The Making Of… ‘Primal Spirit — Voices of Ancient Earth’
Gothic Storm’s latest release sees the wonderful Andrii Yefymov continue his prolific and successful career with us with his latest album ‘Primal Spirit — Voices of Ancient Earth’. We spoke to him about the intriguing over-arching concept behind the album as well as working with vocals and what advice he’d give to young composers. Read on!
Was there a particular scene/imagery, imaginary or otherwise, that you had in your head when you began writing for this concept?
AY: Well… Yeah, I always have some imaginary scenes when writing music. For this one I imagined a kind of human being that rises above the world and sees the whole picture of our entire world, sees all the disasters and tragedies that have happened on Earth, sees how humanity evolved through years of existence.. but also sees everything good about humanity, all the faithful care we are capable of. So this observer’s soul opens itself to all of these, he absorbs all this heritage of humanity and turns into kind of superhuman sentient hero that leads a new generation of humans to a better world (maybe there could be some plot threads with apocalypse/end of world/nuclear disasters involved… haha)
Are there extra challenges working with vocal-led cues rather than instrumentals? And how did you achieve such majestic vocal sounds on this album?
AY: Yes, definitely working on vocal cues is much more complicated. To me the biggest obstacle was to translate the vocal I imagined into actual singable parts. Once I sketched it with some random samples and score sheets, the next big thing was to explain to the singers how it should sound and what I wanted from them. I wanted them to sing an emotional hymn, the “soundtrack to humanity”, if I may say! And for them it was not an easy task, given the tracks were very raw during the vocal sessions and the desired overall vibe was not yet shaped. So I had to explain to them all the dramatic plot of this album concept and we had long recording sessions shaping the desired sound. And somehow we’ve managed it, I think!
How does your composing process begin? Is it a singular melody or perhaps a collection of chords that kicks everything off?
AY: I always start with the atmosphere. The soundscape. Choosing the right pallet for the intro. Once I am satisfied with the sound world I move to the main element — melody “hook”, percussive pattern or lead signature sound. If these two things are sitting well with me, the rest of the track writes itself!
Can you imagine a perfect usage for any of the tracks on this album? A particular film/franchise that would work really well?
AY: I hope these tracks will find a home in many different industry implementations. Personally, to me these may be a good fit for expansive dramatic action, post-apocalyptic sci-fi , mature fantasy things or something in the vein of “Dune” :). Yes, I would absolutely love to be a part of the “Dune” campaign, who wouldn’t be…
You’ve had a brilliant career so far writing trailer music. Is there any advice you would give to up and coming trailer composers? Anything you wish someone had told you when you started?
AY: My advice to up and coming trailer composers would be — Think twice! Ask yourself “do you really want this?” and if the answer is “yes” — never stop and never give up. This advice could probably be applied to anything in life… not just trailer music. But the trailer industry is NOT EASY, in so many aspects, and requires certain mind set. I could say lots of other things, like “listen, learn, transcribe other successful tracks to learn from…” But it would be a waste of time if someone is not ready for the long run and all the ups and downs of the trailer industry.
