Chris Wirsig is an award-winning composer, songwriter and producer, who enjoyed classical training on piano and saxophone, studied audio engineering at SAE Technology College, and has more than 20 years experience in music production. His music can be heard in games like the acclaimed Top Ten iPad game “Alien Tribe 2,” the multiple award-winning series “Civil Disobedience,” award-winning short movies “Intervention,” “20 Matches,” “Cat Dexx: Inkosi,” and “Trick Of The Old Cat,” the comedy feature film “39 And A Half,” and in numerous TV shows on ABC, E!, MTV, CNN, Fox Sports, Bravo, History, Audience Network/DirecTV, and many others.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Chris Wirsig, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
I somehow was always drawn to music, and interested in sound and sounds in general – already as a kid. I remember that a while after I started piano lessons, I made up my own instrumental track as a kind of soundtrack or underscore to one of my comic books. Nothing special, more a dark vibe playing mostly deep notes ;)
Later when I discovered Pop and Rock music, I soon wanted to write my own songs. And when more experimental instrumental music entered the picture, it really started my imagination. And a bit later I started to write my first tracks on an Amiga 500…
How do you differ from most other artists?
I guess I do have an affinity for darker, often dramatic or melancholy music, and over time I’ve developed a sure sense in these darker styles. So that’s definitely my wheelhouse. But on the other hand I’ve recently started to branch out, even into comedy, with some really cool projects.
And I always like to shake things up, regardless of genre or music style. I love to bring in unusual elements, electronic or acoustic – from certain instruments that you might not expect to sampled sounds that can give a track it’s very own vibe to standout.
Your latest release is 'The Ghost Under My Bed (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
The music on this EP was written for the short stop-motion animated movie of the same name. The film is set in the South of the US, in times of slavery, and tells the dramatic, at times sad, but lovely story of a girl from Boston that has to relocate to a farm in the South, making friends with the ghost under her bed that turns out to be a hiding black girl.
For the music I combined folk elements like blown bottles and a kinda swampy sounding slide guitar with classical string instruments and piano, hoping to meld them into a sonic unity. As the film’s story ranges from sweet moments to quite dramatic and sad ones, the music reflects these changes.
Where did you get the inspiration for this EP?
That came directly from the film. It’s usually easy for me to write music for a film or TV series, as it gives instant inspiration. From getting to know the characters, their emotions, the dialog and the story I usually can start and develop the musical universe. With “The Ghost Under My Bed” it was the setting in the southern United States, as well as the whimsical ghost story that gave me instant ideas, like the bottles, and of course the more whimsical eerie orchestral elements that are a little hat-tip to composers like Bernard Herrmann and Danny Elfman.
How long did you work on the 'The Ghost Under My Bed (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'? Was it an easy process for you?
That was pretty fast, even for a short movie. I think the basic tracks were done in a few days and then I just had to polish everything – especially with elements like the guitar. I’m not a real guitar player, so I always have to clean up my recordings ;)
Do you have any weaknesses that you're actively working to improve on?
I’m definitely trying to get a bit better at playing guitar (and cello), but unfortunately don’t have too much time to practice that. And I’m also a bit lazy when it comes to practicing my instruments – I’d rather write something new ;)
Which qualities do you think make a great musician?
I guess that’s a bit different for everyone, and surely depends on the genre one is working in. Generally I think a good musician should always be curious to learn new things, work on something they haven’t yet, and get creative impulses from pretty much everywhere around them. Apart from knowing the instrument(s) they play. A formal musical education is helpful, but I think it’s also important to let go of this education to a certain extent, and experiment freely.
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
Music was always my number one passion, but I also wanted to work on the full process, from writing to recording to mixing. So I studied audio engineering after I already had some classical education on piano and saxophone. This now gives me the opportunity to do pretty much everything myself, apart from guest musicians and singers. But the path was a winding one, which it is for many musicians. When starting out, I was very focused on songs, mostly in the electro pop/industrial field, but I always liked film music and instrumental music in general. But I didn’t necessarily think that one day I might be in Los Angeles and writing music for film and TV.
Who is your favourite musician?
Oh, I can’t really pinpoint it to just one – there are probably at least 50 all-time favorites ;)
And they’re also in very different genres, from Rock to Pop to Film Music… On the Film Music side there are definitely composers like Dave Porter, Marco Beltrami, Hans Zimmer, Trent Reznor and so many others.
What are your plans for the future?
I have a few cool projects lined up for the next months, and hopefully will be working on more films and TV shows next year. There will be another film score coming to streaming platforms in January – the music from a vampire feature film, “The Things We Cannot Change.” And a run of a few singles with electronic improvisations that I just recorded last month. This is more a pet project that I’m glad I did: Completely free improvisations, just listening to the sounds and going with their flow. These singles will probably be released in February and March 2023.