In search of good music? Excellent, I write good music.
Music for Film, TV, Games and everything else
“If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.”
– Gustav Mahler
I’m Thomas Mavian, I love music…
Music have as long as I can remember been an important part of my life and I have through different ways been able to explore how I’d like my relationship to music to be like. It started with synth music during the ’80s and classical through the ’90s. I’ve been onstage behind keyboards and offstage in front of mixing desks. Nowdays I’m content sitting in my studio and just write music.
Visualising
Because of my great interest in films I now know that it’s composing and orchestrating music to moving images or other people’s visions that I’m really good at. To be able to enhance a feeling or changing a mood. Also, it’s something that I really love to do.
Writing for others
Recently I’ve taken, what I feel anyway, the bold step of writing music for other artists. However scary it felt in the beginning I now find it very rewarding. Artists have a way of getting their own being (or soul if you will) into the songs and transforming them into something that I couldn’t have imagined.
Arranging and mixing
I’m also contracted for arranging strings and brass parts for whatever type of music you ever could imagine but mostly pop/rock. On occasion I get some mixing done for others as well. It’s quite funny actually that mixing other peoples music is “easier” to me than mixing my own.
Working on a distance?
No problem. Since living on an island gets everything i bit further away from you, I’m quite used to it. I’ve been working with clients miles away since 2002. Some of them I haven’t even met in person, yet.
Studio
My studio is centered around a PowerMac with three UAD-2 cards running Logic Pro X with two Mackie Controls and Genelec near-field monitors. I work almost exclusively “in-the-box” with effect plugins from Universal Audio, Plugin Alliance, Audio Ease, Slate Digital, Waves, SoundToys, PSP Audioware and Toneboosters.
Virtual synths and instruments from u-he, GForce Software, Rob Papen, LinPlug, XLN Audio, Reveal Sound and Camel Audio. In the next room there are some Mac Minis running VSL Ensemble Pro loaded with various sample libraries from from Cinematic Strings, Vienna Symphonic Library, Spitfire Audio, Cinesamples, Soundiron, 8Dio, Heavyocity, Orange Tree Samples, Sampletekk, Embertone, Crypto Cipher, Bela D Media, Dream Audio Tools, Wavesfactory, ArtVista, Vir2 Instruments, Soniccouture and Impact Soundworks.
There is also the obligatory rack with preamps from Universal Audio, dbx and Drawmer which are connected to microphones from Audio Technica, sE Electronics and Golden Age Project on one end and to a Presonus FireStudio Project recording interface on the other. Of course there are some “real” instruments in the form of acoustic guitars, electric guitars, 4- & 5-string basses and various percussion. In short, my very own little heaven on earth :)
I’m looking forward to help your visions show it’s best!
Take a listen
I write as often as I can
Music needs to “get out of my system”. I write as often as I can. I think about music as much as I can. I try to listen to music as often as possible. Often, the smaller parts or chord progressions gets used in something bigger.
PORTFOLIO & SKETCHES
DEMOS
Writing demos
On occasion I am asked to write demos for various sample library developers. If time permits I find it very inspiring and crazily fun to do them. Here are a few to listen to.
SAMPLE LIBRARY DEMOS
RELEASED MUSIC
POP – SINGLE* iTunes Spotify
Actually a demo for Indian developer Crypto Cipher that turned out so good we decided to release it as a single for two. The library in question is “Voices of Ragas 1”.
POP – SINGLE* iTunes Spotify
Another demo for Indian developer Crypto Cipher this time for the library “Voices of Ragas 2” released as a single for two.
POP – SINGLE* iTunes Spotify
Yet another two song.
ORCHESTRAL – ALBUM iTunes Spotify
I had the privilige to work with Swedish underwater photographer extraordinaire Inge Lennmark creating music for his slideshow “Baltic Impressions”.