Daily Inspiration: Meet Noah Lifschey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Noah Lifschey.

Hi Noah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story. 
I hail from the Bay Area, where the air was always buzzing with creativity. My dad, a renowned classical oboist, was so down-to-earth and humble that I was clueless about his fame until a Berklee College of Music prof of mine gushed about his playing! My mom, a pianist, and my dad also got their hands dirty with paints and pastels later in life. Music and art were obsessions for me from early on, and even as a kid, I was drawn to sounds more on the fringe — be it lesser-known British metal, Michael Hedges, Devo, Tom Waits, whale songs, or earlier Metallica.

After Berklee, I landed in L.A. with dreams of making waves in production and live gigs. I did my time at a big-name recording studio but left after nine months because it was an abusive/toxic environment. I landed in a post-production house in Santa Monica — no egos, no abuse, with more of my own time to breathe, create, and do some world traveling. Then, bam, a client’s meltdown over a missing composer led me to turn around and say, “I’ll do it!” even though I’d never done it before. Within a year, that gig led to being a full-time freelance composer for TV and other media, from connections from Berklee and the L.A. music scene.

I’ve done themes, songs, and music packages for high-profile TV shows, networks, and more. But the real gold creatively came when I dove into scoring after a while. It allowed more for my artistry, and I could let my freak flag fly, painting stories with sound and pushing boundaries. Now, I spend all my time scoring films, shorts, series—anything where I can continue to dig under the edges of the expected, as well as the adrenaline rush of music and songs for trailers, games, and promos.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Work-wise, it was smooth for a long time, and I didn’t have to do any networking because of word-of-mouth. But that ended up being a challenge as the industry shifted and I transitioned into film and episodic scoring. I’m more of an introvert, and the impression I got from my Dad growing up was that being boastful/egotistical was wrong — in that pre-social media world, you didn’t brag; you just did. So I was always shy to tell people about my accomplishments and skills, and marketing myself. But I realized staying silent wasn’t an option anymore. I had to learn to step up and shout out more about what makes me unique as an artist. It’s been a rough ride pushing against my introverted instinct, but it’s also been a trip to self-discovery.

The rapidly morphing landscape of the entertainment world, both how people ingest it and the tech behind it, can be a challenge, too…more so in the past three or four years than ever before, as anyone in the biz can attest to.

And maintaining a full life I love in addition to music has always been a balancing act, nowadays more than ever. It’s important to me to try to keep that balance, not only for the quality of life for me and my wife and daughter but because it’s those off-stage moments outside of my work that have always fed my creativity in a huge way. The book “4,000 Weeks” by Oliver Burkeman is a game-changer for this…it’s a must-read for anyone trying to keep their head above water in this crazy, beautiful grind.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a composer, songwriter, and sound designer in the worlds of movies, episodics, and trailers. I’ve done music and songs for an array of major network shows, branding campaigns, VR, and promos, from an Academy Awards opening to a Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Anne Hathaway short to Rag and Bone VR along with Thom Yorke to Google immersive VR to So You Think You Can Dance? to A&E’s Prison Squad to scoring the Blood Sun Vendetta anime series to an Ngozi Onwurah film.

I have an insatiable need to find new/different ways to express what’s in my head, and I’m proud of my creative process and what comes out. I love to create personal, handcrafted music that blends my love for experimentation and avant-garde with styles like indie electronic, bebop, dark rock, classical, and hip hop, and from other cultures. I love saying “Yes!” and playing in the creative sandbox with others. I like to bring in other great musicians I know when possible, from vocalists to cellists to fellow analog synth geeks. My dad taught oboe by using art he loved in order to show how to make the notes/music feel and sound, and that’s exactly what making music is for me; I never studied other composers, and I work by my ear, feel, and intuition.

I’m known for carving out unique music and sonic worlds, and I incorporate all kinds of real and sometimes weird or invented instruments and analog electronics. I get a lot of my inspiration from outside the standard lines of film and music — like places where the map fades into the surreal, wild nature, travel, good reads, theater, and improv.

A longtime friend and client of mine wrote: “Your music’s different because of how you see the world. You’re an interesting balance of humor and talk softly, but hit with a big stick! I remember when you auditioned for my band on drums. You were so unassuming and nice, and then BAM, you f****ing hit us over the head and floored us. Like someone else came out of your mild-mannered body and said, F*** YEAH, F*** YOU AND LET’S F*** WITH EM! THAT is what makes your music different. It is SURPRISING. It is upside-down and backward, just like your humor. You are a blend of power god and tonally odd and somehow it works. That is why I love your work.”

A fairly recent highlight was a nomination for Best New Composer at the 2022 Hollywood Music in Media Awards, for my unconventional re-score of the 1928 silent horror classic, The Fall of the House of Usher. It felt great to be acknowledged for music that authentically represents me.

Well, that’s a couple of years’ worth of swagger for an introvert like me — I’m gonna go into my studio and turn down the lights now.

Alright, so before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
The best way is to contact me directly through my website, Instagram, or LinkedIn. I’m always open to a conversation, and you never know where some of the best collaborations will come from.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.noahlifschey.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noahlifmusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-lifschey-397a4a9/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoahLifMusic
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mV53Bm2S0OKuFqz3NDv3c?si=8039e61426b542a3

Image Credits
First image of me on drums: 130 Down Photography