From Vinyl to VR: Inside Paul Whitehead’s Audio Avalanche
Paul Whitehead is a highly-accomplished production music composer with a career spanning hundreds of tracks and albums, with placements in TV shows, films, and advertisements worldwide.
His compositions have featured in recent campaigns for BMW, iconic video games including ‘Roblox’, ‘Borderlands’, and ‘Saints Row’, as well as hit television shows such as ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’, ‘Panorama’, and HBO’s ‘Starstruck’.
Paul sat down with LBB to discuss his creative inspirations, his collaboration with Mau5trap, and the AI led paradigm shift in creativity.
As a composer known for his diverse output, Paul’s inspirations are similarly varied, from the music of Max Martin and John Williams to the eerie crack of an avalanche. Here, he reflects on how he brings his music to life and how the tech landscape is changing.
LBB> When you’re working on a new brief or project, what’s your typical starting point? How do you break it down and how do you like to generate your ideas or response?
Paul> It largely depends on the project, sometimes I listen to similar projects for an audio reference or something to spark the creativity, sometimes I just start playing in Logic and see what happens that day. I’m very lucky that within the music production industry, the briefs can vary greatly in terms of genre, so no brief is like the last and each has a different way of getting started.
LBB> Music and sound are in some ways the most collaborative and interactive forms of creativity – what are your thoughts on this? Do you prefer to work solo or with a gang – and what are some of your most memorable professional collaborations?
Paul> I generally prefer working solo, as it’s always what I've been used to. When I initially started producing, I was doing a lot of electronic music and auditioning 50 different snare sounds in a row – which isn’t something that really lends itself to collaboration!
That being said, one of my favourite collaborations was with producer Dom Kane (of Mau5trap). We worked on a project together, where I worked on the first half of the tracks and when I reached a natural stopping point, I’d send them to him to complete the other half.
I will never forget listening to his versions when he sent them back through; I literally threw my hands up in the air because he’d nailed the sound and the brief perfectly!
Neon Wave 3
LBB> What’s the most satisfying part of your job and why?
Paul> I would say getting to work on such a broad range of musical styles is incredibly satisfying, as I can be pushed out of my comfort zone quite often. But that’s what makes me a better composer, in my opinion.
It’s also incredibly satisfying to hear a piece of your music on something high profile, like a BMW ad, an ITV promo or in a video game.
LBB> As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it?
Paul> You can’t mention changes in the industry without mentioning AI. It’s obviously a huge paradigm shift in creativity, not just in music but in all art forms. It still remains to be seen if generative music AI will significantly affect the income of composers. I am hopeful that AI will be used as another tool rather than the death of human creativity.
LBB> Can you talk a little bit about the technological developments in sound design right now?
Paul> I have dabbled with Dolby Atmos, but currently in the production music world, everything is still pretty much firmly in the stereo world – which I’m thankful for as I don’t have to buy a bunch of new speakers!
The biggest changes in the last few years have probably been the quality of software plugins. I still enjoy using my analogue gear when I can, but I often simply don’t need to because VST’s [virtual studio technology plugins] – such as Xfer’s Serum 2, Spectrasonics Omnisphere and the Fabfilter Plugins – sound fantastic.
Dark Pulses
LBB> How do you see the future of sound design? And is the metaverse a dream opportunity for immersive sound design?
Paul> Honestly, I suspect AI will be a large part of the future of sound design. As for the metaverse, I don't think that will ever be mainstream. Augmented reality however is much more interesting...
LBB> Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?
Paul> Max Martin has always been a musical hero of mine. He’s an amazing composer and producer. His ability to craft and produce pop hits is unbelievable. He just has ‘it’.
It may be obvious but John Williams is another. He’s just cinematic perfection. The amount of movie themes he has created that have shaped cinema, pop culture and the world, truly incredible.
LBB> And when it comes to your particular field, are there any particular ideas or pioneers that you go back to frequently or who really influence your thinking about the work you do?
