We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jarrod Royles-Atkins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jarrod below.

Jarrod, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The biggest risk I took was going to LA with no friends or family or contacts in the whole country! I was set to be a part of a learning experience with composer JunkieXL, learning the industry and how to be a top tier composer and assistant for Hollywood movies.

This was a huge gamble for me at the time living in a small town in West Yorkshire, UK. I remember getting on the airplane and experiencing a feeling of sheer excitement mixed with a huge sense of anticipation for the unknown, flying 600mph away from everyone and everything I’d ever known.

The experience was amazing, and life changing – and I’m so happy I took this risk as it luckily led to me meeting the most amazing people and working on some incredible projects.

Jarrod, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Jarrod Royles-Atkins. I’m a Film Composer and multi-instrumentalist musician offering my services directly to filmmakers and assisting with writing music for other composers. I have just finished a project writing scores for a major Hollywood movie that is to be released in spring 2024.

Born and raised in a tiny town in the north of England, I have always had a keen interest in music and started to learn the classical guitar at the age of eight. My interest in the film industry developed from my love of film music and film making while studying for a music degree at Leeds University. I watched and listened to everything I could and felt inspired by the creativity I immersed myself in. It was during the start of my career in native England, when I received an opportunity to study and later work for the legendary composer JunkieXL (Tom Holkenborg). This was the foundation for my later work assisting with scores in movies such as Terminator: Dark Fate, SCOOB!, The 355 and TV shows like White Lines. Since then, I have been scouted by Bleeding Fingers as a remote composer for their many briefs and libraries.

I feel incredible pride for the speed in which I was able to adapt to the many styles and genres required for this profession working with, for example, 90s trance, Cafe Del Mar Chillhouse, authentic flamenco and Spanish guitar to a full Symphonic orchestra. The sheer diversity in style has been a particular highlight for me since the start of my career and I hope this continues long into the future.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I’m sure there are many great examples of advice and guidance on this great site about how to support an artist through monetary and practical means.  I think it’s important to stress how valuable words of kindness and sincerity can be to an artist. I feel most of us get into this industry to create something for the world to enjoy; however, music in film is not just about creating a soundtrack but is a narrative force conveying unspoken words and emotion while creating tension at exactly the right moment. Through my work on film composition I’ve always loved the audience manipulation side where you’re giving an emotion to the audience without them realising.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The industry can be ruthless with deadlines, revisions, and a competitive work environment. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle through exercise and diet is of paramount importance to me physically and mentally. I became ill following a virus while working in Los Angeles which triggered an auto immune disease affecting my kidneys. This came as a shock and tested my resilience, but my dedication to being in the studio every day never faltered. I am fortunate my condition is now under control, and I manage it with serious lifestyle and diet choices.

I have a strict regime each day which I never divert from until a big project is over and a long holiday is due. My diet consists of only whole foods with a focus on anti-inflammatory ingredients. I break from this maybe once a week when eating with friends, but otherwise remain very strict even when work is stressful and I’m working long hours.

I start writing at 9am sharp with a coffee and cell phone on “do not disturb”. I write through until 1pm, prioritising creative work until lunch. I have a brief walk to reset and then back to more technical tasks in the afternoon such as printing stems or addressing notes. I exercise for an hour in the afternoon at around 5pm; from 6pm I study, work a little longer if required or see friends and be out of the studio ready for the next day!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarrodroylesatkins/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrodroylesatkins/

Image Credits
Photos by Ellis Robinson https://www.instagram.com/ellisjrobinson/