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Alex Baranowski talks about writing for a variety of media and the enormous impact his grandparents had on him
Episode 1531st January 2023 • The Music Room • The Sound Boutique
00:00:00 00:38:47

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Personal stories of inspiration from professional composers, songwriters and musicians.

In this episode, Gareth chats with composer Alex Baranowski about writing for a variety of media and the enormous impact his grandparents had on him.

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Transcripts

Speaker:

Welcome to the music room.

Speaker:

This week in the music ring.

Alex Baranowski:

I'll do everything is live as I, I can, even if it's in

Alex Baranowski:

my, I have mic set up all the time, stuff flying around all the time.

Alex Baranowski:

Uh, you know, you can see some stuff in the background, but literally in the

Alex Baranowski:

hallway, in our, in our hallway, just full of instruments every day as if, I'm sorry.

Alex Baranowski:

I'll keep it, put it somewhere

Alex Baranowski:

Hello, music rumors.

Alex Baranowski:

And welcome to another episode of the music room podcast.

Alex Baranowski:

The show where I chat with composers, songwriters, and musicians about what

Alex Baranowski:

they're up to before going back in time to find out how it all began.

Alex Baranowski:

Actually I say, I.

Alex Baranowski:

But if you go back and episode composer, singer, songwriter, and

Alex Baranowski:

musician, Charlotte Hatherley.

Alex Baranowski:

Yes.

Alex Baranowski:

The Charlotte handily.

Alex Baranowski:

Guest hosted and had a brilliant chat with composer, kali parody.

Alex Baranowski:

Who on top of scoring things like line of duty and the rising has toured with

Alex Baranowski:

Clint Mansell and Nick cave and the bad seeds well-worth listen that you can hear

Alex Baranowski:

it right there on your podcast app or.

Alex Baranowski:

At music, green podcast.uk.

Alex Baranowski:

In this episode, you're going to hear from a wonderfully inventive UK based composer,

Alex Baranowski:

Alex Baranowski, he's worked on everything from the BDC to ident and the hip BMC,

Alex Baranowski:

one comedy staged with David Tennant and Michael sheen to the delightful

Alex Baranowski:

BAFTA nominated the Windemere children for wall-to-wall and Warner brothers.

Alex Baranowski:

I'll introduce him properly in a bit, but rest assured it's a great listen.

Alex Baranowski:

So, so music stories.

Alex Baranowski:

Uh, Paul has picked up the worldwide rights to flora and son, John Carney's

Alex Baranowski:

musical load to motherhood that features a breakthrough performance by Eve Hewson.

Alex Baranowski:

The movie is Connie's first since his 2016 sensation sing street.

Alex Baranowski:

Remember that, which also premiered at Sundance and just like sing street.

Alex Baranowski:

It two features original songs by Connie and his frequent collaborator.

Alex Baranowski:

And music queen guest, Gary Clark.

Alex Baranowski:

Next.

Alex Baranowski:

I asked the music room group on Facebook to share some quick tips

Alex Baranowski:

with their fellow music reamers.

Alex Baranowski:

Uh, Janet Overfield says how to make your cello or Viola sound like it.

Alex Baranowski:

Isn't in a toilet.

Alex Baranowski:

Gently wide depth at around 2.5 to 3.5 K.

Alex Baranowski:

And gentle wide booster around 250 to 400 Hertz.

Alex Baranowski:

Someone here could have probably told me that if I'd asked, but working out slowly

Alex Baranowski:

for myself this week was quite satisfying.

Alex Baranowski:

That's great.

Alex Baranowski:

Nice little tip, Janet.

Alex Baranowski:

Uh, Mike Langley, you can make a banjo out of an acoustic guitar by sticking

Alex Baranowski:

a balloon inside and inflating it.

Alex Baranowski:

Till it touches the strings.

Alex Baranowski:

Play with caution.

Alex Baranowski:

There you go.

Alex Baranowski:

What a great tip.

Alex Baranowski:

If you don't have a banjo.

Alex Baranowski:

Ruben Cornell dip your master at 500 Hertz to make it sound more open.

Alex Baranowski:

Again, Very easy, very simple, very effective.

Alex Baranowski:

Thanks Ruben.

Alex Baranowski:

Bali Bali, man, this week's tip for me is try harder.

Alex Baranowski:

Uh, we can all do that.

Alex Baranowski:

Got.

Alex Baranowski:

Bali, uh, as a motivational device, I've bought a page two a day diary

Alex Baranowski:

and log everything I do in it at the end of the day, I think, oh, I've

Alex Baranowski:

done four hours guitar practice today.

Alex Baranowski:

And then realize I've been awake for 12.

Alex Baranowski:

So two.

Alex Baranowski:

Yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

Uh, Joe Kendall says play from the heart and don't be afraid to

Alex Baranowski:

hold notes outside of the timings.

Alex Baranowski:

As I'm finding this as sounding more raw and emotive this week,

Alex Baranowski:

that's absolutely spot on Joe.

Alex Baranowski:

Yes.

Alex Baranowski:

It's very easy to rely on the quantize button.

Alex Baranowski:

Isn't it.

Alex Baranowski:

But it's much better to pay from the heart.

Alex Baranowski:

Isn't it?

Alex Baranowski:

Absolutely.

Alex Baranowski:

Robin Sherlock Tomayo says, make rules, then break them.

Alex Baranowski:

Wow.

Alex Baranowski:

Great little tip that I don't usually like using presets, but made a point

Alex Baranowski:

of using some Arturia ones this week.

Alex Baranowski:

Freshen things up.

Alex Baranowski:

No end.

Alex Baranowski:

Why not.

Alex Baranowski:

Fantastic tips, everyone.

Alex Baranowski:

Thank you so much for those.

Alex Baranowski:

Alex Baranowski is a composer based in London.

Alex Baranowski:

He recently scored eight part series rain dogs releasing this year

Alex Baranowski:

and his ballet legacy variations with choreographer, David Dawson.

Alex Baranowski:

Premiered at the Dutch national ballet in December of last year.

Alex Baranowski:

Recent film scores include a Gaza weekend directed by Oscar nominated basil Kaleel.

Alex Baranowski:

For film for releasing in 2023.

Alex Baranowski:

And Ruth Wilson and Jude law produced true things.

Alex Baranowski:

As well as three series of hit BBC.

Alex Baranowski:

One comedy staged, starring David Tennant and Michael sheen.

Alex Baranowski:

BAFTA nominated the Windermere children for wall-to-wall and Warner brothers

Alex Baranowski:

and burial uh, world war II drama.

Alex Baranowski:

For altitude film, starring Harriet, Walter let's find

Alex Baranowski:

out how it all began for Alex.

Alex Baranowski:

And stick around as he'll be leaving at nighttime and a

Alex Baranowski:

piece of advice for you to find

Gareth:

Alex Barovsky composer, welcome to the music room.

Alex Baranowski:

I'm very happy to be here.

Alex Baranowski:

Thank you very much for asking me to come.

Alex Baranowski:

I enjoy your podcast very much.

Gareth:

Ah, that's always nice to hear.