Paul> I’m always amazed by the amount of composers and producers that exist in the production music industry, but there are still only a handful that consistently create great-sounding music. It’s actually really annoying! When I hear music from these people, it keeps me from being complacent and forces me to continue trying to raise the bar with what I create.
LBB> When you’re working on something that isn’t directly sound design or music, are you the sort of person who needs music and noise in the background or is that completely distracting to you? What are your thoughts on ‘background’ sound and music as you work?
Paul> When I started doing music work full time, I stopped listening to background music and leaned more towards spoken word podcasts. Probably, because I end up analysing the music, getting distracted or inspired by something which isn’t helpful, when doing your tax return.
LBB> I guess the quality of the listening experience and the context that audiences listen to music/sound in has changed over the years. There’s the switch from analogue to digital and now we seem to be divided between bad-ass surround-sound immersive experiences and on-the-go, low-quality sound (often the audio is competing with a million other distractions) - how does that factor into how you approach your work
Paul> I’m lucky, in the sense that the formats I deliver my music in are mostly broadcast standard, 24 bit / 48k which doesn’t seem like it’s going to change any time soon. That being said, I am more aware of the amount of music that is played via an iPhone speaker and I also reference my tracks on ‘bad’ speakers as well as my studio monitors to make sure everything sounds good across all systems.
LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like?
Paul> There’s no such thing as a typical day really and my ‘listening diet’ would consist of a bunch of new production music releases, as a way of keeping up with trends and listening to vinyls at weekends, mainly The Beatles, David Bowie, Jean-Michel Jarre and Oasis.
LBB> Do you have a collection of music/sounds and what shape does it take?
Paul> I prefer to steer away from streaming services for my music, as I find their business models disgusting. I do love playing vinyl and I have a pretty large collection spanning all kinds of eras and genres. The Beatles still take center stage for me, I’ve gotten back into listening to their anthology releases recently as it is fascinating to hear the outtakes and versions that didn’t make the final albums.
LBB> Outside of the music and sound world, what sort of art or topics really excite you and do you ever relate that back to music?
Paul> I recently became very interested in VR technology and the possibilities it brings for connection and escapism. A friend of mine is moving to Australia and the thought of being able to pop on a VR headset and be in a virtual room with them is fascinating. There have been several games and experiences I've played where I’ve been very impressed with the music and it seems like it’s a great playing field for independent musicians and developers to try new things and see what sticks.
LBB> Let’s talk travel! It’s often cited as one of the most creatively inspiring things you can do - I’d love to know what are the most exciting or inspiring experiences you’ve had when it comes to sound and music on your travels?
Paul> I recently went Interrailing with my family and it was wonderful. We travelled through Belgium, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France and had an incredible time. One of the most awe-inspiring moments was actually a total absence of sound.
We were on top of a mountain in Switzerland and it was deathly quiet, no cars, no planes, no people until suddenly we heard an almighty crack echo through the mountains which turned out to be an avalanche. It was incredible to feel like you were the only people in the world to hear that noise at that moment.
Also, I discovered these cool little wind up music boxes in Switzerland that fit in the palm of your hand that have a fascinating acoustic effect of being really quiet when you hold them but once you place them on a hard surface they’re suddenly loud. Great fun.
LBB> As we age, our ears change physically and our tastes evolve too, and life changes mean we don’t get to engage in our passions in the same intensity as in our youth - how has your relationship with sound and music changed over the years?
Paul> I have definitely found that I listen to less ‘new’music now and tend to lean back into previous years. That’s not to say I don’t listen to any. There are still some pop tracks I hear which punch through which I think are great. Jades – ‘Angel of My Dreams’ is an example. I feel like the music industry is so saturated and people are obsessed with streaming numbers and view counts. It's taken some joy out of music for me. As I said in an earlier question, holding a piece of vinyl, reading the liner notes and really getting into an album is much more interesting to me than flicking through a Spotify playlist.
