Meet Chris Wirsig

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Wirsig.

Hi Chris, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Well, music always played an important part in my life. I remember that early on, music and sound in general fascinated me, and I guess I somehow always wanted to produce these sounds myself. Growing up in Germany, we had a piano in my parent’s house (my grandmother and mother played it before me), and I had lessons early on. Later I changed to Saxophone, which felt more interesting at that time in my teens, especially while playing with a Saxophone Quartet and in a Big Band. But the piano (or rather keyboard) is still my main instrument on which I write, and recently get back to performing live again.

As the whole process of writing music, and then producing, mixing and finishing it, always interested me, I then studied Audio Engineering in Munich, and started my own music projects, the electro-pop band no: carrier and the electronica project Virtual Conformity.

For many years, music was always the side job, with me working first as an editor for a musician’s magazine, doing web design work, starting the first fair-trade record label in Germany, and later at a corporate marketing/pr job. But that finally changed with the move to California in 2012, first to San Francisco and then to LA in 2015. I finally started to pursue a full-time career in music.

I’m happy working in different fields of music – from film scores to pop productions. Recently I’m writing more and more songs with co-writers and artists, which is a great field to bring some of my more weird ideas to the songs to make them stand out. One of the best examples is the band SweetBlade which I started with my friend Halley Feaster this year. The music is more Electro Punk, but with influences ranging from Polka (yes, you read that right 😉 ) to Heavy Metal.

And I’m also very involved in the composer community, as a member of the Production Music Association and serving on the Board of the Society of Composers & Lyricists.

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?
I think life itself is not always a smooth road, but so far I was lucky enough that it never got too rough, although I wish I could’ve started doing music full-time earlier. Although I wouldn’t want to miss all the other experiences, I had through the different jobs and other activities. So looking back so far, I’m grateful for everything, and even some struggles that I could learn from.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Until a while ago, I mostly was known for darker music, and I always shied away from going too light 😉 But I’ve always been listening to very different styles, although I often tend to gravitate to the more dramatic stuff.

But recently, I enjoy broadening my writing and production.

While I do a lot of film/tv work – from production music to original scores – I also always enjoyed writing songs. And these really have a more broader range nowadays than some years ago: From the dark Electro Pop of no:carrier to the summer Pop songs I released with Juliet Lyons this year. And then some more folksy songs and Rock songs in between. Oh, and I now also play keyboards in a Heavy Metal band, Angels On The Battlefield. So I guess I’m quite versatile 😉

With film and TV, I enjoy both very dark themes like Horror movies, but also comedy like the animated LGBTQ series “Be More Popcorn” which now has a pilot and hopefully will be made into a full series soon.

All these different projects yield quite different music, and I’m happy to be able to jump between genres and styles and also from very dark and creepy to lighter and more experimental. A recent production I’m quite proud of is the music for the stop-motion animated, award-winning short “The Ghost Under My Bed.” The music is somewhat reminiscent of whimsical, eerie classics like “Beetlejuice” or “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” but has its own vibe. The soundtrack will be released on November 11, and I’m really looking forward to everyone hearing it.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
There are always many people helping, trusting in me and my work, and collaborating on songs… I definitely have to thank every director who trusted my to contribute fitting music to their projects. And of course, every collaborator along the way, especially when it comes to songs: from writing to producing and all vocalists who bring the songs to life with their voice!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chriswirsig.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswirsig/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisWirsigMusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nocarriermusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjGmOruNRmxf2VAj6LPL3vw
• Other: www.counter-communications.com