Gareth:

Always nice to hear.

Gareth:

How are you today and, uh, what have you got going on

Alex Baranowski:

Very good.

Alex Baranowski:

Very good.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, well, I'm chatting to you.

Alex Baranowski:

No, it's lovely.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, how about yourself?

Gareth:

Hmm, well, I am, probably two thirds of the way through

Gareth:

a kid series at the moment.

Gareth:

based on, the wind in the Willows, which.

Gareth:

Lovely, really enjoying that.

Gareth:

Um, so I will be straight back to that.

Gareth:

Once we we've, uh, we've done, and you know, it's that typical mider.

Gareth:

Um, once everyone's happy with what they're doing, then it,

Gareth:

it really becomes a, a kind of a production line, doesn't it?

Gareth:

Of this comes to me, then goes back for notes, comes back

Gareth:

and onto post-production and.

Alex Baranowski:

it's mine.

Alex Baranowski:

I like that rhythm.

Alex Baranowski:

I like that rhythm.

Alex Baranowski:

When you've sort of, you've got the seams, you've got ideas,

Alex Baranowski:

you know what you're doing.

Alex Baranowski:

You still wanna sort of do, try and do new things.

Alex Baranowski:

No, it's lovely.

Alex Baranowski:

It's lovely.

Gareth:

And it does become, if it's well oiled, it does become a, an opportunity

Gareth:

to really hone in on little bits as well.

Gareth:

Um, the, I had some, extra little notes, some fine notes this morning.

Gareth:

Um, and the director actually wrote to me and said, I'm so sorry cause I previously.

Gareth:

Said, I was happy with this episode, but I've just noticed this, this, and this.

Gareth:

And I had to say to him, it's, you know, it's fine.

Gareth:

It's part of the process.

Gareth:

You

Alex Baranowski:

It shows the director's got a love for it.

Alex Baranowski:

It's not just sort of, especially with music, sometimes you find

Alex Baranowski:

people just going on need tot that on, put this on if that's, but

Alex Baranowski:

actually it's, it's nice people.

Alex Baranowski:

I, I, I feel, I find that really lucky when people actually

Alex Baranowski:

want spend time with crafty.

Alex Baranowski:

Cause that's what we wanna do.

Alex Baranowski:

We wanna make the best thing we can make.

Alex Baranowski:

Right.

Alex Baranowski:

That's,

Gareth:

Absolutely.

Gareth:

Yeah, very

Gareth:

much.

Gareth:

Uh, speaking of which, I had a couple with, the music room Facebook

Gareth:

group this morning, and I mentioned that we were meeting and chatting

Gareth:

and so they have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind,

Alex Baranowski:

Of course,

Gareth:

So Ruben Cornell, he says Hi asks,

Alex Baranowski:

Hi.

Gareth:

also, it's like a, like a Saturday morning phone in, isn't it?

Alex Baranowski:

Oh, Ruben's lovely.

Gareth:

Yeah.

Gareth:

Uh, how does your writing process work with surround

Gareth:

sound in a theater environment?

Gareth:

Because you've done theater work and you, you've done

Alex Baranowski:

wow.

Alex Baranowski:

We're getting, we're getting right.

Alex Baranowski:

Stuck into the

Gareth:

We, we are, yeah.

Gareth:

Straight in at the deep

Alex Baranowski:

Um, well, I'm, I'm, I guess to give a bit of background,

Alex Baranowski:

I'm, I'm very lucky that I do, I work in various bits of film and theater

Alex Baranowski:

and dance and adverts and working.

Alex Baranowski:

So, and, and theater is a thing that.

Alex Baranowski:

She started it all off.

Alex Baranowski:

When I first got moved to London, the first thing I did was meet with some

Alex Baranowski:

composers and I, I met this lovely, um, lovely composer called Adrian

Alex Baranowski:

Sutton, who gave me an assistant role at the National Theater.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, just literally just doing copying of schools with

Alex Baranowski:

surveillance, something like that.

Alex Baranowski:

And, , I adored every second of being in that building.

Alex Baranowski:

It was just sort of, it was just this, having been in this room on my own,

Alex Baranowski:

desperately trying to find work, get a job, do Australia, and meeting these

Alex Baranowski:

amazing people in this incredible room.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, and I learned about theater and I, this wonderful thing

Alex Baranowski:

of theater is where you can.

Alex Baranowski:

It's not like we're working on a film or a tv.

Alex Baranowski:

You're like, you can put a speaker wherever you want and you can make a

Alex Baranowski:

sound come out of it whenever you want.

Alex Baranowski:

It's amazing.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, so set.

Alex Baranowski:

Yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

So Ruben's question surround sound.

Alex Baranowski:

Yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

I, I'm obsessed with it.

Alex Baranowski:

I love it.

Alex Baranowski:

I've hidden speakers on the seats in theaters and put them in roofs and put

Alex Baranowski:

them in corridors and put them behind stages, above the stages outside.

Alex Baranowski:

On stage hidden.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, so you can put them anywhere and it's wonderful and it can help tell

Alex Baranowski:

the story and, and the one, sorry, you were saying you wanted to ask me a.

Gareth:

well, well, I guess the question in that context is did

Gareth:

you actually write in multichannel

Alex Baranowski:

Well, yes, so, so a lot of the time in theater, I'm

Alex Baranowski:

not just being hire as a c compos, I'm been kind as a sound designer.

Alex Baranowski:

So you sort of mix the two very, in a really interesting way

Alex Baranowski:

and it really changed the way I've worked in film as well.

Alex Baranowski:

And because you're sort of using sounds as musical, you know, making sounds

Alex Baranowski:

of music or making music at sounds.

Alex Baranowski:

And if you know you are going to be writing music for this, it's, it's almost

Alex Baranowski:

as simple as sort of writing steps.

Alex Baranowski:

So I want this to go out, this speaker.

Alex Baranowski:

I will make a stem of it.

Alex Baranowski:

I'll do this.

Alex Baranowski:

So you having knowing.

Alex Baranowski:

, I guess it's quite similar to writing a computer game.

Alex Baranowski:

Not that I've ever written a computer game, um, in that sort of way, but I

Alex Baranowski:

guess it's, it's writing ideas isn't, you're not writing a linear piece of

Alex Baranowski:

media that starts here and then in three minutes maybe you are writing

Alex Baranowski:

a piece that starts in a certain way.

Alex Baranowski:

And when an actor says a certain thing or something happens on stage, you can make

Alex Baranowski:

that as a cue and then the next queue will come along to add another layer to it.

Alex Baranowski:

Another, this, you could add some sound.

Alex Baranowski:

And you can just build up sound scripts.

Alex Baranowski:

There's, there's a, a very clever program called Q Lab, which is.

Alex Baranowski:

, um, both simply use that.

Alex Baranowski:

It's actually free to download just the normal stereo version so you can do,

Alex Baranowski:

it's, it's, um, yeah, check it out if you're interested to get to the theater.

Alex Baranowski:

But it's amazing because you, you can just play, audio files.

