Spotlight On: Patrick Cunningham
Meet Patrick Cunningham
Patrick Cunningham is an American composer, producer, and orchestrator based in Los Angeles, California. His music has been featured in film, tv, advertising, and recording artist's work. Most recently, Patrick reimagined the infamous League of Legends theme, "Silver Scrapes" in honor of its 15th anniversary.
1. How do you approach writing for production music and sync, what’s your process for creating tracks that can serve a wide range of visual narratives?
I tend to treat every project like a custom job or even a film scoring project. I usually start with really trying to understand the brief before writing anything. Within Production music, every production company, sync label, trailer house etc… I have worked for is usually writing albums with specific clients, shows, films, ads, etc… in mind. So knowing who the project is really written for is important to me.
Ultimately my goal is simply to write good music. I think music that is enjoyable to listen to of any genre/style has a higher likeliness to find its way into being used. While it may feel very specific to me when I’m writing it, everyone interprets music differently. I’ve had music that was intended for Western themed ads that found its way into WWE, live sports, and reality TV shows. While it did also find it’s way into things it was meant for, music supervisors and editors have a great ability to use music in a way that I never would have intended it.
2. As part of your collaboration with us and Riot Games, you composed a full orchestral reinterpretation of “Silver Scrapes,” beautifully performed by the Hungarian Studio Orchestra. How did you approach reimagining such a beloved track, and what was it like hearing the orchestra bring your version to life?
Budapest did a wonderful job recording the strings. My only regret is that I was there via zoom and not in person. We also recorded brass, winds, and percussion here in Los Angeles and that was also an absolute joy. Having real people play your music is 100% better than a mockup made on the computer.
When I was working on the Orchestral Version of Silver Scrapes, my only real requirements were that it be orchestral, epic, and that the arrangement in someway reflect the way that Riot and League of Legends has grown over the past 15 years. I was really trying to take the track on a big bold adventure while also keeping the main theme at the heart of it. Taking an EDM track and trying to make it orchestral was certainly challenging. We really had to be creative with different kinds of mutes and live FX to make certain parts hit. Greg Townley provided an incredible mix as well, that really helped brought the track to life. Ultimately it was about honoring the legacy of the original Silver Scrapes. I’m really grateful to have been involved in the project. I’ve always thought the music coming out of Riot Games is amazing and I’m a huge fan of all of the stuff they are doing over there!
3. You work across an impressive range of genres. How do you shift stylistically between them, and what guides your creative decisions when moving from one musical world to another?
Being able to write in different genres really comes down to listening and appreciating all kinds of music. My entire life has been spent bouncing between so many different musical influences. From Tchaikovsky to Jacob Collier to John Powell to Bon Iver, each season of my life has been scored by a different style of music. I also love studying music and learning about different ways to write and think about music. I spend a lot of time watching online tutorials, behind the scenes interviews, looking at what other composers, producers, and artists are doing and just trying to learn as much as I can.
I also believe that being able to cross genres as a Composer is knowing when I need to bring in outside help. Knowing the right musicians or vocalists can make or break a project. Musicians are a cornerstone to this industry, and I can’t emphasize enough the importance in working with them.
4. How has your journey as both a composer and orchestrator influenced the way you think about music and storytelling?
I think that the Orchestrator to Composer relationship is very similar to the Composer to Story relationship. As an orchestrator, your job is to use your technical knowledge of the orchestra to bring the Composer’s vision to life. It is always to support and assist the Composer and an Orchestrator must always remember that it is not their music, it is the Composer’s. As a Composer, you are using your technical knowledge of music to bring the story to life. You must always remember that it is about the story and not about the music. So I suppose doing both has shaped the way I often look at what my role is. Sometimes as a Composer, your role is to take a back seat and other times it is to drive. I just always try to remain flexible to what the project requires of me and do my best with what I have.
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