You did a lot of work for Apple, but can you pick a favorite?
I was able to work with Hudson Mohawke on an unreleased song (“Chimes”), which he finished and released together with a commercial, which resembled a film treat. This was a “sticker” ad. It was love for all those stickers that people put on the back of their MacBooks, and it’s set to music. It was a fun process – just sitting down with creative people and playing music and being able to really discover something unexpected.
What was it like to help this artist find a larger audience?
It was incredible, because when you’re learning what your voice is – sometimes for me it was a little bit of a struggle, “What do I want, and what do I think other people want?” And when something I got excited about got everyone else excited, it was very positive. It allowed me to trust my gut and understand how the things I was really excited about could play on a much bigger stage and tell bigger stories.
When would you recommend that a client or agency bring a music supervisor into a project?
(I can’t count) how many times I’ve been hired on something, and I think, “Oh, if you had just called me two months ago, I could have saved you money and hired really creative people.” ” It’s almost always too late. The beauty of Apple is that it is prepared at the script level.
You’re screwed with that approach.
Totally! The arrangements are different in every place. Therefore, if your agency is set up in such a way that the impact of music can be harnessed as quickly as possible, it is very beneficial. One of the things my company Reddish does is plan a music strategy for an agency to present to their clients so everyone can get on the same page about the terminology and the vibe and what the brand sounds like. We’ll do all this work to pave the way so that when it comes to actually making the ad, this conversation (about music) will flow smoothly. It really takes a lot to be able to do an ad driven by music, even if the conversation is quick. If it’s an agency-wide value, it requires an agency-wide effort to drive it beyond the creative and music supervisor. Everyone will have to unite soon.
Let’s talk about some of Radish’s recent advertising work. “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” features an orchestral version of the iconic song for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and it’s a pleasant surprise.
He came to us with the idea of interpolating that song. The specialty of that song is that it plays melodiously everywhere. It’s made for chanting, and when you make something for chanting, you can have these wild melodic swings. It can be a little awkward when you’re trying to take some of the emotion out of it. We were able to work with a young composer, Taylor Lipari-Hassett, who works with Rob Simonsen (composer of Darron Aronofsky’s The Whale).
(to translate tags) Radish Music