| |
An exclusive inteview with T.Kuusniemi |
| |
| roncli: |
|
First of all, who is T.Kuusniemi? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
I'd have to say that I'm a Finnish movie geek. :) The T. stands for Tapsa, and Kuusniemi is my actual last name there. I used to go by the alias Nino while I was still working on trackers way back, but I've dropped it for the simple reason of making identification a whole lot easier. I've studied screenwriting, what was it, for two years. I've been working with film since I was 6 years old, thanks to my uncle who dragged me along to the shooting of a commercial. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
What was the commercial for? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
Can't really remember. Luckily it's been forgotten already. That was 22 years ago. :) I started composing somewhere in the mid '90s. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
Did you start composing with the idea of eventually writing for films? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
Not really, that came later. I started out wanting to be an actor, then a director, eventually ending up composing and writing. But I do know what got me interested in film music: Hans Zimmer's score for The Crimson Tide. I am currently writing a feature for a production company in England. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
Wow! How did you manage to get that task? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
I know the director. :) There's no guarantee that it's going to get produced, though, since it's a spec script. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
Still, it must be fun to be involved in something like that. What got you started in composing music? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
If I remember it correctly we were planning on making a computer game, and since I couldn't code or draw I got stuck with the music. :) Nothing ever came of it, and I'm probably the only one who's kept up with their designated task. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
hehe! What software have you used for composing over the years? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
I started with Scream Tracker then moved to Impulse Tracker. After that came Cakewalk Pro Audio 9, then a short detour with Fruity Loops until I settled with Sonar 4. The next step will be Sonar 7 once I get my computer upgraded. My current setup also includes a heavy use of Native Instruments Kontakt 2 and Massive. For wave editing I prefer Sony Sound Forge. I use Vienna Symphonic Library archives and have a few excellent ethnic collections from Ilio (World Winds and Origins). Then I have a load of free VSTi's, most of which I don't really use. :) |
| |
| roncli: |
|
What was your first serious project as a composer? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
I'd probably have to say the feature film Kohtalon Kirja (The Book of Fate). I had just begun working with Teemu Rimpinen and Erno Helen on our own media music company when we snagged that sucker in 1999. I finished a few short films before that was finished though, since it actually took 4 years to finish. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
Four years, that's quite a project! Can you tell me a bit about your company? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
The three of us started working together in 1999 since we weren't all too happy about the quality of Finnish film music. Sure it did the trick, but I personally felt it didn't have anything to add to the stories of the films. So one fine day we just locked ourselves in a room and started experimenting and found out that we worked together pretty seamlessly. When one finished an idea then another one us jumped up and continued from there, and that's what it's been like ever since. We've expanded to cover also artist productions and lately we've been working closely with Mad Ice, an African singer, and the first single we produced for him actually topped the charts for several weeks in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. More detailed stuff can be found at http://www.enterthestudios.com. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
It sounds as though you've been quite successful so far! You have many tracks available on Trax in Space right now, are they all for film, or are there some that you have composed in your spare time? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
All the tracks that are on TiS I've done on my spare time, since most of the music I've made for film is registered in Teosto (the Finnish copyrights bureau). I like to do my own stuff as well as the music that is commissioned from us since they give me more options to explore interesting stories and my own ideas. I get inspired by so many stories, some from history, some from books. Actually, I was pretty dumbfounded to see that the author of one of the books I got inspired by listened and commented on the track on TiS. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
That is quite impressive, in terms of both quality and quantity. Which of those would you say is your favorite? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
It's always difficult for me to name a favorite track, since all the tracks do what I've wanted them to do. I'm very satisfied with Goodbye. My big bad assault vehicle is a track I like to listen to often. The whole The Lost World score is a blast (it's actually got 19 tracks and over an hour of music). Principles of flight works well also, as does Mostar bridge. And well, I guess I have to say this one as well: Somniferumium. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
"My big bad assault vehicle" is one of my personal favorites of yours. Could you share the inspiration behind this particular track? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
I just wanted to make a corniest all out action track I've ever made. :) And I also wanted to try out some new sounds I'd purchased at the time. It's actually the one track that I can't really blab very much about. :) |
| |
| roncli: |
|
No worries! You also mentioned "The Lost World" series, which is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel. What made you decide to write a score for this book? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
I've always loved adventure films and adventure music and Conan Doyle's The Lost World is the original adventure story. It's has everything a great adventure needs and when I got my new Vienna archives I wanted to do something big and grand. Something that was like "The Lost World". Then I though, why not do IT. :) It's one of those projects I felt I had to do. (And incidentally, you can add Quality of a man / Finale to my favorite tracks.) I think it was the best possible story to try out writing a full blown film score for. It feeds that boyish part of your brain, but also raises some interesting ethical question. It's just a fascinating story. :) |
| |
| roncli: |
|
You mentioned Hans Zimmer earlier, what other musicians have influenced your music? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
Trevor Jones has probably been one of my biggest influences. He's really not that well known, but he is a fantastic composer. Jerry Goldsmith has been one of my favorites for a long time (and I was really saddened by the news of his passing a few years back). Graeme Revell I've liked always and I'm still awed by his space opera score for Red Planet. Thomas Newman has also given me much inspiration. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
What are your future goals for your music? Where would you like to be as a musician in 5 years or so? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
Scoring grand action films in Hollywood. :) Nah seriously, I'd like to be able to make a decent living out of composing and have a lot of interesting projects to work on. Such projects that would make me push my boundaries ever further. If I'd get that then I'd be a happy man. :) |
| |
| roncli: |
|
Wonderful, good luck to you! Any last words of advice you'd like to give? |
| |
| T.Kuusniemi: |
|
I think the only thing worth saying to any one is my favorite quote from the fantastic movie Galaxy Quest, "Never give up, never surrender." :) It's worked for me. |
| |
| roncli: |
|
Good advice! Thank you for your time, and I can't wait to hear more music from you in the future! |
| |
