![]() I think they were impressed with my credits for TopMan and Prada. I’d signed up with a publisher on the basis of doing weird, atmospheric music and Bulgari was definitely impressed in that side of things, even though the music for the advert was not what I would normally do. I didn’t get a phone call out of the blue. When married with film, the music’s normally a lot better, but by becoming its own format, people are taking it a lot more seriously these days. It has its own format – it’s not quite soundtrack, but it’s not an album. I’ve probably listened to more film scores than I’ve watched films. Quintin Tarantino will choose music and write a film around it, and Darren Aronofsky will choose Clint Mansell for the perfect film score in the same way that David Fincher will use Trent Reznor. People are choosing the music first and cutting imagery to it. ![]() But the way that films and TV programs are made today is much more music-driven. I’ve written and released music and stumbled on this eerie, brooding atmospheric sound that I like, and people seem to like it, although pursuing industry contacts that are into that sound has been a lot of hard work.Ī lot of TV, film, and music in general, used to be in the background and not making a statement. ![]() I didn’t try to imitate it, but have been influenced by sounds that have become fashionable. I could have gone to the London College of Music and got a degree in composing, but instead I paid attention to what’s on TV. I didn’t really know how to get into advertising the proper way. I’ve never been London-based and there’s a lot of stigma around having to be where the work is, but I think if you work hard, put yourself out there and make music that feels good to you, that’s what people are more drawn to. All I knew is that I wanted to be like Aphex Twin and Goldie, so I got whatever anyone was selling for £50 and coupled that with a copy of Reason 2, which enabled me to work onscreen and slowly reveal my production aesthetic. I didn’t know what I was doing at first so I got a cheap computer and some really weird old Roland hardware sound processors. Meanwhile, his production process has been streamlined due to the recent addition of Native Kontrol Standard (NKS), Native Instruments’ extended plug-in format that connects software instruments and effects from over 75 different developers. Integral to his production process, software packages such as KONTAKT, REAKTOR, and THRILL have enabled him to create vast, meticulously crafted cinematic soundscapes. Meanwhile, Domino Publishing added Ragsdale to their esteemed composer roster in the midst of advertising work for major brands including BMW, Prada and Twitter, and score writing for the horror movie Before Dawn and gripping UK thriller, Bait.īy Ragsdale’s own admission, none of this would have been possible without the help of Native Instruments. His Bandcamp account eventually found the attention of filmmaker Adam Curtis, leading to Ragsdale’s deeply atmospheric track ‘Warning Mass’ being featured in groundbreaking documentaries for Vice and the BBC. Already a fan of horror and sci-fi soundtracks, Ragsdale’s formative years were spent creating electronic atmospheres for student films and online ads, while painstakingly hawking for work in the industry. However, it was at Leeds University where the producer discovered the power and intensity of electronic music. Raised in a home attuned to the sound of The Animals’ House of the Rising Sun, Thomas Ragsdale’s teenage rebellious streak drove his attention towards nu metal, resulting in the purchase of a Fender Strat and 30-watt amp. Native Instruments tools have been a key factor, facilitating Ragsdale’s ability to operate solely in the box while introducing Native Kontrol Standard (NKS) to coordinate his myriad of soft synths and plug-ins. Yorkshire-based composer Thomas Ragsdale is living proof that you can crack the clique world of TV advertising and film through independent means.
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