Jonny Budd on Why It's an Exciting Time for the Music and Sound Industry

Jonny Budd’s life has been centred around music for as long as he can remember. When he was five, his dad took the cover off the decades-old upright piano in the front room, and showed him how the hammers hit the strings to make music; he’s been hooked ever since.

After a childhood of piano lessons and playing in bands, he went off to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire to study for a music degree.

He followed up his undergrad with a master’s degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where his focus shifted from performance to music for screen, and he became set on a career in music supervision.

He pestered agencies all over London for meetings, work experience, and advice. Some were kind enough to meet for coffee and even add him to their rosters of freelance supervisors, but it was clear he was going to need some industry experience in order to nail down a permanent supervision role. So, he took a job as a runner at the sound house 750mph, where he was promoted to the transfer department after a few months.

Working on an incredible range of ads, he developed a sharp sense of what made a good piece of creative work. Now, with a strong blend of musicality and industry experience, he is thrilled and grateful to have joined Twelve Decibels.

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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?

Jonny> I’ll usually have a couple of ideas that spring to mind straight away when a brief comes in, whether that be tracks, artists or composers. From there it’s a case of talking it through with the team and bouncing off a few ideas before going off down my own rabbit holes.

I’ll write down every thought as it comes in and start making playlists. If we’ve already received an edit, it can be useful to play initial ideas against it, just to get a feel for how the music and picture interact. I’ll keep the edit and brief open so I can constantly refer back to them. I’ll also make sure to keep discussing new ideas as they come, especially if I’ve got one I think is particularly strong.

I’m surrounded by expertise at Twelve Decibels, so it’s an invaluable resource to be able to ask questions and pick the team’s brains.

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?

Jonny> I completely agree! Having played in bands and orchestras, worked in a sound design studio and now working with the team at Twelve Decibels, it’s clear to me that collaboration is not only vital – it’s a completely natural part of the process when working in music and sound.

I don’t really see how a person can go it alone in music; even the most talented individuals, engineers, solo artists need people around them. If the end goal of a musical project is to connect with people, why wouldn’t you make that part of the process? Luckily at Twelve Decibels, not only are my input and questions encouraged, but there is also such a strong culture of collaboration, be that with each other, or producers, rights-holders and directors.

I’ve always loved collaboration – as a musician, some of my favourite projects involved working with composers on new music. It was a pretty joyous thing for me to be able to tap into their way of thinking and see how I could help them facilitate their ideas and be part of shaping the music. It’s one of the aspects of the supervision role that I’m most excited about.

LBB> What’s the most satisfying part of your job and why?

Jonny> The moment of putting a track against an edit and it just working is one of my favourite feelings. It’s so incredibly satisfying, especially if there’s been a big team effort to get there. For all that a piece of music can fit the brief on paper, it only works if it sits well with the edit, so it feels great when you’re able to make it work almost instantly.

LBB> As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it?

Jonny> I think one of the challenges of working alongside social media is that there can be a temptation to lean on trends, especially with music. Using a viral track, or one that you think will go viral, can be tempting, but for me a strong piece of creative is one that seems inevitable, but surprising. I think people are becoming bored of the generic and instead craving properly interesting work, which I think makes it an exciting time for those of us lucky enough to be working in music and sound.

LBB> Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?

Jonny> With my classical head on, my favourites are Ravel, Debussy and Rachmaninoff because I adore the way they paint with sound, and the depth of emotion they’re able to conjure through gorgeous textures and melodies.

Bringing myself back into the 21st Century, I’d say my recent heroes would have to include Billie Marten, Sampha and the Ezra Collective. However, my absolute all-time musical hero is Joni Mitchell – no one can weave narrative and melody as beautifully as she does.

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?

Jonny> It’s fair to say that music for picture has been pioneered by the great film composers. From Enio Morricone to Hans Zimmer, some of the most iconic scenes in cinema are defined by the incredible scores, whether they’re right in the forefront or lurking in the background. The best can do it all – either bring the drama and set the tone, or match what’s happening on screen subtly and sensitively.

I’m also a huge fan of an excellently timed needle drop. Thinking back to the season finale of Severance, the use and the timing of Mel Tormé’s ‘The Windmills of Your Mind’ was mind-blowingly perfect, and a bold choice for a show that already has such an excellent composer and score.

LBB> When you’re working on something that isn’t directly sound design or music (lets say going through client briefs or answering emails) - 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?

Jonny> It seems to depend on the task (and the day) for me. I’m quite good at cracking on with administrative tasks with music on – filling out forms, scheduling meetings, hanging the washing up. In those scenarios the music really helps me to stay focused. But I absolutely can’t have music on if I’m writing a brief or doing anything that requires me to generate ideas or find the right words. For me it’s just too distracting and my brain will always be drawn to focusing on what the music is doing.

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?

Jonny> I think for us it’s important to remember that what we create is going to be listened to almost everywhere you can think of. Whether that’s being blasted straight out of a phone on the tube, or being played in a cinema, we need to have an awareness that our music needs to work everywhere. A good track should be able to grab you wherever you are, but it’s always helpful for me to imagine it being played to a room full of people through an excellent sound-system. For me that comes from my sound-house experience, and I find that it creates a healthy level of pressure to make strong creative choices, and it makes sure you’re really considering the audience.

LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like?

Jonny> It's absolutely all over the place to be honest! As I mentioned earlier on, there are artists that I keep going back to, but I always love finding new music. If we’re conducting multiple searches at the same time, it can be massively enjoyable to hear a huge variety each day. I try to make sure I don’t listen on autopilot too much. I always loved putting my dad’s records on or choosing CDs in the car when I was younger, and I think that act of consciously choosing the music I want to engage with on any particular day in any particular setting is something I’ve really carried with me.

I also try and make sure I get some quality headphones-free time every day, whether that be on a walk or a run, just to give my ears a bit of a reset.

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…)?

Jonny> No random bird sounds, and the record collection is only starting to grow, but I’ve always been obsessed with creating playlists. I try to keep things pretty organised - there’s a weekly new-music round-up playlist I’ve started sharing with the team, which is feeding my own super-playlist, which I’m hoping will be a nice collection of gems by the end of the year.

Beyond that, I’ve got playlists for eras, genres, themes and a fair few that I made for bits of travelling I’ve done, which actually act as a surprisingly useful resource to dip into!

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?

Jonny> I’ve always been obsessed with sport. It’s interesting how integral music is to the experience of going to see it live. Whether it be chants on the terraces, walk-out songs or anthems, I think music has a knack of summing up the drama, stakes and atmosphere of any sporting event.

Music also seems to be inextricably linked to endurance sports – it’s amazing to think about what would have been in the ears of the 55,000 who just ran the London Marathon. The power music has to distract, motivate, and warp your sense of time is pretty incredible, and is an absolute godsend when your legs are ready to give up!

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?

Jonny> I completely agree that travel is the source of so much creative inspiration. I think it’s such an important part of the creative experience to just have a bit of a factory reset. Taking yourself to a completely new place is definitely a great way to do that. It’s a lovely thing to have some peace, switch off and just listen to what’s going on. There’s probably no better time to listen to a new album than when you’ve got no distractions, so travel is definitely conducive for that too.

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?

Jonny> I think I rely on music much more than I used to. When I was younger, I was often happy to just listen to the same favourites on repeat, but now it feels important to expose myself to as much music as possible. Maybe that’s because the state of the world feels so precarious at times, and I want to hear how people are making sense of it? I don’t know, but it’s definitely a huge comfort to me, and I’m passionate about sharing the gems I find with others.