Thinking in Sound: Finding Moments of Silence with Yuta Endo

Yuta is a creative director at Antfood, New York. He has 10+ years of experience in designing music, sound, sonic identities, UX/UI, sonic experiences, and non-linear audio visual narratives for global brands, as well as award-winning immersive stories, title sequences, museums, and installations. Past clients include Apple, Paypal, Pepsi, Meta, WarnerMedia, Spotify, PlayStation, Netflix, Nike, and Google, among others. With Antfood, his work has been honored at Emmys, Cannes, Sundance, Annecy, TriBeCa, AICP, ADC, One Show, D&AD, AMP, and more.

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?

Yuta> Before delving into project logistics, I look for the overlap between the project's needs and my own passions. I find that filtering the brief through my own experiences and tastes leads to more inspired and authentic solutions. I then rely on systems and intuition to break down the project's complex problems into their essential components and tackle each bit, while keeping larger objectives in mind.

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

Yuta> Discovering an unconventional solution to a challenging creative problem is satisfying. These lightbulb moments often open up new perspectives and possibilities for future projects.

For instance, when making a short film for Maxon, we had an internal goal to make digital synthesis 'cool again'. Digital synthesis, popularised in the late ’80s and ’90s by acts like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, and Madonna, generally results in a cheesier, more sterile, and more dated sound overall than its much hipper sibling, analogue synthesis. We asked ourselves, how can we make digital synthesis cool again without relying on ironic ’90s nostalgia? After extensive R&D, we discovered new processing techniques and methods of contextualising the sound, which opened up fresh and authentic possibilities. Now, I find myself reaching for these techniques to inject personality into other projects and compositions.

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

Yuta> As the media landscape becomes increasingly fragmented and consumers become more sophisticated, traditional methods of advertising are losing their effectiveness. Gone are the days when people would sit in front of their television and see the same 30-second ad, regardless of their location or demographic. Nowadays, consumers are constantly on the move, and ads of varying lengths and styles are tailored to their personalities and viewing habits.

For example, your favourite YouTuber might seamlessly integrate a 30-second ad into their video content, or Wendy's and Adult Swim may partner up to produce a customised burger drive-through tunnel that doubles as a psychedelic audio-visual Rick and Morty experience. In this new advertising landscape, creative problem-solving and unconventional storytelling have become essential.

Being a sonic chameleon and writing music in different genres and moods has become a prerequisite for a creative audio professional, and is no longer a skillset that sets you apart. The true value in our work is being nimble, forward-thinking, and having the ability to develop new workflows and ways of thinking that keep pace with rapid technological and cultural changes.

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 (e.g. history buffs who love music that can help you travel through time, gamers who love interactive sound design… I mean it really could be anything!!)

Yuta> Environmental storytelling in video games, where the visuals and sounds placed in a space reveal much about the world and characters without relying on narration or dialogue, is fascinating to me. In the game Psychonauts 2, players explore physical manifestations of people's minds, and objects scattered throughout the space provide subtle clues to their personalities and mental traumas. The act of discovering these subtle cues and piecing together the story can be more profound than simply being told information through a voice-over line.

Likewise, I believe that music that leaves space for the listener to fill in the gaps can be more powerful than music that forces a certain emotion. There is a reason why sad violins on a sappy corporate apology video feel disingenuous and elicit negative responses on social media.

Environmental storytelling has impacted my approach to crafting sonic narratives. I have developed a greater appreciation for the art of musical deconstruction, where chord progressions and melodies can be carefully written and then dismantled, resulting in music with more ambiguous tonalities or veiled toplines that leave room for interpretation. I have also come to appreciate the power of the strategic removal of sounds, which can paradoxically convey a larger sense of scale and depth. In JAWS, the shark does not fully appear on screen until 81 minutes into the film. Its physical absence somehow makes the shark feel more threatening and 'larger'. In this way, by incorporating silence and space, it's possible to create compositions that invite the listener to fill in their own interpretations and actively participate in completing the music.

LBB> When you’re working on something that isn’t directly sound design or music (let's 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?

Yuta> In the music industry, our ears are constantly bombarded with different sounds and music. Like the pieces of ginger between dishes in a sushi omakase course, breaks from constant noise allow me to reset and palette cleanse, giving my ears and mind a much-needed break. Therefore, I make a conscious effort to incorporate moments of silence into my daily routine, e.g. by taking long walks. By giving myself the space to enjoy moments of stillness and quiet, I am able to better appreciate, enjoy, and understand the music and sounds that I encounter in my work.

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?

Yuta> In today's world, it is crucial to ensure that sound is optimised for different devices and environments. To achieve this, I perform thorough testing on various playback systems to certify that the sound quality translates effectively across different listening environments.

Ultimately, the value of an inspired musical composition with a 'bad' mix far outweighs a sterile recording of a generic piece of music. It is the core idea behind the sound that truly counts, and if it is conveyed effectively, the quality of the audio becomes secondary.

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?

Yuta> Whenever I encounter a new sound, I find myself subconsciously assessing aspects of sound like the melody, arrangement, frequency response, dynamics, and spatial imaging. Despite this more analytical relationship to sound, my experiences have deepened my understanding and awareness of sound. I am able to appreciate the intricacies and nuances of sound, and to hear and feel the level of care and dedication behind truly inspired audio-visual work.