Today we’d like to introduce you to Adriaan Philipse
Hi Adriaan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My name is Adriaan Philipse, I’m originally from The Netherlands and I’m a composer for trailers. During college, I started working with singers songwriters on pop music for mostly local artisits in The Netherlands. With one of my pop music collaborators I went to LA a few times to do writing sessions. And on those trips I met people who are in trailer music that I eventually got to work with. And I still work with them 5 years later.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Somewhere in between smooth and rough. Every year or two I run into a new obstacle or struggle, because of either my own development or because of changes that happen in the workfield. After adapting, things go pretty smooth for the following 1-2 years. Eventhough adapting can be quite challenging aswell, it can bring lots of new possibilties to develop and find ways that work better.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a trailer music composer, and I have been specializing in custom music. Custom trailer music is specially made on request to fit the trailer, and to achieve a specific result. there are a lot of musical ideas, but they often need tailoring to fit the trailer in the best way posible. One example of a customization that I’ve done is for the first trailer of Babygirl. I made a new version of the Sugar Plum Fairy of the Nutcracker. It needed to match the feel
the film. I knew my favorite composer Cristobal Tapia De Veer was the composer of the soundtrack of the film, so I
tried to approach this custom cover with his musical syle in mind. I used tribal percusion and breathing sounds to accompany the christmassy bell sounds, to bring out the the hidden desires of the main caracter.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If you want to make trailer music, try out different styles and learn from all the differences. That way you’ll build up your skills to nuance the sound of the pieces you’re working on to fit the emotion of a trailer in a way that resonates with audiences.
I kind of see it as building your vocabulary of different ways to make sounds. And with that sound vocabulary, you can make combinations and compositions to express ideas more nuanced and articulated.
For more business advise, I would look for publishers to work with that you feel comfortable with. Communication is really important, and it has great influence on your collaborating experience. Try it out for yourself, and you’ll know what | mean!
When you start out, it can be a challange to find people/publishers to work with, so don’t be shy to keep following up with new work and progress you’ve made since last time.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adriaan.philipse/profilecard/?igsh=ZHRndHN2NGttcnpi
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriaan-philipse-489384188/
