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Euphoria Mornings

Recently, I've had a chance to interview Jonathan Chio and Aaron Blackmar at Euphoria Mornings. They are the fine gentlemen behind the music for Xenocell. This article also showcases the Xenocell Title music, so you can check it out while reading the article.

Make sure you open the Euphoria Mornings website at www.euphoriamornings.com - it will instantly begin playing the Xenocell Title Track!

Me (Konrad): Thank you for taking the time for this interview. Please introduce your studio, Euphoria Mornings. How many members do you have? How long have you been composing for films and games?

Jon: Euphoria Mornings Music Creations is a group of musicians and composers with the heart for writing music to films and games. We provide original scores to all multi media avenues. Currently Euphoria Mornings consists of Aaron Blackmar, Mike Bohn and myself (Jonathan Chio). We have all been writing music for at least 10 years and composing for films and games over the last 4 years.
Aaron: About a year for me, I have been writing this style for about 2 years, but wanted to give myself room to grow before I sought work. I did my first work for 28 Zen, a internet based series and The Cipher Complex and game being put out by Edge of Reality games in 2011.

K: Tell me about your musical background. Where id it start for you? How did you end up wanting to work on game soundtracks?

A: I grew up listening to John Williams and Danny Elfman's Batman and Dick Tracy, but it initially never occurred to me to even try to write film music.  So I settled on guitar and rock music, starting playing at 13 and recorded my first record at 14. After years of playing in a rock band touring, getting a record deal  I got burned out. I got tired of always relying on others to get things going or done, so I started playing piano and soon moved into composition. It felt like a perfect fit.
J: It started when I turned 16 and bought a guitar. I wanted to learn something new and was beginning to gain an interest in music. I was a video game junkie, especially RPGs with a good story. This drew me to Final Fantasy and Nobou Uemastsu's soundtracks. I was amazed at the depth and emotion the music could create. From there I listened to film soundtracks from James Newton Howard, Danny Elfman, and of course John Williams. This inspired me to write music beyond what a band typically writes, so I bought some home recording equipment and got started. Music was my passion so when I got to college I majored in music business and arranging. It was here where I solidified my desire to score music for films and games.

K: I'm really into Danny Elfman's music myself, he has that special touch.. mood and something more. Speaking of which.. how do you usually get a grasp on the mood you create for a motion picture or a game? What are the differences - if any - between working on film and game projects?
 
J: Thats a really great question. I honestly just let my imagination take over. When I first began scoring I would write music themes to a still picture. This allowed me to envision all the elements of the photo, how the person or object got where it is in the photo, what is surrounding it, diving into the colors, etc.
A: Usually the director or writer will give you give the direction they want, I find in film the directors vision is much more narrow. They seem to know exactly what they want, which is good in a way, but also can be frustrating.  In writing for games, I feel I have more freedom to try things, I know I have to stay within boundaries, but they seem to be a bit more open to interpretation as opposed to film. I find it's a lot more stress writing for a film director.
J: When scoring to a film or game I try to understand what the premise of the story is. Where are the characters heading? What environment or events are surrounding their current situation? What emotions would I feel in this situation? I feel the difference in scoring to a film versus scoring a game is that most directors know exactly what they want and do not like to stray from that path. Video games are usually a little more open to interpretation. Although you receive direction and will be given instructions on what type of cue to write, project leads seem to like when a music cue is somewhat different than expected because it makes their game unique and not a copy.

K: What would a typical workday for you be when working on a piece? How do you cooperate with each other on one piece?

A: I usually rise early with lots of coffee and like to lock myself in my studio all day. I am a fan of mood writing, so this means I have candles, incense, track lights, anything that helps me feel isolated from the things going on outside my studio. I am a perfectionist, so I usually do several mixes and masters. Once I feel good about what I have written, I will send it over to Jonathon and let him hear what I have done. I then take his critics and or advice and make the changes that can help improve the track. We sometimes go back and forth several times before we are both satisfied, sometimes we nail it the first time.The key is to keep an open mind, and to not be afraid to hear constructive criticism.
J: I wake up at 7am, grab a cup of coffee and sit down with my guitar to hash out some melodic ideas. From there I take that to the keyboard and get it recorded then apply the right instrument in whichever program fits the need. When we collaborate we send files back and forth. No one person comes up with the first ideas, its sporadic. I'll send Aaron an idea and tell him what I like and don't like about the track and it will inspire him to build off of that. It works the other way too, Aaron will send me tracks and I let him know what I like best and any ideas I hear that could be applied. Sometimes we come up with multiple versions of the same track which can work out great in a game using a theme because both versions can be used.
A: We seem to work well together because we both have the same goal. Make great music that enhances the subject.
J: The hardest part is not wanting to step on the other persons toes and overshadow their artistic vision, yet you want to be critical in a constructive way. So far we have been extremely satisfied with the final outcome of tracks even when some end up being totally reworked, so I guess that means we are both open and understanding. 