Alex Baranowski:

You can put fades in, you can send things to here, send things to there.

Alex Baranowski:

And it's a really, really simple system.

Alex Baranowski:

But most, most datas use, Q Lab.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, and so as a Samsung designer composer, I will sit in a, in a technical

Alex Baranowski:

rehearsal or even in rehearsal room before we've gone into the theater and.

Alex Baranowski:

Start putting things into this, into the queue.

Alex Baranowski:

I want a laptop and pay things through.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, so nor normally I'm quite organized, so I can, I've just, I did a show, at

Alex Baranowski:

the end of last year, called Orlando, which is on now in the West End.

Alex Baranowski:

Until the end of February and I, I'd sat in the rehearsal room and I wrote

Alex Baranowski:

lots and lots and lots of music.

Alex Baranowski:

It was a very big music show and sounds and we programmed everything really there.

Alex Baranowski:

So I knew before I went into theater where everything was

Alex Baranowski:

gonna go, I designed the space.

Alex Baranowski:

So we had surrounds, we had had speakers on stage.

Alex Baranowski:

I put a speaker in the roof.

Alex Baranowski:

This amazing theater.

Alex Baranowski:

It's incredible.

Alex Baranowski:

So when you have things like rain, you there was a, There was

Alex Baranowski:

a, um, Scene in Istanbul where we have sort of called to prayers.

Alex Baranowski:

And it's amazing putting this call to prayer, like through a roof.

Alex Baranowski:

And in the theater sort of, it's not coming out the speakers,

Alex Baranowski:

it's not coming behind me.

Alex Baranowski:

It's coming.

Alex Baranowski:

It's, and it's really amazing kind of just to,

Gareth:

Really

Alex Baranowski:

you don't really put it in words.

Alex Baranowski:

And I think as, as an audience like you, probably most people wouldn't really

Alex Baranowski:

notice cuz you're sort of, you're in it, you know, a theater show's done well.

Alex Baranowski:

You are just so absorbed into action.

Alex Baranowski:

You don't think, oh, that's a nice, I, no, I do because I sit in it like, like

Alex Baranowski:

we all watch films and think, oh, that was a nice music cue or a bit different.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, so yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

I, I love that aspect of, sound in, in theater.

Gareth:

Yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

um, yeah, use sound, use music.

Alex Baranowski:

Yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

Great.

Gareth:

Fantastic.

Alex Baranowski:

Sorry, that was a really long-winded

Gareth:

a, that's fine.

Gareth:

No, that's, that's it.

Gareth:

Is gold dust, honestly.

Gareth:

Getting people who actually have.

Gareth:

A wealth of experience to explain something like that

Gareth:

for listeners is, is wonderful.

Gareth:

So thank you.

Gareth:

And

Gareth:

Reen.

Gareth:

I hope, that answers your question.

Alex Baranowski:

But I have to say like theater is a, it's a bit of a mystic art.

Alex Baranowski:

Like a lot of composers.

Alex Baranowski:

In recent years, I've How'd you get in theater?

Alex Baranowski:

You know, you just meet people.

Alex Baranowski:

You know, I've, the wonderful thing, the wonderful thing about that was, um,

Alex Baranowski:

working at the National Theater, which is this wonderful, huge, big theater.

Alex Baranowski:

I was, I think I was 25, 14 years ago.

Alex Baranowski:

And, I met so many people, but all the assistants to the

Alex Baranowski:

directors, all the assistants to the designers, all the assistant

Alex Baranowski:

composers, we all knew each other.

Alex Baranowski:

And we went, made films above a pub for no money.

Alex Baranowski:

You know, we, we, we learned how to do it all.

Alex Baranowski:

And now all these guys, they're directing shows, they're directing

Alex Baranowski:

films, they're directing.

Alex Baranowski:

This is kind of how I'm quite lucky in being able to do so many different things.

Alex Baranowski:

Cause I guess you sort of meet people along the way and you think, I'll do that.

Alex Baranowski:

I'll do this.

Alex Baranowski:

Come on, I'll have a go at.

Alex Baranowski:

. Um, and it's, yeah, it's wonderful.

Alex Baranowski:

And that's what I really loved about theater is it just got me out and

Alex Baranowski:

meeting people, but not meeting people.

Alex Baranowski:

Cuz I'm a networking event.

Alex Baranowski:

I have to meet someone cuz I don't do that.

Alex Baranowski:

if I've ever go to one of them, I will go to the corner and I will

Alex Baranowski:

hide in the loo and Ill leave.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, because that's my, that's what's me.

Gareth:

That's your networking style.

Alex Baranowski:

yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

Any sort of, I hate, I'm terrible.

Alex Baranowski:

I'm terrible with all that.

Alex Baranowski:

Meeting greets as well.

Alex Baranowski:

But yes, it's sort of meeting people by accident and saying,

Alex Baranowski:

oh, you did that and it's great.

Alex Baranowski:

Oh, should we do this?

Alex Baranowski:

And let's, you know, let's catch up for a cup of tea and let's go for, you know,

Alex Baranowski:

go to the pub afterwards, after the show.

Alex Baranowski:

And like, it's, it's really amazing kind of having that little network

Alex Baranowski:

of people to do that in Yeah, in, in, and theater was my way.

Gareth:

Yeah.

Gareth:

Fabulous, fabulous.

Gareth:

Um, going over to another medium, of television.

Gareth:

Janet in the music room group, uh, Janet Overfield.

Gareth:

Hello Janet.

Gareth:

She asks about, uh, the series staged with David Tennant and Michael Sheen, um,

Gareth:

because it started during the pandemic.

Gareth:

How did the writing process.

Gareth:

Differ in that situation.

Gareth:

Cause everyone was kind of trying to figure out how to do

Alex Baranowski:

All a bit confused.

Gareth:

Were they

Alex Baranowski:

Well that sort of came about cuz the director, um,

Alex Baranowski:

Simon, who was actually in it and he wrote it, we were due to do a

Alex Baranowski:

theater show which got canceled.

Alex Baranowski:

And he was a bit niff about it.

Alex Baranowski:

And instead of, being like everyone else, like we were like, I was just

Alex Baranowski:

kind of complaining about it and going, oh crap, what we gonna do now?

Alex Baranowski:

He was like, right, I'm gonna write a sitcom, um, on Zoom about

Alex Baranowski:

a theater show that got cancel.

Alex Baranowski:

And that's how it came about.

Alex Baranowski:

So I got this call from Simon saying, GE Fancy, just, just try this pilot.

Alex Baranowski:

So he, he managed to convince, David and Michael to try this pilot.

Alex Baranowski:

We all work for free.

Alex Baranowski:

Just sort of just read, just, just try it.

Alex Baranowski:

Let's just, let's see an episode, see if it works.

Alex Baranowski:

It's lovely editor called Danage.

Alex Baranowski:

And we put it together and it was great.

Alex Baranowski:

It was really, really good.

Alex Baranowski:

Very quickly they managed to get the BBC to commission it said, right, you're off.

