Thinking in Sound: Into the World of Storytelling with Andy Green

Andy Green is an award winning sound designer/composer/mixer working in New York City. He is a partner at duotone audio post, working on advertising, design and experiential projects.

Green’s true passion, however, lies in the world of storytelling. Integrating sound design and composition, his soundtracks have been featured in museum exhibits and installations around the world. His work appears in MFA in Boston, MA, Brooklyn Historical Society, Gates Visitor Center in Seattle, The Nordic Museum in Seattle, The Museum of the Presideo in San Francisco, Museum of Tolerance in Moscow, The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center in Ekaterinburg, National Archives, CDC Museum in Atlanta, National Museum of the Marine Corps, Harley Davidson Museum, Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, Tenement Museum in New York, Walt Disney Family Museum, Nature Research Center in Raleigh, NC, and others.

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?

Andy> In my experience, most advertising creatives have a pretty good idea of what they want sonically. We usually get lots of directional YouTube links with the brief. It's our job to interpret what it is they love about these examples and really dig into what the creative is trying to accomplish. Only then can we start adding our own spin, often ending up pretty far from the original fix.

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?

Andy> I like to take the brief and work alone for a bit, bringing the team back into the process when I feel I've gotten somewhere, then we can start passing revisions back and forth. Ultimately it's really great to have them in the room with me for meaningful and immediate feedback.

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

Andy> Family lunch in the studio. We all love to eat and hang out together with our clients. You can’t overestimate the value of hanging out talking over good food. It spills over to the session and really makes for a lovely, collegial way of working.

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

Andy> Wow, that's a big question. I think the proliferation of podcasts, audio activations and content in general has brought audio to the fore in lots of client discussions. People really experience content differently now, we see that with the deliverables we provide; banners, pre-rolls, 6sec spots for the internet, streaming platforms, broadcast television, movie theaters... There are a lot of opportunities to grab people with compelling sound design and music. 

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

Andy> My heroes are musicians, particularly ones that stretched sonic boundaries. The Bowie Berlin Trilogy is super important to me because it showed me how cool it can be to misuse technology. John Cale, who I was fortunate to work with, taught me the importance of dissonance. In film, I love what Christopher Nolan does with sound. The shephard tone that Hans Zimmer deploys in Dunkirk just kills me. I’ve been trying to sneak that into a spot for years…

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?

Andy> I am listening to music right now! I often stream KEXP or WFMU while doing non sound related tasks. Right now FMU is streaming Luke Stewart’s “Works for Upright Bass and Amp,” you don't hear that everyday and you should! Oddly meditative and serene. Perfect for trying to get through this interview!

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?

Andy> It can be frustrating when notes come back based on an iPhone playback, but, hey, that's the world we live in. We just reference all our work on a variety of playback solutions(laptops, phones, soundbars, speakers).

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

Andy> For better or worse, I start each day by listening to the Daily in the shower. I yell a lot. But I get it out of my system. On my commute on the subway I might listen to less aggressive podcasts, like “This American Life or “Smartless”, then at work I transition with some music, usually streaming radio. The commute home is an album, usually informed by something I heard earlier on the radio…or a classic…

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…)?

We have all our sounds cataloged in Basehead, a nimble database solution that allows us to search by description, file name or category. We have augmented our commercial libraries with lots of acquired sounds. I have recorded tons of stuff around the world that has made its way into our libraries. When we foley stuff in the studio, which happens all the time, that gets included as well. So the whole thing is constantly evolving. Still, there is never enough…

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!!)

Andy> I love movies and I think that constantly informs my work.

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?

Andy> My wife and I traveled for three weeks in India for our honeymoon. I took a minidisc recorder(it was a long time ago!) and these cool binaural mics that fit on my glasses. I recorded everything. Very romantic. These sounds often make it into work and we are still married, so win win.

Indian Street Music

Taj Mahal Gate

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?

Andy> I started out working as a musician, working in music studios. This allowed me to travel as both a player and an engineer. As I got older and started a family, it became more important to stay closer to home and find the stability that often eludes one in the music business. I started doing more post work and as that career evolved, I worked less and less on the music side. At duotone, we have both a post and music side and I work closely with the music people. So in a sense, I have come full circle!