Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Firmont.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started with making music rather late in my life. With 19, I started my education to become a nurse and at the same time, I bought my first electric guitar and started practicing. After a few years of music had already taken over most of my life, I reduced the working hours in the hospital, started giving guitar lessons and found my love in game&film music.
I started composing for short films and video games in 2013, while I was still enrolled in my film music composer program at MusiCube Academy in Bonn, Germany. I went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree from ArtEZ university for the arts in Arnhem, Netherlands, in 2018 and graduated with the best degree ever awarded to a student in my department. In 2019, I won several awards, for an example the international “Film Music Contest”.
At ArtEZ, I met Lars Hempel, with whom I founded the composer duo Hempel&Firmont. Next to my working as a composer, I am currently enrolled in a remote Master’s degree in Composition for Video Games at the University of Chichester, UK, and am planning to graduate in December 2021.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The typical challenges of an artist: Besides developing as a composer also developing a business mindset, learning how to sell yourself, dealing with self-doubt, and meeting your own requirements. Moving to LA wasn’t that easy as well, but thankfully I fulfilled the requirements for an Artist Visa. I moved to LA in the beginning of March, after years of working really hard to make it happen, just to face the pandemic. And then, in May 2020, the most beautiful challenge in life happened, I became a father. But again, this is supporting the self-doubt as an artist as you try to create more safety for your family but you also want to push your career.
Please tell us about Hempel&Firmont.
I am fortunate to have a company with one of my very best friends, Lars Hempel, who also is one of the greatest composers I personally know. Together we complement each other very well, as he comes from a Pop/RnB background and me from metal/rock. So to our passion for writing orchestral music, we can also work in several other styles. We are specialized in writing music for games, films, and television and are known for the strong and emotive themes we write for characters and storylines.
I am most proud of us managing our company remotely over the distance right now (LA – London) and of our communication system. We are putting most of our effort into how we communicate with developers and directors to really grasp the idea of their project. We, and so our music, should become a perfect part of the project and therefore, we can’t put enough energy into understanding the creators. Therefore we developed many strategies, lists, and music systems to make this possible. I think this is also what sets us apart from others.
Oh, and we are great fun to work with! 🙂
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Family vacation: My parents, my older sister and me in North Germany, “Lüneburger Heide”, on a farm 🙂
Contact Info:
- Address: 3333 W 2nd street, Los Angeles, CA90004
- Website: www.hempel-firmont.com
- Phone: 3237705488
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hempel.firmont/?hl=de
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hempelfirmont/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FirmontMichael
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfirmont
Image Credit:
Brian Ta, Philipp Tonn
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
