SPZL Artist Series: Drew Morgan
From classical composition to music for video games, acclaimed cellist and composer Drew Morgan has recently joined the SPEZIAL team, adding his distinctive blend of classical and contemporary to the latest EP release, SPZL KIDS 3.
We spoke to Drew about his creative process, past musical projects and the tricky subject of inspiration.
What first got you into classical music and the cello?
I’m the youngest of three and although my parents weren’t professional musicians, they really wanted us to have some sort of musical activity as well as the usual academic and sports stuff. They had a sort of ‘well rounded’ approach to our upbringing when it came to music and the arts which, as a recent parent, I now really appreciate. So, I started learning the cello from a pretty young age meaning my mom was always taking us to lessons, rehearsals, recitals etc, so I was always around that sort of environment fairly early on.
And then, like most 10 or 11 year olds, I found the guitar and starting improvising and writing songs, started a little band, things like that. We even recorded an album when we were kids which was fun, and I really enjoyed that side of music which was quite different from my experiences with the cello so far. But it dawned on me one day that I could take that improvised experimental approach much further. I used to do my song writing and improv stuff on the guitar and although I’m a fairly good guitarist, I'm technically better on the cello. So, I thought well, I don’t know how to read guitar music but I am still able to improvise and write on it, yet my technical skills are better on the cello, so why not use these two different approaches and merge them together? So, then I started thinking in a more improvisatory way on the cello, applying that songwriter side of my brain to it. That totally opened up a whole new world to me in terms of how I play both instruments.
What were some of your musical influences growing up outside of classical music?
I had a really wide listening palette; it was the 90s so grunge was everywhere, you had American hip-hop which was huge at the time, Beastie Boys and all of that.
But I also had a mentor early on who was a world music percussionist and when he saw that I could play the cello he said you should learn the oud as its quite similar in some ways. So, I was learning that, listening to Ed’s mixtapes which ranged from Cadona, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rabih Abou Khalil, etc, while also going out swing dancing on the weekends – it was such a great musical mix. So, although I had all the classical music via my cello, right alongside that in my cd rack you’d have found everything from some Hendrix, Metallica, Portishead, Miles Davis, experimental jazz, etc etc
When did you start to take a real interest in writing and composition?
When I was younger, I used to snowboard a lot and one year I broke my arm which sucked. It also meant I couldn’t play in the high school orchestra. I asked the conductor if I write a piece for the orchestra instead. I thought that would be an interesting thing to do and he was super supportive, so I wrote a piece for the strings and really enjoyed it. I was just interested in writing music in any way I could.
My parents wanted me to do sound engineering at university as they were worried about me being able to make a living as a composer, but 20 odd years ago there weren’t the variety of music degrees available now, and at that stage I was only ever really interested in writing music, so I went purely for the composition route. I did my 4-year undergraduate degree in Chicago and whilst I was at university I kept playing in bands, learning how to produce and use the tech. I was also doing some hardcore classical writing, playing in a funk band, had an experimental improv group – so I had all these different musical aspects coming in from different angles that really influenced my approach to composition and writing.
What are the main instruments you play?
The cello is my principal instrument and then onto the guitars – bass, acoustic and electric. I tend to play a good amount of synths these days too, though I’m not as confident on the keys as I am on other instruments, I can get a bit stressed out when I have to play live unless it’s with my improve trio Modulus III! There’s a brilliant group called the Paraorchestra and sometimes they call on me to play live with them as I'm good at making weird noises. They do really interesting programmes, like reworking Kraftwerk albums for a live, processed orchestra - super bold stuff. And their director, Charles Hazelwood, is one of the most inspiring guys on the planet. So, there’s keyboards and I also play a bit of percussion too. The good thing about producing in the studio is you just need to play things well enough to edit them, mess them up and use as sound sources, it’s a lot of fun.
What initially drew you to the UK and how did you start out as a working musician?
After my degree in Chicago I wanted to have a more of a European perspective on music, especially classical music. I applied to a few universities in Europe to study a Master’s degree, including the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London. I always loved London growing up. Although I was born and raised in the states, my parents are British and we travelled over to the UK to visit my grandparents a lot, so I knew the city a bit. I was offered a place at RAM and did my Master’s in Composition there and then had a 1 year fellowship after that. It was a really exciting time to be living in London. I lived in a brilliant postgraduate hall in the city centre with people from all over the world. It wasn’t just musicians, there would be all sort of creative individuals; an Indian architect, a geologist from Iceland, an avant-garde visual artist - really interesting people that definitely influenced how I thought about music and how it relates to other art forms and the world in general.