Alex Baranowski:

And it was then a very, very rush, like Right, we've gotta do it,

Alex Baranowski:

we've gotta get this out there cuz you know, who knows when the hell

Alex Baranowski:

long this pandemic's gonna last.

Alex Baranowski:

Like, we might all be out in a week.

Alex Baranowski:

So it was, it literally got to the point where I'd be given a cup on a.

Alex Baranowski:

Thursday night, I'd watch it and make notes and start writing.

Alex Baranowski:

And I'd have Friday, maybe morning and I'd get some notes back from the director.

Alex Baranowski:

And yeah, to, I'd record it live with a lovely, based town at play called

Alex Baranowski:

Ben Castle, who was based on, I, you know, it was all done on, on, you

Alex Baranowski:

know, email and zoom and so it'll all be mixed by the end of the night.

Alex Baranowski:

So I do have to do a, literally a whole episode in 24 hours and turn it

Alex Baranowski:

around and ready for the sound mix.

Alex Baranowski:

What if it was the Friday or, you know, like it literally was

Alex Baranowski:

like, no, it was no, no time.

Alex Baranowski:

But it was kind of fun and cool and so, so it was, it was just, the

Alex Baranowski:

idea behind it was to make it sound like it was made in a pandemic.

Alex Baranowski:

Like I, I, I wanted to have some big brush thing.

Alex Baranowski:

Like I wanted it to sound like, well, I've got a piano in here, so I have a piano.

Alex Baranowski:

I think a little quirky based cla No, let's do it like it sounds.

Alex Baranowski:

It was done in my back bedroom, which it kinda

Gareth:

And, and actually you didn't really need to imagine, did you,

Gareth:

because you were making it in a pandemic

Alex Baranowski:

Exactly.

Alex Baranowski:

Exactly.

Alex Baranowski:

Exactly, exactly.

Alex Baranowski:

So I, I just love the lofi of it.

Alex Baranowski:

I love the silliness of it.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, and it, it's been amazing how, how well it's come.

Alex Baranowski:

Like, you know, so many people ask me for the score to play the piano, so

Alex Baranowski:

I just put it up for free on Twitter.

Alex Baranowski:

I was like, great.

Alex Baranowski:

It's like you wanna play it, put it like play it.

Alex Baranowski:

Send me a video.

Alex Baranowski:

If you played it,

Gareth:

That's wonderful,

Alex Baranowski:

it, it was great fact.

Alex Baranowski:

We, there was an amazing video that did come true that was, um, this amazing

Alex Baranowski:

band of, music graduates and they did big arrangement of it with bubble

Alex Baranowski:

bass and clarinets and piano and touch with one of the guys and becoming my

Alex Baranowski:

assistant he'd been working with me for.

Gareth:

It's how it happens.

Gareth:

Wonderful.

Gareth:

Well, thank you Janet.

Gareth:

I hope that answers your question.

Gareth:

Uh, I've got my own question because, I think I was made aware of you with the

Gareth:

BBC two I dents, that were I'm sure a wonderful experiment in sound design.

Gareth:

But what really put you onto my radar was the film, the Windier Children.

Alex Baranowski:

Oh yeah.

Gareth:

is based on the experience of child survivors of the Holocaust,

Gareth:

a camp set up near Lake Windier and the score is suitably emotive.

Gareth:

What was it like to write that and how did the sound of the film come into being?

Alex Baranowski:

Oh, well that was, oh, I was, that was such a beautiful film

Alex Baranowski:

and it was really, so the, the film like about these Polish refugees that came

Alex Baranowski:

over from Poland to the late district and I, from all my grandparents were Polish

Alex Baranowski:

refugees who, they didn't go to the late district, but they ended up, in the uk.

Alex Baranowski:

After the war.

Alex Baranowski:

and it was really interesting cause I, my grandparents were

Alex Baranowski:

these amazing creative people.

Alex Baranowski:

My, my granddad was a, a poet, a musician, and, my grandmother

Alex Baranowski:

and a amazing oil painter.

Alex Baranowski:

And, they really, really wrote and painted about their experiences in the war.

Alex Baranowski:

And it was so moving to.

Alex Baranowski:

To read and to see these paint and, and to think of it in context and

Alex Baranowski:

sort of, and the film was very good at making that feel a bit more real.

Alex Baranowski:

And so I put my grandmother's paintings up and there's some really harrowing

Alex Baranowski:

paintings that she, she made of her time around there that's sort of half

Alex Baranowski:

abstract, half figurative, with sort of quite harrowing details that, um, I

Alex Baranowski:

need, I need to sort of work from this.

Alex Baranowski:

And, um, I use my granddad's instrument like, so that's this accordion

Alex Baranowski:

they obviously see on a podcast.

Alex Baranowski:

But I've got an accordion in my room that my granddad bought in, um,

Alex Baranowski:

in Italy, I think in So, so all my grandparents were, they were taken

Alex Baranowski:

to Siberia and they were taken to Siberian labor camps, prison camps.

Alex Baranowski:

And the only reason they were, Released is because, uh, Stalin switched sides

Alex Baranowski:

from, you know, obviously working with Hitler, invading Poland, and

Alex Baranowski:

he switched sides to the alley.

Alex Baranowski:

So he said, right off, off you go, you need to go and fight.

Alex Baranowski:

And they made them march from Siberia to Palestine to Italy.

Alex Baranowski:

So it, it really, really affected me thinking about their experiences and

Alex Baranowski:

experiences on the, on the children in the film, and I used, my granddad's

Alex Baranowski:

instruments and I, I, like I said, I, I put the paintings of my grandma around

Alex Baranowski:

the studio and I, I genuinely was sort of crying through writing a lot of cues.

Alex Baranowski:

It was, cuz it was, it was a really, so yeah, it was a

Alex Baranowski:

really emotional experience.

Gareth:

in a, in a way, adding to their creativity through time.

Alex Baranowski:

It's really, and it's, it's made me actually write, write more.

Alex Baranowski:

And I just recently released actually a.

Alex Baranowski:

A piece that a Canadian violinist, commissioned, um, called Debo.

Alex Baranowski:

I wrote a piece called Spring, which is based on one of the

Alex Baranowski:

poems that my, my granddad wrote.

Alex Baranowski:

They're all in Polish, but I sort, my is terrible.

Alex Baranowski:

So I have to use Google Translate and then get a family member to

Alex Baranowski:

sort of translate a bit better.

Alex Baranowski:

It was the most beautiful sort of, you know, he wrote it in Siberia when.

Alex Baranowski:

It must have been so bleak, like living through a Siberian

Alex Baranowski:

winter in a labor camp thinking.

Alex Baranowski:

And I, and I've heard his account, there's, he's a recorded account

Alex Baranowski:

of his on, um, Imperial War Museum.

Alex Baranowski:

It's, it's really incredible.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, and I remember talking to him about it and we was, we were really close and he

Alex Baranowski:

brought me my first violin when I was six.

Alex Baranowski:

He was, he had a choir into his nineties.

Alex Baranowski:

He was incredible.

Alex Baranowski:

Incredible man.

Alex Baranowski:

But no, it was, it was really wonderful.

