We were lucky to catch up with Khris Clymer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Khris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I am self-taught, but I don’t fully like that term. I think it’s often used to give the perception that someone did it all themselves, with little or no teaching from others. I am self-taught in the way that I studied and pursued an education in music outside of academia. I think going to school for music may have been a more efficient method of learning, but who knows. The fact that I really hate school may have offset any efficiency there. I am much better at learning when it’s something I pursue myself instead of following a curriculum filled with content I don’t care about. For me, proficiency with computer software (and hardware) has been my most essential skill. Even when my compositions or recordings may not have been great in the past, music software has really made the craft approachable.
Having a day job will always be an obstacle, and most people unfortunately need it to survive or fund their ventures.

Khris, 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?

I’ve been a media composer making music for movies, documentaries (TV and film), commercials, and video games for 10 years. I specialize in tension/horror but have a delicate and emotive side that you can hear in the documentaries I’ve scored. I got my start by reaching out to a friend who was in film school working on a feature film. I’ve been making music my whole life but never recorded much, so when she sent me a scene from the film, I had to learn how to write and record with music software I’ve never used. It took me a while because I had to learn how to use all the tools (recording technique, EQ, compression, etc) to make it sound compelling. The scene was intimately shot as the two characters were making a connection walking with each other through the snow. I remember playing the guitar with my wedding ring to make the music an even more personal experience for me. The director really liked it and booked me for the whole feature. She now owns a production company in Denver and we work together to this day. At that time, I didn’t have the best-sounding tools, so I spent a lot of time crafting and manipulating my tone to make it sound convincing. I think that goes to show how important it is to trust your own taste. There are too many tools available for us to use, but just because we can doesn’t mean we should. The best artists and entrepreneurs always start with limitations on what’s available on their pallet, either out of necessity or choice.
One of my proudest moments is when a major TV network came back with notes on a documentary that I wrote custom music for. I was told by the director that this group was notoriously critical of music on previous projects, so I should prepare to have my music ripped to shreds. Lo and behold, they came back saying the music was excellent and that the room was in tears during many scenes. I don’t really care about awards or accolades, but when the clients respond so deeply and personally to my music, that’s what keeps me going.
For a lot of production companies, it’s usually easiest and cheapest to license stock music, and a lot of stock music sounds really good. It can set the tone and provide movement, but it rarely tells the story being told. That’s where custom music comes in. The true beauty of it is the originality, giving the project its own unique character instead of recognizable songs that get used over and over.
With me, I always try to add a certain edge and grittiness to the music because that’s what’s going to make the project stand out. I use live players instead of computer samples so that it’s real and organic, making the music more timeless and personal.

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?

I don’t think non-creatives will ever understand the amorphous line between work and play that creatives are forced to oscillate between. We start a business centered on an art, craft, or passion that is in a way non-mutually exclusive of pursuing financial success. In other words, many of us would continue to create even if the business flopped. That’s what makes separation of work and art so difficult. We do the work because we genuinely love creating. Most people wouldn’t show up to their corporate jobs if they weren’t getting paid. For many of us creatives, we’ll be doing this until we die, regardless of financial status.

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

My wife delivered our baby 9 months ago, and we spent a lot of time in the hospital because of some dangerous and undeserving complications, and we were back a few months later because of health complications with our baby. During times like that, everything else we have anxiety about on a daily basis suddenly feels so petty. You get this realization that nothing you’re doing really matters in the world, yet you also realize that it matters immensely to you. It can be impossible to work during those times, but you figure out a way make it happen. It’s like eating. During times of duress you don’t eat, but eventually your body demands food and you’ll give in. After many long, tearful nights in the hospital, I gave in and forced myself to write “just one note” on the page. No computers, no instruments, just writing on blank sheet music paper, which is as simple as it gets. The next month, I recorded a live 22-piece string orchestra on a song I wrote for a short film, an undertaking I had never done before. Sometimes we need to come up with new, crazy ideas just to get us crawling out of a slump.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.khrisclymer.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khrisclymer/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/khris.clymer
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khris-clymer-56517315b/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@khrisclymer6217