Thinking in Sound: Solving The Musical Puzzle with Tim Kvasnosky
Tim Kvasnosky is a composer and music producer with extensive experience across film, TV, advertising and recording. A Seattle native who studied at NYU, he worked as a jazz pianist and studio musician before composing for television and film. His tracks have been licensed in countless television shows and films, and his house music work garnered three Top 5 Billboard club mixes in the late 2000's.
Kvasnosky has been a producer and remixer on releases for Warner Brothers Records, Verve Records, Om Records, Stone's Throw, Reprise Records, Atlantic Records, EMI and Universal Music. He has scored commercial campaigns for many top advertisers including Nike, Google, McDonalds, Amazon, Target and VW.
Along with Detroit-based music producer Waajeed, and singer Dede Reynolds, Kvasnosky formed the electronic group "Tiny Hearts." Their debut 2013 EP "Stay" premiered on the Boiler Room music series and was featured on NPR, BBC1, Pigeons and Planes, and Vice/Noisey.
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?
Tim> Before becoming a creative director, I wrote thousands of demos, which made it easier to ask the right questions when developing a creative brief. While jobs vary and constantly change, the music brief often revolves around similar questions. At some companies, creative directors don’t contribute to the briefs at all. In our case, the CDs work alongside the composers, so I rely on the same brief.
For many spots, the picture dictates the structure of the music, which is the case for over 75% of our jobs. Once the structure is established, I usually generate the core device of the musical brief – sometimes it’s a pulse, other times a melody.
Scoring is a complementary process to writing music and is more like solving a crossword puzzle. I love puzzles – I’m a chess puzzle and sudoku enthusiast – so this part is particularly enjoyable for me. Within the structure, I aim to find a central element or set of parts that capture the core emotional feeling and work from there. Although we handle various genres and styles of spots, this is generally my approach.
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?
Tim> Writing music for commercials is deeply collaborative. While we occasionally receive briefs with a "do whatever you want" directive, clients typically have some concept of what they want musically from the start. We develop the brief as a team, with everyone reviewing and contributing to the draft.
As composers, we generally begin the writing process individually but then share drafts internally with the team. I review the early submissions and look for ways the composers can better align with the brief. My internal reviews focus on the composer’s general approach and intention, highlighting small details from a broader perspective, such as suggesting scoring specific moments, brightening the master, or thinning out certain parts.
As a creative director, I have less time to isolate and write on a brief, but this streamlines my efforts. I trust my initial instincts and focus on selecting elements that will effectively fulfil the job.
LBB> What’s the most satisfying part of your job and why?
Tim> The most satisfying part of the job is definitely working with composers and interns. I've mentored 15 or so interns, many of whom are now in-house composers or freelancers at various music houses. It's a unique and specific corner of the world, and I enjoy sharing the process with them.
I also love the technical side of music and have dedicated a lot of time to working with major audio brands like Waves, Universal Audio, and Avid. At Butter, I started a "nerd out" series where composers from various locations join via Zoom to do audio shootouts of plugins, review instruments, and discuss arrangement and mixing techniques.
The opportunity to continuously learn new things is amazing, and not all careers offer that. Each aspect of my job—writing, arranging, mixing, mastering, scoring, and creative directing—could be a lifetime pursuit on its own. It's fun to study and grow in all these different directions simultaneously.
LBB> As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it?
Tim> I keep seeing a trend toward tighter scoring and faster reactions in music's role. The influence of animation-style scoring has trickled down (or maybe up!) into every genre of commercial. What used to be common only in beauty spots or kids' commercials is becoming ubiquitous. Edits continue to get faster and faster, with strong influence from YouTubers and TikTok creators, which makes music need to react in shorter and shorter gestures.
LBB> Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?
Tim> My top musical heroes are James Brown, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sonny Clark, Lewis Taylor, Tōru Takemitsu, Sylvester, Bobby Caldwell, Marvin Gaye, Grace Jones, Eddie Palmieri, Joao Gilberto, Gil Evans, A Tribe Called Quest, and Sade. I also must mention Mic Murphy of The System, who mentored me for many years and greatly influenced my musical tastes in the early part of my journey.
For audio heroes, I have to give credit to my dear friend and long-time collaborator Fab Dupont. He is one of the best living engineers and has taught me so much about listening, recording, and mixing.
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?
Tim> With composing, I’m blown away by the work of Mica Levi, a.k.a. Micachu, and Johann Johannsen. I think they utilise unique timbre and pulse without losing the essential melodic component missing from a lot of contemporary composers. I also love the synth scores of Sakamoto, Vangelis, and Tangerine Dream.
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?
Tim> It depends. Sometimes I listen to ambient music while doing those tasks, but often I prefer quiet. I'm fascinated by the functionality of music. Over quarantine, I read 'Ambient Media: Japanese Atmospheres of Self' and loved the idea of music inspiring meditative drift states. Emotional manipulation is our specialty, but the more challenging and subtle corners are often overlooked.
LBB> Music/sound has changed over the years. There’s the switch from analog 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?
Tim> We definitely explore all sides of this spectrum in our work. We love using vintage tape, mics, and other processes for jobs that require those tones. We also create super contemporary, crisp, full-spectrum work. My monitoring setup reflects this balance: in my studio, I have incredible Kii Audio monitors and high-end D/A converters, while in my living room, I have a classic 70’s hi-fi vinyl setup.
LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like?
Tim> Outside of work music, which is like a full-day musical buffet, I listen to music in the car, during workouts, and pretty much all the time—like most people in this industry. You’d think we’d get enough and just want quiet. I refer to a music-free car ride as a “dry” ride. My tastes are quite varied; I often find myself in one musical rabbit-hole or another. Last month, it was Mk.gee, and this week, it’s been Hailu Mergia.
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-organized Spotify-er…)?
Tim> Sadly, it’s all of the above. I’ve been collecting vinyl for many years, focusing mostly on disco, soul, jazz, world, and hip-hop genres. I used to DJ and had a radio show on East Village Radio in NYC when it was a pirate radio station in the early 2000s. While I don’t have a massive MP3 collection since I don’t DJ as much anymore, I do have plenty of Spotify playlists.
I did a three-part history of disco playlist, based upon my years of listening, DJing and studying. Check it out here:
LBB> Outside of the music and sound world, what sort of art or topics 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!)
Tim> I’m a film fanatic. For any Letterboxd users out there, feel free to add me. I believe film is the highest art form, as it combines many different artistic elements. I love getting lost in a great film.
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?
Tim> I was a keyboard player for hire for many years and was fortunate to travel all over the globe. I had the opportunity to perform in Tunisia at ancient Roman ruins and play across Europe, which was fantastic. However, spending just 24 hours in a city doesn’t provide a deep understanding of the place. I haven’t prioritised enough leisure travel, which is a regret of mine. Earlier this year I worked at Abbey Road in London, and while that was magical, I dream of having a more extensive travel experience someday.
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?
Tim> Despite years of playing on stage, my ears have remained functional. I always keep earplugs on my keychain. Many of my friends didn’t protect their ears and now face substantial issues. There are so many great audiophile earplugs available, so there’s really no excuse not to wear them if you plan to stay in this business for a long time.
That said, as I get older, I find myself attending less aggressive shows and being drawn toward more sublime experiences. Nala Sinephro and Mk.gee are recent examples of this shift in direction.