Alex Baranowski:

It was like, it was, it was great.

Alex Baranowski:

Yeah.

Gareth:

Well, with that in mind, because you are actually going back in time

Gareth:

with your violin at six years old.

Gareth:

Uh, why don't we go back in time and, uh, find out how it all began.

Gareth:

If you are ready, I.

Alex Baranowski:

Wonderful.

Gareth:

Okay, so you.

Gareth:

Mentioned about, your grandfather buying you your first violin.

Gareth:

Was that the first time that you had experienced music?

Gareth:

Or was there a time before that that you can remember?

Alex Baranowski:

so, so that, that accordion that, um, I mentioned

Alex Baranowski:

that my, my grandma bought in Italy in sort of like forties.

Alex Baranowski:

I remember him playing it to me and sort of singing and, when

Alex Baranowski:

I must have been really little.

Alex Baranowski:

I remember it sort of towering over me and now it's.

Alex Baranowski:

Sort of, you know, I think, oh that's, but I remember it being this huge thing, this

Alex Baranowski:

huge special thing that lived upstairs and every now and again, he'd play it.

Alex Baranowski:

Cause I sort of spend my summers, with them, you know, summer holidays,

Alex Baranowski:

that was sort of my childcare.

Alex Baranowski:

I sort of realized, you know, sort of painting and listening to music and, and

Alex Baranowski:

that was, I guess that was really lucky.

Alex Baranowski:

And I kept quite unusual I guess.

Alex Baranowski:

But they, they really did a lot in that, Creativity and just sort of thinking,

Alex Baranowski:

well, of course we can be creative.

Alex Baranowski:

That's what we do.

Alex Baranowski:

It's funny, I sort see my kids and they, my, their seven year old comes in and,

Alex Baranowski:

well, of course that's what dad does.

Alex Baranowski:

He just does music for stuff, you know, , it's what?

Alex Baranowski:

There's no question for it.

Alex Baranowski:

There's no question that, you know.

Alex Baranowski:

Yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

I love it.

Gareth:

Yeah.

Gareth:

Yeah,

Alex Baranowski:

It's very lucky.

Alex Baranowski:

Really.

Gareth:

very much so.

Gareth:

What were the circumstances of him buying you a violin then?

Gareth:

What

Gareth:

was all that

Alex Baranowski:

don't, I don't know why he, he was always sort of like,

Alex Baranowski:

you, I think you need to pay the violin.

Alex Baranowski:

I thought, okay, great.

Alex Baranowski:

That, well,

Gareth:

Okay.

Alex Baranowski:

And I've still, I've got it like it's a little sort of

Alex Baranowski:

half size, quarter size little violin.

Alex Baranowski:

My, my kid plays in it now.

Alex Baranowski:

And then I ended up, it ended up not being the right violin to learn violin.

Alex Baranowski:

I think it was too small for even at six.

Alex Baranowski:

It was too small.

Alex Baranowski:

So I ended, getting another violin.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, and Jetta started, started lessons and

Gareth:

you enjoy that or

Gareth:

were you doing

Alex Baranowski:

it, absolutely loved it.

Alex Baranowski:

It's only when it got a bit and I got bit older and I had to practice and I had to

Alex Baranowski:

do that, you know, when you were 11, 12, 13, like, wow, I don't wanna do this.

Alex Baranowski:

But by then I'd sort of discovered the piano and I didn't really

Alex Baranowski:

wanna practice that either.

Alex Baranowski:

I'd, but I'd sort of loved to sort of just listen to stuff off the TV and try

Alex Baranowski:

and copy stuff, try and write my own, you know, really loved the piano and

Alex Baranowski:

discovered jazz, discovered everything, and then talk to the piano practice 20

Alex Baranowski:

minutes before the Planet two arrived.

Gareth:

You, did you transition from the violin then?

Gareth:

Did you, are we kind of doing them in

Alex Baranowski:

No, I kept, I, I think I kept playing it until I was about,

Alex Baranowski:

um, 15, 16, the violin, and then I sort of, the, the piano took over.

Alex Baranowski:

But it, I, I'm obsessed with strings.

Alex Baranowski:

If anyone's heard my music, they're probably

Gareth:

a little bit.

Gareth:

Yeah.

Gareth:

It comes across

Alex Baranowski:

Um, but that's why, and I genuinely can't

Alex Baranowski:

play it, but I wish I could.

Alex Baranowski:

Every time I meet people, you know, young composers who play things like violence

Alex Baranowski:

and cellos, just use it, use it, use it.

Alex Baranowski:

Cause I, you know, I wish.

Alex Baranowski:

I have tried.

Alex Baranowski:

I thought, you know what, if I just try a little bit and like add it, layer it

Alex Baranowski:

like no, no, it's just, it's just bad.

Alex Baranowski:

It sounds like some cat being,

Gareth:

With your piano then, you mentioned you went for lessons.

Alex Baranowski:

yeah, so, well, I think I started kinda lessons a bit later.

Alex Baranowski:

Maybe like nine.

Alex Baranowski:

Nine or 10.

Gareth:

Yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

I, and I loved it and again, my granddad sort of had lots of

Alex Baranowski:

instruments lying around like mandolins and guitars and accordions and so it's

Alex Baranowski:

just, I just love playing things and again, sort of string instruments is

Alex Baranowski:

sort of what I'm kind of obsessed with.

Alex Baranowski:

I love sort of playing, I've got lots of random string instruments as

Alex Baranowski:

well, and that's again, from, from that, like again, I've never had

Alex Baranowski:

lessons in all these Mandos and, all the stuff, electric guitars, but I.

Alex Baranowski:

Just trying and pretending and playing.

Alex Baranowski:

And then when, when I've gone traveling again, I've sort of

Alex Baranowski:

traveling with my, my wife resource lived in India for four months, so

Alex Baranowski:

of course I came back with a sit.

Alex Baranowski:

But again, it just sounds wonderful with adding some sort of thing to a,

Gareth:

Yeah.

Gareth:

And if you have a basis in, something strings like the violin or the guitar,

Gareth:

see guitars on your wall, then you've got a starting point, haven't you, of

Alex Baranowski:

Yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

Absolut.

Gareth:

And, you know, piano accordion, it's not too far a stretch, um, except

Gareth:

you're, you're kind of pulling the piano apart and putting that together,

Alex Baranowski:

Yeah, Absolutely.

Alex Baranowski:

It's all kind of the same thing, isn't it?

Alex Baranowski:

And then there's this wonderful thing called Melaine, which

Alex Baranowski:

makes everything better for me

Gareth:

Oh yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

whenever it comes to me trying to

Gareth:

spilling the production secrets.

Alex Baranowski:

anything.

Alex Baranowski:

Oh God, yeah.

Alex Baranowski:

But I, but again, I love it.

Alex Baranowski:

Like I'd rather do that than try and find a sample or try and find a thing at this.

Alex Baranowski:

That sort seems to be my ethos.

Alex Baranowski:

So if I'm not doing orchestral things, I'll do everything is live

Alex Baranowski:

as I, I can, even if it's in my, I have mic set up all the time,

Alex Baranowski:

stuff flying around all the time.

