Today we’d like to introduce you to Eduardo Rivera.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my career as a songwriter. I played in some indie bands to varying degrees of success and went all in on that touring circuit. After a few years of that, I was given the opportunity to score a documentary (which I had no business scoring but said yes anyways). This is where I had the “a-ha” moment and knew that I wanted to focus on writing music to narration.
After a few years of scoring whatever I could get my hands on, I was approached by a company, WaitWhat, who was in need of an in-house composer for their podcast show, “Masters of Scale”. I was the composer for that show for 3 seasons before switching to their new show, “Spark and Fire” which is what I currently write for.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The transition from songwriter to composer was a difficult one. There was a lot of self-doubt. A lot. My concept of composers was largely in the academic sense. People who had gone to a conservatory and knew theory like the back of their hands. I was largely self-taught with the exception of a few courses here and there. I think what gave me confidence (maybe misplaced confidence) was knowing that this exact transition had been made before with composers like Jonny Greenwood, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, and others.
Then there was the issue of getting work. I DM’d composers asking if they needed assistants. I emailed game developers asking if they needed original music. I searched Craigslist (which I do NOT recommend) to see if student directors needed original music for their short films. I had no luck with any of these approaches.
What ended up getting me a gig was friends from years back recommending me for certain projects.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m the composer for an award-winning podcast called, “Spark and Fire”. It’s a show that explores creativity and innovation. Each episode has a different creator who shares the story behind an iconic work – with takeaways that are universal. Guests include Ben Folds, Yo-Yo Ma, Kris Bowers, Joseph Gordon Levitt, David Cross, and more.
For each episode, I write original music with prepared piano. A prepared piano is a piano that’s been affected/altered by placing something (i.e., bolts, screws, paper, etc) on or between the strings of the piano. These techniques were popular by the more modern composers of the late 20th century, John Cage being perhaps The Godfather of it.
Creating all the sounds from a piano, from lush pads to percussion, is always a challenge in an invigorating way. It makes me look at the piano in a very three-dimensional way. It always surprises me how one instrument can sound both incredibly harsh and delicate. I’ve always been a believer in creative limitations, so scoring these episodes using solely one instrument is a welcomed challenge.
How do you think about happiness?
I find happiness in a lot of places.
I think these days, I’m finding happiness in completing projects. One great thing about being on a weekly deadline of delivering episodes is that at the end of one week, one way or another, I will have written around 35 minutes of music that will be released into the universe. It’s exciting to be able to look back at your body of work, to share it with friends and family, and knowing that you’re capable of creating in such a robust and consistent capacity.
I’ve always been plagued with – as I’m sure every other creative has as well – the hesitancy to release material. It’s so precious to us for such a long time. It’s never ready. And so we tinker until we get bored with the song and we move on and repeat this masochistic cycle. It’s brought me immense happiness to be able to break that cycle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eduardojrivera.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eduardoj_rivera/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardo-rivera-1b361183/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/eduardo-rivera-178
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13904128/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_0_nm_8_q_eduardo%2520rivera
Image Credits
Michelle Shiers