So, I started working a little bit by making contacts. It's kind of hard to get off the ground as a musician but I had a band, a few commissions, got involved in some art projects like some performances at the Tate Modern, and other work like that to build a bit of a network. Meanwhile, my girlfriend at the time, got a job as principal flautist for Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra in Spain. The job was initially just for 3 months so I went out with her thinking it would be a fun adventure to live there for a while -but the 3 months got extended and eventually turned into 4 years.
It actually worked out really well – it was pretty easy to travel between Malaga and London on a cheap flight if I needed to be there for a recording or something. So I was still able to work on projects and shows in both places and go between the two for a few days here and there depending on the project. It was also a way of living really cheaply at the time, allowing me to concentrate exclusively on making music. If I’d been in London or a big city at that time I would have had to get a ‘regular’ job to pay the bills and music would probably have been sidelined.
What led you to working with Neil Davidge (Massive Attack, DNA) and the film and tv commissions?
While I was still living in Spain, a sound engineer friend of mine got in touch to say that he was working with Neil Davidge on a film score and needed an assistant engineer. Although I am primarily a composer and arranger, I know the tech side of things well enough to do that kind of role. So I travelled up to Bristol for that project and got on really well with Neil. We realised pretty quickly how well we worked together and there was an opportunity to collaborate on all sorts of things. So, I ended up doing string arrangements and playing on that film and we became friends. After he finished working on Massive Attack’s album ‘Heligoland’ he set up his own studio to focus on other music projects and invited me up for a 3 month co-writing session. It was a great set-up as there were 2 rooms in his studio – so we would take a room each to concentrate on whatever we were working on and then do some writing together.
Then the video game company that produces ‘Halo’ approached Neil to create the soundtrack for the upcoming ‘Halo 4’ – a massive project and would kind of need a hand with, especially with my orchestral background. Since then, there have been lots of other film scores and music projects I’ve worked with him on. So, my 3 months in Bristol turned into 12 years, and I’m still here.
As well as being a working musician and composer you also teach at BIMM, is it hard to strike a balance between the two?
I lecture a day a week at BIMM and really enjoy teaching. However, it can be quite a balancing act with all the film and TV work. As anyone who works in the industry knows, you can suddenly find yourself really busy with a short deadlines, intense recording sessions and the usual creative chaos that comes along with this sort of work, which doesn’t jell with a busy teaching schedule. It’s great to have the teaching, because I enjoy working with younger people and having something regular in the schedule around the other projects and work that I do. Also, I like connecting with people and sharing stuff so it's kind of in my DNA, having teachers and preachers in my antecedents. I think a lot of musicians get on with teaching because there is a performative aspect of it; planning a class and being comfortable delivering them. Maybe a psychologist might tell you there's something in there as well, but I think it is a good balance to have, getting me out of the soundproof box where I'm working on my own a lot.
How did you get into teaching? Was it something you always wanted to do?
I was thinking about it the other day and I’ve been teaching at BIMM for around 8 years now. One of my friends was a lecturer there who knew I was working predominantly in music for film and tv. He saw a new class coming up that he thought I would be good to teach on as it was about writing to picture, and I have an academic background.
I've really benefited from great teachers in my time, and I think, especially in the classical world, there's a kind of an understanding about giving something back to the musical community – that was something I certainly perceived growing up – so, you know, if you become established as a composer, then you pass on and give back to others.
There’s a history and lineage you can see in some of the greats that I think is really beautiful; Beethoven studied with Haydn for example; so this idea of giving back and sharing with other musicians definitely resonates with me.
What's your day-to-day routine?
In the mornings I drop my daughter off at nursery, which is very conveniently two streets away from my studio - and then the BIMM campus is only one street away - so it’s absolutely perfect location-wise. I used to do most of my work from our house as there was one room that wasnt attached to our neighbours’ side of the walls and so I didn’t have to worry too much about noise. But then obviously when you have a baby that isn’t going to work, so I was lucky to find my current studio. So I tend to drop my daughter off at 9 and then go to the studio straight away. I try to get as much done as I can and just crank away until 5. I try to keep to a sort of 9-5 schedule which is not something I ever used to do, but the balance has changed in life, so it’s necessary. When I’m in my studio I am really focused and obviously I’m not speaking to anyone all day when I’m in there, so it’s good when I can kind of come out again and rejoin the world at a reasonable hour. That’s when I’m not leading recording sessions or playing out.