K: Your pieces reflect unique strength and creativity. What is your recipe for that?

J: Thank you, we pour our hearts and souls into what we write. We have a strong passion for scoring music and are lucky enough to do this for a living. Combine this with an imagination that works on overdrive, bake for several hours and you have yourself a nice batch of music cues ready to rock.
A: I guess this is from keeping an open mind. I have many influence, why limit myself to one or two. I also came from a rock/pop background, so writing catchy pieces is important to me. I like the tracks to be not only great for the game or film, but also easy for the average listener to appreciate.

K: What is your favorite genre in music? Is it different when you compose and when you listen to music?

A: My favorite genre is film music for sure, I have over 10,000 songs from movies on my computer. I also love old jazz, soul, funk, and even some pop.
J: Hard to say, I love listening to film scores and game soundtracks. In fact 90% of the time if you look at what is in my car's cd player that's what you will find. But I also love experimental and indie genres. Bands like Board of Canada, Vedera, and Sleeping At Last. I feel they are much more artistic, poetic, and overall creative.

K: You also do post-processing on your works. Is this something you also offer as a part of your service portfolio?
 
J: Yes we do offer just about anything audio related from mixing, mastering, midi, as well as some video editing. We offer voice over work as well.
A: Post production is the not so fun part of the job, but it's a very important part.  We can offer mixing, mastering, video editing, really just about anything you need in terms of audio, midi and some video production.

K: What studio gear do you usually use? Do you have favorites?
 
J: I run off Mac computers, Alesis monitors, Reason Pianos, Reason 4.0, ProTools LE, M-Audio MIDI controllers, EastWest Symphonic Libraries, Absynth, FM8, PRS guitars, custom speaker cabinets with 12” V30s and several VST plug ins. Aaron's set up is a bit more heavy duty and is where we run all of our final mastering work through. My favorites are easily the EastWest Symphonic Libraries when it comes to processing orchestral tracks. I also love recording live guitar over the processed work too because guitar is my primary instrument and it helps things sound less digital.
A: I have a custom built Vision Daw CPU. 8 core (3.2) and 12 gigs of ram, dual monitors, KRK 8 inch studio monitors and sub. I usually work from Sonar 8, East West Platinum symphonic, Ra, Stormdrum 1 and 2, Gypsy, Ministry of Rock, Choirs, Absynth, FM8, Omnisphere, Waves Diamond for mastering and about 20 other random vst's. Hardware, I have a really nice blue bird mic and FocusRite preamp. I have about 8 guitars, two bass guitars, and three keyboards I use.

K: Wow, that's a very respectable setup! What are Euphoria Mornings' plans for the future? How do you see your studio five or ten years from now?

A: I think we want to grow as much as possible, take on as many projects as we can handle.
J: The more work we can take on the better. I think our goal is to get to a point where we have so much work that we can contract some projects to other composers looking to get a foot in the door and choose which ones we would like to work on ourselves. I believe this will create many opportunities for new and talented composers to actually find work in a very competitive field. In five or ten years I would like to lock in a contract with a major game developer, being their primary supplier of music and audio work for all developments. It may be a stretch but I believe developers may welcome the opportunity to work with the same business for all their audio needs to establish consistency and trust but also having a diverse group within that business that can keep things sounding fresh and not redundant.

K: Jon and Aaron, thank you very much for the interview. Keep up the awesome work, and good luck on your path to inevitable fame and glory!

Visit the Euphoria Mornings website at: www.euphoriamornings.com

If you'd like to listen to the game's title track here, use this little player: