Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mathieu Karsenti. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mathieu, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
Before I started my career as a film and TV composer back in 2010, I was working full-time and then part-time in regular office jobs. Being a creative person, I understood that these jobs were useful for paying the rent but I was very unhappy and creatively totally unfulfilled. True, swapping a stable life for a creative, artistic one is not easy but I couldn’t live with myself if didn’t at least try once in my life. So the instability of that creative path might turn you off but there comes a point when you simply don’t have a choice. It’s about what you would rather spend your day doing. And for me, that was making music and painting. In the pre-internet days, it was very hard in London to make any headway into the artistic world… not that it’s any easier now but at least now with social media you can promote yourself and reach more people easily.
So with youthful energy, passion and blind faith, I headed on that path that was the only path for me. And I’m still treading it now! I am happy and fulfilled because I stayed true to myself and what it means to me to be an artist. It’s not always been easy but it’s worth the effort. You only have one life and it goes by very quickly, you might as well do what fires you up!
Mathieu, 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 grew up in Montpellier, south of France and picked up a guitar at 15yo whilst studying Applied Arts there (Graphic design, Architecture, product design, etc). I then moved to London at 17yo to further my Design studies with a BA in Furniture Design and started recording songs and fronting my own band in the Acid Jazz era of the 90s. Over the years, I studied music production, music theory at Berklee and orchestration with Hollywood orchestrator Conrad Pope and ran my own companies; Soulem productions for producing UK Soul artists and Intricuts Music catering for UK TV networks. I started scoring films in 2012 and around 2017 I decided to release my music projects to showcase my composing voice independently from projects to screen. I am now on my 14th solo release with more in the pipeline. For these independent releases, I compose everything, write scores, hire musicians, record them, mix/master, design covers and promote it all myself. Overall, I’ve scored anything from Entertainment, drama, comedy, children’s TV, documentary shows to independent short and feature films, episodic podcasts and more. And in March 2022, I successfully relocated to Los Angeles to further my composing career. I feel very fulfilled because on one hand I get to write music for other creative people, accompanying them on their cinematic journeys, and on the other, by releasing my own work, I have complete ‘carte blanche’ to explore what it is to be me as an artist.
What I am most happy with is that I am only doing work that is right for me, work that matters to me. Because I value and respect the craft of composing music, I would never want to accept a project purely for money or exposure if I couldn’t give my best to it. My achievement is in realising my ideas to the best of my abilities and to convey what I want musically: each release is an opportunity to showcase musical paintings to the listener. These paintings are designed to be abstract and sensorial so that the listener, if they engage with them, can imagine whatever they want, without restrictions or rules.
In my film work, I have a similar approach except that my music is functional, it has to accompany the narrative and the emotion but I also leave room for interpretation from the audience.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the audience’s appreciation and understanding of my work. Because we live in an abundant, overloaded world of information, images and sounds etc… it’s always so gratifying when someone gives me positive feedback on my work or when they purchase it. It’s amazing that someone would go on this journey, part with their money to get into your work and to appreciate it. The other most rewarding thing occurs when I work with musicians. It’s a trip! You spend so much time working on your own, extracting these ideas, making them work, committing them to a score or a recording that when a musician replays your music, it’s one of the best experiences ever. Another human being with advanced musical abilities and expertise, bringing their own creativity and emotions to my work, wow!
I would also add that working with other creatives (screenwriters, producers, directors etc) who value your work and your creativity and what you can bring to the table, is absolutely wonderful. Connecting with other creatives on a deeper level for a common goal is something I always seek and that I am grateful for experiencing.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
It’s hard to pinpoint a specific story from my journey that would illustrate my resilience so I like to zoom out mentally, consider everything I’ve created, all my musical experiences, career highs and lows and then think about now and understand that I am still doing my work, better than ever, that I haven’t given up, that I still enjoy it so much: that’s resilience to me. In this industry, when you work to picture, you have to be prepared to change and edit your music to suit each project. And in many ways, that makes your music so much better, it pushes you to think more and deeper. You also understand that rejection is part and parcel of that journey, it’s not a reflection on how good or bad your music is, just whether it works or not for this particular project. When I compose music, I put a lot of time, effort, energy into it, it may seem like a futile endeavor when people ignore it or don’t understand it but you keep going until they do. And eventually, you have walked on that path for a while and have something to show for it, that’s resilience and success to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mathieukarsenti.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mathieukarsenti/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathieukarsenti
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MathieuKarsenti
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/mathieukarsentimusic
- Other: https://mathieukarsenti.bandcamp.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/2rsly4fniarciaITkJv9CJ?si=fYtmYxNGTpuDjXUbEpPoAw https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4230073/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Image Credits
Portrait images by Julian Bridges In studio image by Vins Blake
Suggest a Story: CanvasRebel is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.