What are some of the favourite projects or sessions you’ve been involved in over the years?
To be honest, if the music is good and the people on the project are enthusiastic and wanting to collaborate, then I’ll get involved. I love what I do and being able to work across such different genres and projects keeps it interesting. I really enjoyed the recording sessions I did with a band called Perfume Genius for their album, or playing with my band, Modulus III. I love doing string sessions perhaps the most. Sometimes some of my favourite projects don’t always land. For example, I love the score I helped Neil on for the film Monsters, Dark Continent, though the film didn’t do so well in the end.
Recently I've done a couple of things with Adrian Utley that stand out, including something for a film called Arcadia he wrote with Will Gregory that they were touring at the time that they needed someone to dep on. At that point I don’t think I had left my house for a while due to our new-born baby and the pandemic, so when he asked if I could join them for a couple of shows, one in Bristol another in Amsterdam to play cello and bass whilst their regular guy was away, I was like, absolutely – when do we rehearse? Oh, no rehearsals, just a soundcheck. Off we go! It was an absolute joy to be involved in. After being locked at home for a while, it was wonderful to suddenly find muself on a plane to Amsterdam sitting next to these brilliant musicians on a great project.
I'm lucky that I usually have more work on than I can do, whether its film or tv work, collaborating with other artsits or other independent music commissions, but I think that’s because I want to work with people and am genuinely interested in different types of work.
There’s a bit of romantic idea that musicians and producers sit around waiting for inspiration to hit them, when the reality is often different. How do you ‘find’ your inspiration or start off that creative process when you’re working on something new?
When you work in music, particularly for film and TV commissions, you don't have this luxury of putting on a beret, having a glass of wine and waiting for inspiration to show up. If you have to deliver that piece of music in a few days, you write it, you record it, you get it done. You've got that old saying ‘inspiration is for amateurs’ which is something I throw at my students to see what they think, because it’s true. If you want to do any form of art or music as a hobbyist or amateur then sure - you can sit around and wait for those moments to come to you, create something, take your time and that’s great. But if it's your actual job, you need to be able to find that inspiration by generating ideas, not waiting for them to come to you. Also financially, most musicians and composers can't wait around - these projects all have deadlines. I would love to take a sabbatical, go hide in a cabin somewhere and wait for the magic to come to me. But creativity is a muscle, you just gotta get on with it and use it.
What's your favourite part of the process when you’re asked to compose or work on a musical project?
To be honest, that initial part is always wonderful because it's the moment when you first hear the piece, you can hurl ideas around and be really creative with your ‘what if?’ phase of throwing ideas around without being up against it timewise. I really enjoy that.
I also love recording sessions. I do a lot of string sessions for independent artists and films. You’ve got to turn up incredibly well prepared, but then you get to play with some of the best orchestral players in the country. We’ll meet at the studio with a stack of music to get through in three hours – it’s intense and you have to put everything into it. But when you nail it, its beautiful. I just love recording sessions of any kind.
Working with the SPEZIAL team has been really great so far too. I knew the level of music was going to be good since Stew Jackson was involved, so it would be interesting for sure. Shahab is so enthusiastic when creating together and has this fantastic drive – at one of our recording sessions we banged out 4 different arrangements in one day - it’s not the speed I would normally work, but we just got so much done and it was brilliant. I’ve just finished adding some strings for some of his remixes, so we’ll see what comes up with next.
SPZL KIDS 3 - 12" Dubplate SPEZIAL Show Reel
Do you play live very much more?
Not as much as I used to – obviously I play with the Paraorchestra when they call on me because I love that. I've also got an improv trio, Modulus III, that is my passion project. I love it as it's a hundred percent improv and so we never have to rehearse. We just literally show up, get on stage, look at each other with slightly concerned looks on our faces, somebody offers up a sound, somebody reacts to it – and off we go. And, you know, wow, that feeling. It's an absolute joy because the other two guys, Dan Moore and Matt Brown, are brilliant and fun; such great players and listeners. Most people don't think that what we do is improvised, which I think is a compliment. We do a few gigs a year – there’s a venue in Paris that's our favourite place in the world to play. We try to go down there once a year and do 2 or 3 sets a night both Friday and Saturday night. It’s a bit of a marathon, but the vibe in the venue is so cool and we just have the best time playing together.