Alex Baranowski:

Uh, you know, you can see some stuff in the background, but literally in the

Alex Baranowski:

hallway, in our, in our hallway, just full of instruments every day as if, I'm sorry.

Alex Baranowski:

I'll keep it, put it somewhere, but

Gareth:

Fantastic.

Gareth:

So your grandparents clearly a massive influence on you early on.

Gareth:

Were there, you know, music teachers or other people, perhaps in school

Gareth:

or clubs or anything like that, that might have influenced you as well?

Alex Baranowski:

Yes.

Alex Baranowski:

I guess I, you know, I think it's, it's, it's having strong, strong people who

Alex Baranowski:

sort of really love doing the same thing.

Alex Baranowski:

I, I remember really loving music lessons as at secondary school.

Alex Baranowski:

I think it was only when I went to college, Doing a Apples.

Alex Baranowski:

I went to this really wonderful college.

Alex Baranowski:

There's, there's one, very famous composer alumni who went

Alex Baranowski:

there that I knew very well.

Alex Baranowski:

I knew of very well when I got there, who was hands immer.

Alex Baranowski:

So we sort of went to the same school and when, when they did a, um, a Dr.

Alex Baranowski:

Win about recently they interviewed.

Alex Baranowski:

Our headmaster was the same guy, and he's wonderful.

Alex Baranowski:

He's so supportive and wonderful.

Alex Baranowski:

And I've, I've gone back quite a few times to sort of talk

Alex Baranowski:

to students, things like that.

Alex Baranowski:

And obviously they couldn't get a famous guy come in.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, he was a bit too far, but then, um, and it was, he always

Alex Baranowski:

asked, he always knows what I'm doing and I, it's really wonderful.

Alex Baranowski:

And the, the teachers there, they're really supported.

Alex Baranowski:

Really wonderful.

Alex Baranowski:

That's kind of really where I really.

Alex Baranowski:

Cubase really learn how to get my way around a door, and really work out.

Alex Baranowski:

And that sort of gave me a love.

Alex Baranowski:

And I ended up going, leaving there and I went to liquid in Liverpool,

Alex Baranowski:

which is Paul Carney's old school, which he then turned into a sort of

Alex Baranowski:

music college and they did their music and dance and sound technology, which

Alex Baranowski:

I sort went and sound technology.

Alex Baranowski:

I thought, well, I do, I wanna go and do music or do I wanna go and do.

Alex Baranowski:

Of course it sort of helps, you know, understand how to record music and

Alex Baranowski:

still do music, but then I can sort of record my own music and maybe I can

Alex Baranowski:

make more money by having both things.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, so that was my thought processes.

Alex Baranowski:

So I sort of learned about technology and recording as well as the music and.

Alex Baranowski:

And that was really inspiring.

Alex Baranowski:

The people on there were wonderful cuz it's sort of going to a, a university

Alex Baranowski:

like that and Paul McCartney got literally rang up his mates and got people to

Alex Baranowski:

come in and, just give guest lectures.

Alex Baranowski:

There's a, we had an amazing guest lecture in Glen Johns who was the one

Alex Baranowski:

of that Leo, the amazingly dressed guy on the, like the get back documentary

Alex Baranowski:

doing You record all the, let it be.

Alex Baranowski:

And he sort of came and listened to our material and some diagram around how he

Alex Baranowski:

sort of invited the stereo technique.

Alex Baranowski:

And, um, just really amazing.

Alex Baranowski:

Like we have so many people like that come in and Paul himself like

Alex Baranowski:

gave us to degrees and sort of came in and did some master classes.

Alex Baranowski:

And so it was a really incredible time.

Alex Baranowski:

So the college and university, this sort five years of being so

Alex Baranowski:

inspired and that it, it's not about going, this is how you make a

Alex Baranowski:

guitar, this is how you make a thing.

Alex Baranowski:

They sort of said, look, these are the tools we.

Alex Baranowski:

And look, you can do this.

Alex Baranowski:

This is a compressor, but it's sort of, you know, you need to figure

Alex Baranowski:

out how you do this compressor.

Alex Baranowski:

How you wanna mic this guitarist.

Alex Baranowski:

You don't just say, right, you put on the 12th threat and it's done.

Alex Baranowski:

You go, well look, you can, you can tune it this way.

Alex Baranowski:

You can, you know, you see how resonant is.

Alex Baranowski:

Try micing it around the back.

Alex Baranowski:

Try doing this, try playing it in a bathroom.

Alex Baranowski:

Like we really learn all these amazing, just, it gave you so much creativity.

Alex Baranowski:

And that's something I do every single day now

Gareth:

was gonna say that it seems to be something that, you've kind

Gareth:

of put your own stamp on, and use.

Gareth:

I think as a, we both know as a modern kind of media composer, you need a ru

Gareth:

at least a rudimentary knowledge of recording techniques and stuff like that.

Gareth:

But to have that kind of background, to bring into your work,

Gareth:

It shows in your

Gareth:

work.

Gareth:

Definitely.

Alex Baranowski:

Oh, that's really good for you.

Alex Baranowski:

It was so useful.

Alex Baranowski:

And I think once I left the, you know, once I left Leper, I said I

Alex Baranowski:

went traveling for a year, you know, with, uh, went to India places,

Alex Baranowski:

um, bought lots of instruments.

Alex Baranowski:

But, um, when I came back, sort of letter says what I wanna do,

Alex Baranowski:

I wanna, I wanna write music.

Alex Baranowski:

Like, but how am I gonna do this?

Alex Baranowski:

I dunno, anyone, I don.

Alex Baranowski:

I don't have any contact, I don't have any money . So, I ended up moving in

Alex Baranowski:

with my then girlfriend, now wife's parents and her granddad had an, uh,

Alex Baranowski:

a house a couple miles down the road.

Alex Baranowski:

And this is in south, northern Liverpool, nowhere near where I'm from.

Alex Baranowski:

And, my mom gave, gave a bit, let me a bit of money to buy a, a Mac and I had

Alex Baranowski:

all these instruments and I bought a mic.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, and I just learned again, like, so I've, I'd sort of learned how to recall

Alex Baranowski:

in as studio situation and I learned again how to everything, how to write, how to

Alex Baranowski:

make a sound, what my sound was, what I wanted to say as a composer, what my.

Alex Baranowski:

What did I sound like?

Alex Baranowski:

How did I record?

Alex Baranowski:

How do I, so I spent, I literally spent like year, year in a quarter

Alex Baranowski:

doing that seven days a week.

Alex Baranowski:

And I was obsessed.

Alex Baranowski:

And this is the days before Twitter.

Alex Baranowski:

This is the days before.

Alex Baranowski:

You know, I didn't, I didn't have , internet access on my computer.

Alex Baranowski:

I was in this attic.

Alex Baranowski:

It's really cold with a gas heater, with a gas, c gas sort of heater.

Alex Baranowski:

But it was, it was sort of my little space and I adored that space.

