Today we’d like to introduce you to Riley Smith.
Riley, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I grew up in Portland, Oregon, raised by my loving deadhead parents. Music has always been a big part of my life, in fact, I went to several Grateful Dead shows before I was born! I played in rock bands growing up, and I still play mandolin in a family band with my sister and brother-in-law. After High School, my love of music shifted from a passion to a career path while learning electronic music and composition under the mentorship of John Yannelli at Sarah Lawrence College. In my thesis research, I studied the relationship between music and emotion through the lenses of Physiology, Psychology, Probability Theory, and more.
This interdisciplinary approach is what really jumpstarted my interest in sound, and has continued to change the way I listen to and write music. What was once a simple process of strumming chords on a guitar has now branched out in every conceivable direction; The acoustical timbre of each instrument, and the spaces they are played in. The physiological experience of hearing from the ear to the brain, and the role that memory plays in processing it all. The psychological interplay of expectation and emotion to consider when composing. The technological tools and insight necessary to capture, morph, and mix sounds together… Suddenly these all became co-equal passions of mine that I lovingly label “Music”.
After college, I moved to LA with my heart set on finding a way to make a living somewhere in my field. Because of my ever-expanding interest in sound, I’ve been lucky work as an instrumentalist, DJ, composer for dance, film, and TV, music editor, recording producer, mix engineer and live sound engineer. These days I am primarily working as a music editor for TV, and collaborating as a freelance composer and producer. I wouldn’t have thought to pursue so many different jobs or have found each one to be uniquely fulfilling were it not for my widely encompassing view of music.
We’d love to hear more about your work. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I strive to make impactful music that lends my perspective to my audience so that they might hear “behind the curtain”, so to speak. I am constantly trying to relay some of my own curiosity and wonder about music to my listeners. When I work, my focus is always shifting from musical notes to waveforms, and from theory-driven harmonies to aurally-stimulating clusters of frequencies. Science and art coexists in every piece of music, and as I write I am always considering their relationship. Through unique instrumentation and mixing techniques, my aim is for the audience to be emotionally stirred, compelled by what they’ve heard, and a little mystified at the same time.
My style is constantly evolving as a byproduct of having so many interests related to sound. Every genre and era has its own insights tucked away, and I can’t help but pursue them all. From Bluegrass to Brostep, I don’t discriminate. As a result, I am always learning new instruments and techniques so as to incorporate them into my work. My music regularly integrates acoustic instruments, synthesizers, sound design, and even my own field recordings. I try to record and sample as much of my own material as possible, partly due to my fascination with every step of the music-making process. It feels more rewarding as well because all the elements I work with feel uniquely my own.
Collaboration is a huge part of my creative process. As a composer, it is my job to take all the information I’ve absorbed about music and use it to serve the interests of whichever medium I’m scoring. I love working with directors and choreographers alike to collaborate on projects, and I believe there is a well of untapped creativity in every artist that unlocks itself in collaboration. To me, combining my music with another art form feels a lot like revisiting sound through a new lens. I love to come away from collaborations with new perspective, it’s one of the most rewarding parts of my process.
Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
Choosing to make art for a living is not a choice to make lightly. Every medium is difficult to break into in its own unique way. It’s important to consider your options and make a plan beforehand. However, with that said, I think that many people struggle to find success with their art because they have too narrowly defined how that success will look. If I had left college with the solitary goal of becoming a film composer in Los Angeles, I would likely still be working in a bar full-time. By continuing to study music on my own, I found new creative paths I could take besides composing that would allow me to work in my field. Keep your options open and you’ll find new routes worth exploring in your medium.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Most of my recent music is available on Spotify and Bandcamp under my moniker, McMurray. I regularly update my Instagram and website with information on new projects, and I am always looking for new people to collaborate with. I love to collaborate with artists in different capacities as a composer, producer, and editor. Most recently, I wrote an original score for a local LA dance company named Psychopomp. The piece is called Relics: Return to Clay, and they are in the process of scheduling more performances that I would highly recommend seeing!
You can hear my music editing on shows such as The Good Doctor, Atypical, Snowfall, Umbrella Academy, and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I also help to compose some music on The Blacklist and Preacher, as well as the upcoming Breaking Bad feature film.
I also play mandolin in a family band around LA called S+M. We play a lot of folk and bluegrass standards as well as some originals. I highly recommend that people support all the local live music around town that they can. Seeing live music is truly medicinal, and supporting local artists puts your energy where it has the best chance of making a real impact.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://rileymsmith.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: mcmurray.music
- Other: https://mcmurray.bandcamp.com/
Image Credit:
Michael Rubenstone
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