Interview: Composer Julia Piker on her New Score EP Samovar
Today we’re joined by Julia Piker, a London International Award-winning composer. Julia released her debut string and electronic-heavy score EP, Samovar, on June 10th, following her first solo EP, Biting Biding, released in June 2017. Biting Biding featured Julia’s pop-rock songwriting, which led to sync placement in the upcoming UFC Documentary Origins of the Octagon from the creators of Netflix’s The Last Dance. Other film credits include Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1, producing the new theme for Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and music for ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks, both on Nickelodeon. Julia’s EP Samovar is available on Spotify and all digital platforms now - please check it out and enjoy this interview!
Tell us a bit about yourself. You're a self-taught composer - how did you decide to pursue your craft professionally?
I’m originally from Brooklyn, New York and come from a family of immigrants who came over to the US from the Soviet Union in the early 1980’s. So I kind of grew up between two worlds. I spoke only Russian as a kid and struggled a lot in my earlier years to fit in with the English speaking kids. I remember my grandfather, who was also a professional musician, encouraged me to join the band at school. As soon as I did, I felt more of a sense of belonging because I was good at it, and I gained recognition for it. I held on to that and continued on to join the school orchestra, playing various string & wind instruments along the way. I didn’t know that composing for screen was a potential career, to be honest. And if it was, in my mind it was a job held only by men. So it wasn’t until I graduated from college, that I realized my Communications degree was a place holder for what I was really meant to do. For most of my early 20’s I was waiting tables and running to my internships at various music studios in Manhattan. I would work a closing shift, come home at 2am and then wake up five hours later, and the cycle repeated itself. It really came down to someone giving me a chance to prove that I could write, program, and engineer my own music. Once I was given that chance, at Pulse Music, I spent every waking moment living and breathing ProTools, composing hundreds of pieces of music for various commercial spots, short films, tv placements, and films. The rest is history.
Can you walk us a bit through the elements of the score on Samovar?
I played with a lot of looping, repetition, and varying between open space and clusters of sound. The EP is meant to feel like a rollercoaster by sonically personifying what the culture was like in the Soviet Union. A place where everyone was meant to live under the guise of order and equality. When in reality it was an incredibly oppressive environment, where independence was shunned and booted. I wanted to lean into the overwhelming nature of living through a time like that.
What is the first step of your composing process?
For me, the first step is developing a comfortable relationship with the director. When a great director is attached to a great project, your job as a composer is to support and enhance their vision. Before starting a project I make sure to really get a good idea of what the director wants to hear, and I make it my job to accomplish that while keeping in mind that I’ve been hired because of what and how I write.
How do you get in the right mindset to score a project?
I get aligned and I do my research. If I’m writing for a brand- I really try to learn and understand who the audience is. If I’m writing for a film, I want to know who the characters are, what the story is, and how the director envisions the score. I think nerves are always natural when you’re starting a new project. The potential for feeling uncertainty about your product is always there. I try to keep my mindset aligned with the belief that I’ll create something great.
I know this industry can require a lot of hours, but it is surely a labor of love. What do you all find to be the most fulfilling or favorite thing about your job?
Well! The fact that a lot of the time it doesn’t feel like a real job. And the fact that to this day, I still feel a sense of imposter syndrome. Combatting that is actually fun for me, and I often have to pinch myself when I realize that I’ve made a career out of sounds that come from my brain. My favorite thing is that when I start with a clean session, I never know how it’s going to sound when I’m done. I’ve learned that my style of writing is very in the moment, and I don’t often come up with melodies on the go, nor do I think about what I’m going to write prior to getting to my studio. It’s always exciting hearing how a project turns out because often times it never starts that way.
What is your favorite song on Samovar and why?
Simone. The record is a very driving linear storyline, with Simone being the one track that actually slows the pace down. Kristine Kruta, who plays cello on this piece did such an impeccable job playing into the yearning with beautiful feathered bowing, and such dynamic movement. I love this track because to me it sonically represents the unmistakable melodrama of first time heartache, and the fear of acceptance for who you love. All of it for me is in this piece, and in the record as a whole.
Did you use a unique sound, odd instrument, or musical easter egg while scoring Samovar?
Because I wrote this during lockdown, I didn’t have access to a studio outside of my own. I wanted a myriad of percussive instruments to work with, so I found anything and everything that would make sound in my apartment. Pots, pans, wooden spoons, furniture, you name it- I used it.
You've also composed a lot for the screen. What piece of advice do you have for composers looking to break into film/tv scoring?
Trust yourself and stay the course. Study, find mentors, talk to anyone you can about this work that will listen, find allies. Also, be honest with yourself about who you are, how you write and how you work. The more understanding you have of what you’re good at doing, the more likely you are to properly represent that. People don’t want to hire you to sound like someone else, they want to hire you because you are uniquely you. Harness that uniqueness.
---
You can learn more about Julia at juliapiker.com and follow her on Instagram. Samovar is available on Spotify and all digital platforms. Thanks for reading!