Alex Baranowski:

It was my bad, you know, instruments, computer, and I, it was just

Alex Baranowski:

about learning my craft and that was the best year I've ever

Alex Baranowski:

had for myself, for my career.

Alex Baranowski:

Like learning what I do, like figuring out how I do it and

Alex Baranowski:

figuring out what plugins do.

Alex Baranowski:

And I, I, cause I was sort of, I, I went over to pros when I was at, at

Alex Baranowski:

Lipper and learned sort of pros and then that's how I, I, I still use Pros

Alex Baranowski:

now, sort of, I, I wanted to figure out how I could make things sound great.

Alex Baranowski:

And then I sort of bought some, I think it was the, the original East.

Alex Baranowski:

Gold library.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, which, you know, of course they had no lato things in those days.

Alex Baranowski:

They had nothing like that.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, and it was just, I just spent my time obsessing, how do I make this sound real?

Alex Baranowski:

How do I make this sound, the string sound interesting with, with

Alex Baranowski:

adding some guitars, adding some pianos, adding what, what can I do?

Alex Baranowski:

And I just, I, I've completely obsessed and I ended up putting

Alex Baranowski:

music on my MySpace, I think.

Alex Baranowski:

And I got people sort of contacted me saying, oh, can you do this,

Alex Baranowski:

film, you know, we know well, well, I say film was student film

Alex Baranowski:

stuff, so then I, I learned, you know, made all the mistakes on a student film

Alex Baranowski:

and like, I'd had the best time ever.

Alex Baranowski:

I loved it.

Alex Baranowski:

Um, you know, no money involved.

Alex Baranowski:

You don't even, I didn't even think about that.

Alex Baranowski:

But, it was, yeah, like I say, it was the best.

Alex Baranowski:

And I, I know I'm saying, as I'm saying, I know I'm saying this from a

Alex Baranowski:

immensely middle class, white male, p.

Alex Baranowski:

A position to be in this, because I know a lot of people don't have the

Alex Baranowski:

opportunity to go and spend a year living on someone else's dime without having

Alex Baranowski:

to, you know, after, like it's, it's a really, really privileged position to

Alex Baranowski:

be in, and I completely understand that.

Alex Baranowski:

And I, and I, I can understand why having done that, why it's so difficult

Alex Baranowski:

for people who aren't able to afford to do that, to, to get in this, because

Alex Baranowski:

look, it, it is this kinda interesting where, you know, you as, as we all

Alex Baranowski:

know, listen to this, however, Little long, we've all done this thing.

Alex Baranowski:

It it, it takes so much to do this.

Alex Baranowski:

Like no one, no one comes in.

Alex Baranowski:

He goes, oh, great.

Alex Baranowski:

You can read it now.

Alex Baranowski:

You've done it great.

Alex Baranowski:

Do you wanna come and do this?

Alex Baranowski:

Like it is, but that's what's kind of wonderful about it.

Alex Baranowski:

And, um, you know, it's, it's about learning and learning and learning.

Alex Baranowski:

And, and even in my twenties I thought, oh, I can score films now.

Alex Baranowski:

I've been doing this for a few years and, and it's looking back now like I.

Alex Baranowski:

There's so much I know now that I didn't know then that I, you, you

Alex Baranowski:

learning all the time and I'm sure in 10 years time I'll look back at

Alex Baranowski:

what I'm doing now and think, oh, you were so naive, You know, it's about,

Alex Baranowski:

it's about learning all the time

Gareth:

Yeah.

Gareth:

But then if you go into it, knowing what you're in for, I, I'm, I'm not sure many

Gareth:

people would actually decide to go ahead,

Alex Baranowski:

no,

Gareth:

See, for me, it was totally unexpected.

Gareth:

You know, the amount of graft and the amount of the, the amount

Gareth:

you have to really dig deep and think, is this really what I want?

Gareth:

You

Alex Baranowski:

I completely agree.

Alex Baranowski:

And, and, and we all have many moments like that.

Alex Baranowski:

And I remember, you know, thinking that now, like it really affected.

Alex Baranowski:

You know, mental health, you know, when you sort of go up for jobs and

Alex Baranowski:

you don't get them with this, and it's frustrating cause you then you move

Alex Baranowski:

to London and you can't pay the rent.

Alex Baranowski:

Like, it's just so, so, so hard.

Alex Baranowski:

And, and then, you know, you, you maybe find a way out, you know, I'll pitch

Alex Baranowski:

this advert, pay my rent for three months and then you don't get it and you, and

Alex Baranowski:

you just, all you can think about is not being able to pay your two months.

Alex Baranowski:

And so it's, it's a really really hard thing and it, you can see why

Alex Baranowski:

everyone struggles because we all struggle and it's what's really bad,

Alex Baranowski:

you sort of look at other people and you can compare yourself with them When

Alex Baranowski:

you think why it all looks so easy.

Alex Baranowski:

And even sometimes I look at my own.

Alex Baranowski:

Terrible website and go.

Alex Baranowski:

Got it.

Alex Baranowski:

It looks, looks quite impressive actually.

Alex Baranowski:

I mean, but it doesn't feel like that when you do it.

Alex Baranowski:

But everything looks, looks better on the, on the outside and I

Alex Baranowski:

think you need to remember that

Alex Baranowski:

and I remember sort of being in studios and, and seeing composers and who were.

Alex Baranowski:

Many, many wrongs above me and working on these incredible films, and it's

Alex Baranowski:

sort of being satisfying that they're having a really hard, difficult timing.

Alex Baranowski:

Okay, great.

Alex Baranowski:

Like I always imagined it'll be easy.

Alex Baranowski:

You just be drinking coffee and getting assistance to help, you

Alex Baranowski:

know, but actually, it's, it's not, it's a hard, the whole way through.

Alex Baranowski:

And that's, okay.

Alex Baranowski:

As long as we, we know that, I think it's not about taking your eye off the ball.

Alex Baranowski:

There's never a moment you can just go, yeah, I'm done Now.

Alex Baranowski:

Just

Gareth:

Exactly, and there's a massive responsibility on

Gareth:

your shoulders, isn't it?

Gareth:

You know, you get into a position where you think, yes, I've got a gig, I've got a

Gareth:

commission, and then you are responsible.

Gareth:

You know, you, you are . Then the sleepless nights start because, oh God,

Gareth:

you know, you gotta get everything right.

Alex Baranowski:

Absolutely.

Alex Baranowski:

And it's, and it's not something I think, I think, again, and I, I'm

Alex Baranowski:

guilty of it, I know when I was younger, but I think as a, when you

Alex Baranowski:

are as a young composer, you sort of.

Alex Baranowski:

You, well, I know I can do this.

Alex Baranowski:

I'm, why aren't I doing this?

Alex Baranowski:

But, but you think about it like you are as a composer for a film.

Alex Baranowski:

You're, it's the equivalent of being a CEO of a, of a multimillion pound project.

Alex Baranowski:

You know?

Alex Baranowski:

Or a head of department of a of a very, very big, you know, you

Alex Baranowski:

this, this just writing music is, you know, in charge of hundreds of

Alex Baranowski:

thousands of pounds of, of budget.

