI in the future, but not to the extent that we worry about today.
LBB> Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?
Maiken> Angelo Badalamenti was a clear genius when it comes to composing to film. I now know it’s seen as a bit pretentious to love Twin Peaks, but I really do, and the jazzy mid-century score just heightens the series so much. I’ll watch any video that has Badalamenti sitting in front of a piano.
Goldfrapp, Placebo, and Father John Misty will always meet me at my emotional level when I need it.
LBB> And when it comes to your particular field, whether sound design or composing, are there any particular ideas or pioneers that you go back to frequently or who really influence your thinking about the work you do?
Maiken> I’m so blessed in that I have an amazing group of co-workers at Leland. I trust their opinions to 100%.
I really like Arman Naféei’s work as a music curator and tastemaker. It actually feels quite refreshing to think about the craft itself - music discovery, playlisting, putting together a ‘mood’. I think a lot of us do musical mood boarding without defining it as such, but it’s helpful to get the ears running.
LBB> When you’re working on something that isn’t directly sound design or music - are you the sort of person who needs music and noise in the background or is that completely distracting to you? What are your thoughts on ‘background’ sound and music as you work?
Maiken> I love soundscapes. I listen to loads of them on YouTube - there are so many different creators, very far away from “sounds for reiki” or “meditative chimes”. In winter I’ll do “medieval tavern with snowstorm raging outside”, in spring it’s “cow pasture in Switzerland with birds”. I’m not kidding, it’s so calming!
LBB> I guess the quality of the listening experience and the context that audiences listen to music/sound in has changed over the years. There’s the switch from analogue to digital and now we seem to be divided between bad-ass surround-sound immersive experiences and on-the-go, low quality sound (often the audio is competing with a million other distractions) - how does that factor into how you approach your work?
Maiken> Music listening is such a subjective experience. When I was a kid I used those airplane headphones to listen to music to and from school - really bad quality. It’s nice if our advancements in tech can give us better audio quality for less money, it feels more democratic.
I personally love the ads before the film at the cinema, surround all the way, but truth is that most people come in contact with our work on crunchy phone/laptop speakers. Whatever work we do needs to be ok on that set up too.
LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like?
Maiken> Wild mixture! I’ll listen to my playlist of the month on my commute. At work it’s a mix between new releases, older albums I’ve just stumbled across or whatever NTS mix that’s on at the office sound system. I try to keep it varied, and to challenge myself where needed. Currently I’m really into Clarissa Connelly’s new album ‘World of Work’.
LBB> Do you have a collection of music/sounds and what shape does it take (are you a vinyl nerd, do you have hard drives full of random bird sounds, are you a hyper-organised spotify-er…)?
Maiken> I love my Spotify library and have recently started to worry what will happen if the platform disappears. It’s quite extensive. I’ve made monthly playlists on there since 2013, have surpassed my 10 year anniversary. If I had to leave one thing behind it would be my Spotify library.
LBB> Outside of the music and sound world, what sort of art or topics really excite you and do you ever relate that back to music?
Maiken> During covid I finally gave in and got a friend's old Xbox 360. I had the best time re-discovering gaming. The first game I played was Red Dead Redemption, which has a fantastic score (music supervision by Ivan Pavlovich). Since then I’ve levelled up the console, the last game I played was Stray, which has a really nice, 8-bit-inspired score by composer Yann Van Der Cruyssen. I thought Borislav Slavov’s BAFTA acceptance speech for music on Baldur’s Gate 3 was so nice.
LBB> Let’s talk travel! It’s often cited as one of the most creatively inspiring things you can do - I’d love to know what are the most exciting or inspiring experiences you’ve had when it comes to sound and music on your travels?
Maiken> I’m an avid traveller of the internet! It’s such an efficient way of visiting other cultures, and definitely the most climate friendly option. I really like TikTok and I especially love finding new artists on the app. There’s this guy who’s made an amazing bossa nova cover of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, his name is FODÉ, handle @finessir. I would love to place that on a teen TV drama.
LBB> As we age, our ears change physically and our tastes evolve too, and life changes mean we don’t get to engage in our passions in the same intensity as in our youth - how has your relationship with sound and music changed over the years?
Maiken> I’m 29, so I’m not sure if I can answer that question in an interesting way… I’m just so happy I haven’t gotten into tinnitus territory yet! I bring earplugs with me everywhere. I was 24 when I started out as a supervisor, and I think I was a bit more spontaneous when replying to gig invites. As in, I’d say yes to absolutely everything. Now I’m just a little bit more selective.
