We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emir Isilay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Emir, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I was six years old when I first knew I wanted to pursue music. I come from an artistic family and started playing the piano at a very young age. As I continued to study music, I was inspired by my grandfather, Sadi Isilay, who was a renowned Turkish music composer and violinist. In our household, my mother was an artist and my father has always been involved in the music scene. I loved listening to his extensive jazz album collection. Around the age of ten, my father used some music from the movie “Promised Land” by one of my favorite composers, James Newton Howard, in a home video. I was amazed by the power of the music and how it elevated the visuals and the story. That soundtrack inspired me to become a film composer. As I look back, I remember that being the moment when I started telling everyone that was what I wanted to do when I grew up.
Emir, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started taking classical piano lessons in Turkey when I was six, which continued until moved to the U.S. when I was 18. Throughout high school, I studied with my mentor; internationally celebrated Turkish jazz musician, Aydin Esen and was accepted to Berklee College of Music. I graduated in 2002 with Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Composition and Film Scoring. During my time there, I received the student award for Best Jazz Composition and Best Film Scoring, and was also selected by the faculty and featured in concert as one of four of the best pianists at Berklee.
After graduating, I was connected through the Berklee Alumni program with Los Angeles based Film and TV composer, Philip Giffin. I started working with him in 2002 on various Film and TV projects as a pianist, arranger, orchestrator, engineer, and also wrote additional music on a wide variety of projects, including FOX’s K-Ville, NBC’s Boomtown, ABC’s Eyes and the MGM feature Soul Plane.
At the same time, I worked with the Media Ventures (currently Remote Control Productions); which is the home of composer, Hans Zimmer. There I worked and performed extensively with renowned composer and guitarist Heitor Pereira on feature films like Curious George, Ask The Dust, Haven, Two Weeks and Dirty Dancing 2 Havana Nights.
Both of these positions were the beginning of my professional film music career. Over the last 20 years, some of the projects I’m really proud of are composing the score for the feature film, Until We Meet Again, featuring Jackson Rathbone (Twilight) and Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars), the 9-episode digital series, Dead Women Walking (featured at the Tribeca Film Festival) as well as writing additional music for Pinar Toprak’s scores such as Epic Games’ videogame Fortnite, Paramount Pictures’ The Lost City, Lionsgate’s Shotgun Wedding, SyFy Channel Original TV Series Krypton, Netflix Original The Angel and working on Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel and Netflix’s Slumberland as an arranger.
In addition to film music, my group; Beyond Orange, an electronica/chillout outfit with Andrew Campbell was signed to Water Music Records. Cuts from our album have appeared on several compilations alongside music from other top electronica artists such as Thievery Corporation and Stardelay.
I believe one of the main things that set me apart from others is that not only I’m a composer, but also a performer with an extensive background in various genres, which has helped me become versatile in film composition by not being limited to classical music based orchestral compositions, but being able to write and perform in different genres such as jazz, rock and pop.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist, for me, is the opportunity to collaborate and learn from the artists who have been my sources of inspiration throughout my life. Also, having had the privilege to contribute to the Jazz Composition textbook still utilized at Berklee College of Music is truly fulfilling, as it allows me to give back and share my knowledge. Additionally, the dual role of being a composer and performer brings its own set of rewards. As a performer, the instantaneous feedback received from the audience is incredibly gratifying, and the same applies to composing when seeing the completion of my work in a movie or television series, as it allows me to directly experience the impact it has on the audience.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
One aspect that non-creatives may struggle to comprehend about the creative journey is the ongoing challenge of achieving a life/work balance and effectively managing time. Unlike traditional professions with fixed work hours, the creative field operates around project deadlines and the unpredictable nature of the artistic process. Determining the exact duration required to complete a musical piece becomes inherently challenging, making it difficult to establish consistent weekly work schedules. As a result, planning for future events such as vacations, trips, or spending quality time with loved ones becomes a considerable challenge. It is crucial to have a life partner who understands and embraces the flexibility required of this profession, as it may not be suitable for everyone. By bringing light to these challenges, we can provide valuable insight for those seeking to understand and appreciate the nuances of the creative journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emirisilay.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emirisilay/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emirisilaymusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emirisilay/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/emirisilay
Image Credits
Christina Gandolfo