I first came across Tony Anderson through his track Immanuel, a gorgeous combination of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and Carol of the Bells. The effortlessness of the music struck me right away. There’s an electric energy in Immanuel that I love, and that changed me as a musician. I still turn this piece on when I need some calming background music:
About Tony Anderson
Anderson turned to electronic music as a young teenager – after he tried (and failed) to successfully study classical piano as a child. Anderson has since made a living on cinematic electronic music; he has scored many independent films, where he has been described as a unique blend of Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams.
Compositional Language
Anderson’s style incorporates delicacy, emotion, and subtlety with organic, electronic, and ambient elements. And instead of trying to write about it in my own (inadequate) words, here’s a quote about his compositional style from his Musicbed page:
“[Tony Anderson’s] addictive melodies, enveloping themes and obsessive attention to detail always leave the listener wanting more. Each piece of music is a story, drawing the listener into another world. Tony has dedicated his life to writing eternal music that connects his audience with their own soul, stories and dreams.”
And I agree completely with the idea that Anderson tells a unique story through each piece. Just listen to these works; he uses beautiful melodies and harmonies to whisk the listener off to a world of introspection and, well, beauty. The Way Home is one of my favorites. I love the heartbeat that sounds through the whole piece:
Mountain Breeze
Anderson’s music really inspired me to learn how to add electronics to my own compositions. It’s one of the reasons I was brave enough to create the album A Million Skies and why I decided to make unique YouTube videos for each track on the album. Here is one of my latest videos, Mountain Breeze:
This particular track uses Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1 mixed with atmospheric synths to create a mood of relaxation and wide open space. The melody in Mountain Breeze starts out as Gymnopedie No. 1, but it soon deviates into my own theme as the track progresses. The harmonies were all taken from Satie, however; he did a marvelous job creating a piece with a timeless atmosphere. Here’s a video for those of you who want to compare:
Anderson’s music inspired me to push myself to become a better musician and composer. I hope that one day I will be able to convey emotion and introspection as much as he does! What musicians inspire you?
Fascinating, thank you Kathryn! I read somewhere that Tony faced a rebirth of sort at some point in his composition process. I’ve been trying to break through this myself, but I was never able to find how. And tonight I though searching for interviews with Tony, where he would share a bit more. I think it’s something that has to emerge from ourselves, uniquely ours.
What I really like is the vastness of his music, and how polish his delivery is. If I could achieve this, I’d be happy.
All the best,
André
What a beautiful comment, thank you for sharing your thoughts! Music is so personal yet so relatable at the same time.