Composer Interview
Jeffrey Brice
Jeff is a distinguished audio expert known online as Pumodi. Jeff's creative approach to audio involves a fusion of traditional and contemporary sounds, producing an immersive and unforgettable sonic landscape.
S: What were some of the earliest musical influences that you can remember growing up? What instrument did you grow up playing?
J: I was a percussionist growing up! I started off in elementary school and kept up with it most of the way through high school, playing in the school bands, drumline, and even a bit of time with the Blue Devils B drum corps. The earliest influences I can think of were definitely prog rock. My dad introduced me to bands like Rush and Genesis from an early age so I developed an appreciation for math-y sounding music from an early age. I started to listen to everything though. As time went by I found it harder and harder to find something I didn't enjoy listening to. Towards the end of high school it was definitely game and film soundtracks that were my biggest inspirations. Specifically Yoko Shimoura, James Horner, Motoi Sakuraba, James Newton Howard being chief among them.
S: What led you into making music for media?
J: I went to college to study filmmaking as I wanted to be a film composer. I spent my three years at NYU working on as many student films as I could and loved every second of it. After doing a handful of game jams I started doing work in video games as well. I've been working on building a career working for media ever since and have found a lot of success working in games and animated short films.
S: How would you describe your style of writing?
J: That's a tough question to answer honestly haha. I'd say eccentric? I really like trying all manner of things so my style tends to vary wildly depending on what I'm working on. I love really rich and thick harmonies, lots of driving percussion, exciting stuff!
“Universal Pulse”
Adventurous, atmospheric and propelling electronic music to get you focused and ready for action.
"Interlacing Future"
Synthetic, cyberpunk with a video game 8-bit quality. Beautiful synth leads with frantic trap high hats and triumphant changes.
S: What was your intention behind “Universal Pulse” and "Interlacing Future"?
J: I really wanted to sell excitement and energy for the tracks I was a part of. I spent a good deal of time making sure that any sound I ended up using fit into that goal of masking the listener pumped, driven, and hyped for whatever was happening.
S: How did you start creating these songs and eventually achieve your vision?
J: I spent a long time listening to our reference material and really digging deep into what made it all so good. It was a lot of experimentation with synths and song structure until I landed on something that exemplified what I was aiming for. It was definitely a challenge but I think I ultimately succeeded!
S: What were some of the compositional challenges that you faced?
J: Making sure to reign myself in was a challenge here. There were plenty of times I wanted to go big, add more parts, more instruments, etc but I realized time and again that focusing on core parts of the music and keeping it tightly produced was the key to making a solid piece.
S: What was your favorite part of the process?
J: Working in the styles that we were given! There was so much cool stuff to listen to and learn from as inspiration, it made the whole experience very engaging and rewarding.
S: Outside of music, where do you find inspiration in your life?
J: I'd say games primarily! I like to think that I'm a storyteller at heart so playing a game that has a really solid story to tell gets my heart racing and the creative gears moving. On top of that, I love cooking and spending time with my family. I'm a new dad to twins who recently turned 9 months old. They have been a constant source of inspiration for me along with my wife and her endless support.
