We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ricky (Cheng-Yu) Kuo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ricky (Cheng-Yu), thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally when I was doing my undergrad program in Taiwan. Here’s the story. I started to play and learned guitar when I was 10, and was obsessed with music! I started to write some pop songs and play in a rock band when I was in high school. Then, when I was studying my undergrad program – Radio and TV, I learned a lot about producing films and podcasts; at the same time, I was also a contracted songwriter in a Music Production company called “Good Tone Music”. I started to think, “Why don’t I combine my interests and professions together?”. I started to deeply study film music, analyzing various film scores, listening to many classical pieces which I had never dived into. Then, I started to think about applying for a Master’s program for Film Scoring in the US. Eventually, I got an offer from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and I started my Film Scoring adventure abroad.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi, I’m Ricky Kuo, I’m from Taiwan, and I’m a film composer/songwriter. I’m now a freelanced composer based in LA, and I just graduated from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, majoring in Music Scoring for Visual Media. During my school years, I learned a lot about everything audio-related, such as music editing, audio mixing, and of course, film scoring. Since my experience of producing multiple short films when I was an undergrad student, and my experience of being a contracted songwriter, I’m really confident of my sense of musical tastes and sensitivities.
As a songwriter, I’ve been producing music for almost ten years, and I’m still passionate about it! When I was a songwriter in Taiwan, I broke the company’s record, which was fastest selling my first song in a short period, and the singer I wrote to was even nominated as the best female Taiwanese singer for the Golden Melody Award in that year. Besides, I also cooperated with many emerging artists and produced music for them. Writing music and helping people who want to pursue their dreams is one of the most amazing things in life!
As a film composer, I’ve had a lot of cooperation experience since my undergrad period. I started to write film music for my own production of short films, after that, I came to the US, and I started to cooperate internationally! I wrote music for films in different cultures and languages. For instance, I’m now working with a director who’s from Vietnam, and the story discusses some major issues nowadays, such as LGBTQ+, Asian cultures in the US, and so on. In addition to being selected by the 2022 Film Scoring Talent Training Program in Taiwan, this year, I was also selected by Film Independent to the Project Involve program as a composer, and the film is going to be screening soon in LA, I’m super excited!
I’m now a professional film composer and songwriter, I offer my clients music production services, and everything related to audio and sound. I love to create music, and I’m going to keep loving it!
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I think what the society can support the artists, undoubtedly, paying them as fair as it can! People major in or are good at different fields, which means there’s no higher or lower-level profession. But nowadays, especially in the music composing field, some people don’t realize how much work we’ve dived into, and some of them try to lower the budget to composers when it comes to cooperation. But, the money we spend isn’t lower than other professionals! For instance, as a film composer, I need to buy some equipment for music production, and also need to get some virtual instrument libraries, plug-ins, hardware, software…., these could cost us tons of money! Thus, try to pay as fair as you can to the artists!
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
As a composer, I wish I had known earlier is to create my uniqueness. Composers know how to write music, but how to be unique is one of the most crucial points. For instance, I love to create some cool sounds as a musical instrument when producing music, the audience may think, “What’s that special instrument I just listened to? “. But when I first started to become a composer, I only told myself how to write good music, instead of how to write unique music. I think even if writing a simple melody without complicated harmony or rhythm, special sound could also take the music to the next level!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.rickykuo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ricky_composer/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickykuo-music/