Daily Inspiration: Meet Simon J. Li

Today we’d like to introduce you to Simon J. Li.

Hi Simon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My path to this point has been far from linear, but I think that I’m so much more appreciative of where I am as a result of it. I was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand where I started playing classical piano at five years old. My parents can attest to the struggle they went through to get me to practice piano peacefully and regularly. It’s funny to think that I started my musical journey quite literally hating the instrument and the music I played, but over the years I began to discover what kinds of music spoke to me and I started to find beauty in the instrument.

Finding out about electronic music and digital audio workstations like GarageBand and Reason was what really kickstarted my music-making adventure. Once I realized that you could write exactly the kind of music you loved listening to, it was all uphill from there. I was especially drawn to genres like jazz and deep house, and still loved a lot of the classical and impressionist repertoire that I had played on the piano and in bands, and these make up a huge part of my musical voice to this day.

My first major crossroads was college. By that point, I was confident that I wanted to pursue music, but it was hard to take the leap into the uncertainty of a creative field. Not fully ready to commit to my musical dreams, I decided to pursue a degree in statistics for undergrad (after a few unsuccessful attempts at other STEM majors). The biggest turning point for me was the summer of my junior year when I took up an internship at the Chicago Recording Company. As soon as I stepped into the studio, something inside me clicked: I was now certain that I wanted to work in the music industry.

Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to study film music composition at NYU Steinhardt where I’ve learned from some truly incredible faculty who have each made such a big impact on my identity as a composer. My parents, who were initially just as apprehensive about me pursuing music, are now fully supportive of this decision, and it’s given me the confidence I need to keep going down this unpredictable but exciting path.

Alright, 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?
While I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had, it hasn’t been the smoothest road up to this point.

The biggest hurdle has always been garnering the confidence to pursue music full time. Music and film are fickle industries where nothing is guaranteed, so this journey has been filled with a lot of uncertainty and anxiety of where I will end up next. It takes a lot of guts to commit to a creative field, and it took me many years of trying different things to realize that I wanted to take music seriously and even more nervous decision-making to actually make that jump. I definitely feel very lucky to have such a great support system behind me and a family that accepts that path I’ve chosen.

There are also many complications that come with being from a different country. The visa requirements can pile on even more pressure just to be able to stay in the country and be close to the industry, and these kinds of pressures certainly don’t make it easier to feel fully at home in this field. But this is an obstacle that many have faced and overcome before, so I feel optimistic that it will work out in the end.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m primarily a film and media composer, and I’ve found that it’s a perfect combination of everything I love about music: the storytelling element, the range of musical styles you get to explore, and most importantly the collaborative nature of it. Every project presents its own unique challenge of how to enhance the story and bring out the characters’ wants, needs, desires, and fears without distracting from the actors on screen. Figuring that out is part of the joy of composition, and those are always fun conversations to have with the director.

As much as I love film music, I am also a record producer at heart, and it’s where it all began for me. Nothing beats the thrill of creating a song that you can’t stop bopping your head to. I like to think that my background in beat making and electronic music also sets me apart a little bit in the world of film music. I try to incorporate techniques I’ve learned from electronic music into my film scores whenever appropriate, and it sometimes allows me to look at narrative film music through a different lens. I’m really excited to see film music move towards a more hybrid approach and it’s always fun when a piece of music blurs the line between score and song.

Currently, I also work as a composer’s assistant to Marcelo Zarvos, an incredibly talented and prolific film and TV composer. I get to wear a bunch of hats and my duties include orchestration, music preparation, arranging, programming, and mixing. It’s a real honor to contribute to a wide range of exciting projects and to learn firsthand from one of Hollywood’s highly-respected composers.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
At my high school, we had an annual inter-house music competition called Big House, where the entire house would get on stage at the Spark Arena in Auckland to perform a song and dance routine. The months of tireless rehearsals all boiled down to a few minutes, and nothing has ever felt more thrilling than standing in an arena in front of thousands of people and bright lights, singing and dancing your heart out alongside your fellow house-mates.

I also have extremely fond memories of going on tour through Sydney, Australia with my middle school jazz band. I can still taste the adrenaline from taking a solo on “Tequila” by the Champs and getting a standing ovation after a show. After a mere week or so of performances at various halls, clubs, and public squares, I remember thinking to myself: “I could definitely get used to this.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.simonlimusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonlimusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonjli_
• SoundCloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dGhCZ22iNP45WF77ruN0i
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12599954/

Image Credits
Pearl Lens Studio