Alex Baranowski:

That, to go to orchestras, I, it takes so much experience and knowledge and.

Alex Baranowski:

No one gets given a CEO job when they're in their twenties.

Alex Baranowski:

And if they are, God help you because you know, like it's about working

Alex Baranowski:

on those smaller projects, isn't it?

Alex Baranowski:

And learning and figuring it all out bigger.

Alex Baranowski:

And they get bigger and

Gareth:

Yeah, so not to end on a despairing note , I ask, all of my guests

Gareth:

to leave an item and a piece of advice, in the music room for others to find.

Gareth:

So have you got an item that you'd like to leave in the music room?

Alex Baranowski:

So I was thinking about this and I was listening

Alex Baranowski:

to what other people left behind.

Alex Baranowski:

And I was thinking, so one of the most useful things is a little black book.

Alex Baranowski:

And in that little black book is people.

Alex Baranowski:

And it's not my people.

Alex Baranowski:

I'm not giving you a black book full of people.

Alex Baranowski:

I'm giving you a black book for you to fill with your people.

Alex Baranowski:

Cuz I think what you do is all about people.

Alex Baranowski:

Like we sit in our little rooms on our own most of the time and we, we write,

Alex Baranowski:

we, we want the stuff to come to us, but it doesn't, you know, we have to go

Alex Baranowski:

out and do it and I love writing music.

Alex Baranowski:

I love getting musicians to, to play and collaborate with.

Alex Baranowski:

And so I have a, a lovely, lovely group of people now that I sort of like, but at the

Alex Baranowski:

moment I'm like ringing up people saying, can you put this some cello on this?

Alex Baranowski:

Can you do this?

Alex Baranowski:

Can you write, you know, can you help me with this?

Alex Baranowski:

Can you do some, some surveillance things on this one?

Alex Baranowski:

I'm doing it and directors and people, like I said, that you meet assistants

Alex Baranowski:

when you are really young and they end up becoming their own directors.

Alex Baranowski:

And I, I was sort of starter when Facebook was really just in it, in its

Alex Baranowski:

infancy from, um, For the masses like us.

Alex Baranowski:

I remember, you know, before Twitter, and I remember sort of being recontacted

Alex Baranowski:

with all these, you know, people from Mays and school and going,

Alex Baranowski:

oh, you've worked in the BBC now.

Alex Baranowski:

Can I ever do

Gareth:

Yeah,

Alex Baranowski:

now even more connected, I guess so, and Twitter

Alex Baranowski:

getting some wonderful work and meeting wonderful people on Twitter.

Alex Baranowski:

I guess it's just about connections and not being on your

Alex Baranowski:

own and having a little book.

Alex Baranowski:

Remind you of all the, it doesn't have to be a physical, it can be in

Alex Baranowski:

your head, it can be, it can be in

Alex Baranowski:

your

Gareth:

no.

Gareth:

It's a, it's a physical black book.

Alex Baranowski:

and, and in

Gareth:

go

Alex Baranowski:

book, and it's a, and and to be fair, there's a little

Alex Baranowski:

black book of people that are, have not been particularly pleasant or not

Alex Baranowski:

be, you know, that I, I, I've been, I've been very lucky that I've had a

Alex Baranowski:

lot of positive experiences and there's been a few negative experiences, but,

Alex Baranowski:

you know, whether, whether it's people working with, whether it's a musician

Alex Baranowski:

being a complete ass about something, or it's about this, or it's about,

Alex Baranowski:

you know, no, no one's gonna, you.

Alex Baranowski:

I, I wanna try and be as fair and wonderful and you wanna be with everyone,

Alex Baranowski:

you know, but, but it's, you wanna surround people with you, be positive.

Alex Baranowski:

And it's about, it's about trying to figure out the way through it.

Gareth:

Fantastic.

Gareth:

Well that's going in.

Gareth:

Uh, what advice would you like to leave in the music room?

Alex Baranowski:

um, so I.

Alex Baranowski:

Said it before, but I think the, the biggest bit of advice is not comparing.

Alex Baranowski:

There's a wonderful quote, I, I dunno who said it, so I'm sorry it's not

Alex Baranowski:

mine, but like, don't compare your beginning with someone else's middle.

Alex Baranowski:

Like, don't look at other people and think.

Alex Baranowski:

Why am I not doing that?

Alex Baranowski:

Why am I not doing this?

Alex Baranowski:

Why am I, you know, I don't think, um, I'm young.

Alex Baranowski:

I'm young.

Alex Baranowski:

I need to get an agent.

Alex Baranowski:

I need to do this.

Alex Baranowski:

Like, you need to, like, you don't, you just need to keep going and meeting

Alex Baranowski:

people and finding avenues to write music, whether it's above a pub, whether

Alex Baranowski:

it's, whether it's just writing some library music, whether it's pitching

Alex Baranowski:

for some adverts, whether it's doing some theater, whether it's doing a load

Alex Baranowski:

budget doc, um, doing a dance piece.

Alex Baranowski:

Like I, I did it all.

Alex Baranowski:

That's how, I guess, I'm so lucky to work in so many.

Alex Baranowski:

Avenues now is cuz when I was a young composer, I just wanted to

Alex Baranowski:

meet as many people as I could.

Alex Baranowski:

So I met choreographers, I met, you know, documentary makers and theater

Alex Baranowski:

makers, and I just wanted to make as many connections as possible.

Alex Baranowski:

I was very lucky.

Alex Baranowski:

I had income by, you know, doing a theater job or getting the odd advert pitch and

Alex Baranowski:

doing, you need, you sort of grab your income from other wear or do other jobs.

Alex Baranowski:

So, yes.

Alex Baranowski:

So that's what it, my advice, you know, it's about trying to be you.

Alex Baranowski:

And it's not trying to, you know, we know, of course we get, we get

Alex Baranowski:

influences from here, there, and everywhere, but figure out who you are.

Alex Baranowski:

I always have this horrible analogy, which I always say.

Alex Baranowski:

Composers and I, there's, there's two types of composers.

Alex Baranowski:

There's one type of composer like, oh God, we need to get someone to do some music.

Alex Baranowski:

Like, you, you, you, you, yeah, you, you're great.

Alex Baranowski:

Done.

Alex Baranowski:

Well, there's other site where you go, okay, I really like what you do,

Alex Baranowski:

and I want you to come and do this because I really love what you've

Alex Baranowski:

done, and I think we all all start.

Alex Baranowski:

In the one, the first one we all start and just wanna be a composer.

Alex Baranowski:

But the, the, the aim is sort of get onto that side and go,

Alex Baranowski:

oh, people wanna come to you.

Alex Baranowski:

And the only way of doing that is by being you not trying to copy

Alex Baranowski:

someone, not trying to do this, like trying and just figure out your own

Alex Baranowski:

way of, of getting through stuff.

Gareth:

Alex Barovsky composer.

Gareth:

It has been a joy chatting with you.

Gareth:

Thanks for joining me in the music room.

Alex Baranowski:

Thank you very much for asking

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