Today we’d like to introduce you to Omri Lahav.
Omri, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
As long as I can remember, music has been the focal point of my life. I started learning at age three and never stopped. At 15, I had quit school and started studying music privately, I was working in studios, composing music for school plays and student films, writing songs and performing with an average of 4 groups at any given time. Over the following decade in Israel, I had played and recorded with A list artists, scored Academy Award-nominated films and shows, as well as video games for major developers, such as Intel.
In May of 2016, I left everything behind to start over in Los Angeles and pursue my dreams. Knowing no one and having but a small sum of money saved, it’s been the challenge of a lifetime, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Less than three years later, in 2019, I have finally done the thing that would make five years old me cry – recorded a major feature film soundtrack with a live orchestra.
Today, I’m happy to say I work as a full-time film composer, living and breathing film music.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been and continues to be quite a challenging journey. There have been times when pursuing my dreams meant working insane hours with absolutely no financial security. In this line of work you have to weather a lot of rejection, it can get pretty overwhelming if you’re not conscious of it. I made it a personal goal to turn each “no” into both a learning experience and motivational fuel – to do better next time.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
As a composer for media, I think of myself as a storyteller. Whether it’s a film score, a video game track or a song – my passion is in capturing the essence of a story and communicating it in my writing. While I’m sometimes known as “the guitar guy” (I really enjoy writing folky, guitar-driven works), I developed a deep love of musical instruments at an early age. Today in my studio, I am surrounded by dozens of different instruments and I love experimenting with them. Every score requires a unique sound, and it’s great having a wide palette to explore.
During my years in Israel, I produced and played on countless albums, but it was only in 2016 that I had released my debut solo album.
“Dust” is a folk-rock album with a flare of Irish folk music, one of the biggest musical influences in my life.
It focuses on my personal journey, and is a very intimate piece for me… If you’d like to listen to it, you can find it on Spotify, or any major streaming platform.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
In my early years, I had a tendency to become hyper-focused on the projects at hand, sometimes not leaving the studio for days. Needless to say, this not only interfered with my ability to get that next project but also led to some questionable diet choices, irregular sleeping times and an overall sedentary lifestyle. If I had to start over, I wish I could tell 20 years old Omri that there’s more to life than the current set of deadlines.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://omrilahav.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OmriLahavComposer
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Omri_lahav
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcqnCmyIJeXkqFVzVZTv9Pw
Image Credit:
Inbal-Rotem Sagiv, Eyal Pe’er, Arbel Rom, Inbal Kim Nahir
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