Find Agus @
Official website
Brief list of credits
Far Cry 4, Guardians of the Galaxy, Edge of Tomorrow, for full list of click here.
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do for a living?
My name is Agus Gonzalez Lancharro and I was born in Barcelona (Spain). In 2005, I decided to relocate to the UK and pursue a music career, so I quit my telecommunications engineering studies back home, placed my buttocks and guitar in a plane and joined a Bachelor´s Degree in Music Performance in London. Last september I presented my major project for a Masters in Composing for Film & TV. During the last few years I have toured Europe with severaI bands and artists, recorded in prestigious studios and all that fun stuff. I have always been a huge fan of films scores and although my first intention was to be a live/session performer I got caught big time by music composition and started to do some work in that field and things just kept growing and growing that way.
Now, I don´t perform much anymore because I´m pretty much focused on composition and I recently set up my own company called ReallySlowMotion Music & Sound Design. With the help of very talented composers we are preparing our debut album of trailer music. Besides writing for my company I also work freeIance for a trailer music house in the USA. I am also involved in the production of music magazines in spanish language where I get to interview some of my heroes as well as writing about software for composers among many other things. I just want 2013 to arrive since very interesting projects will start then, can´t wait.
What is your niche or speciality, that makes you stand out from rest of the audio professionals?
That´s a difficult question to answer but I guess that having a broad understanding of modern music and being a lover of film scores since I was a kid is somehow helping me to recognize the needs of the project I am doing pretty quickly. I like to be deeply involved in everything I do and getting to know every aspect in detail helps a lot. I try to talk a lot with the client and after that there is a huge amount of research time before I press the first note on my keyboard.
I normally get the feeling that the client trusts me so I feel confident on what I´m going to write because of the good vibrations I get from them.
Can you give us a brief summary of the equipment you use regularly?
I am an OSX guy all the way and I´m currently working on my next set-up. Right now, my “buddy” has a 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 and 16GB of RAM. I have been using logic for ages and still do, but I am slowly moving away to PreSonus Studio One 2, it really feels like a 21st century DAW to me, the drag and drop thing is amazing and helps my workflow a lot. Thanks to my job at the magazines I get to try almost every piece of software and libraries out there so every day I feel like a toddler with a new toy. I´m not a huge lover of hardware so I just have the most common stuff: a couple of MIDI keyboards (Korg SP200 and M-Audio Keystation 88es) and a Remote Zero SL MIDI controller, a couple of external drives, not much. Don´t forget my portable MicroKey by Korg. Living between to countries demands having a loyal little mate that won´t let you down.
What are your go-to plug-ins and software? (virtual instruments, audio processing etc.)
There are certain elements that are virtually always present in my tracks: Orchestral Essentials, Adagio and CS 2.0 for strings, Cinebrass and Albion/Loegria. One of my favourite libraries is Spitfire´s Percussion, the new Redux update is superb. I also love Liberis by 8Dio and all the choirs by Soundiron. Eduardo Tarilonte´s Era is also a great tool and I would love to try out his Forest Kingdom. B2 reverb by 2c Audio is mind blowing in my opinion and I started using it in my projects just recently, Alchemy is my synth of choice and well, I could go on and on forever…
When do you find you are most creative?
There´s not really a “when” for this… Having a good shower usually helps for some reason.
What is your usual process for creating audio content for games, films etc.?
I start with a lot of research, then I open my template and start laying doing quick ideas one after another to have at least something to develop so the “blank page monster” wouldn´t eat me. This initial ideas can be shaped drastically or maybe disappear completely in the course of the process but they are vital for me. I usually like to send out samples of my working progress to the clients even if they don´t request them because, as I said, I like to communicate with people and their feedback is really appreciated.
Are there any particular secrets to your creativity?
Right after all the research I do in order to get the right thing for my projects I always feel a really good sensation that inspires me a lot. Just imagine… you have just spent hours listening to great composers and artists, people that have already their great work out there and you feel like you want to be there with them. Listening to other people´s work is the best thing a composer can do, it can only be a good thing for your music. My creativity grows when I talk to other composers about our jobs, listening to what they do, sharing…
Do you have any audio creation techniques that resulted in something interesting?
Not really, but I just try to do crazy stuff that you normally wouldn´t think it works, because sometimes really does!!
Any specific “lessons learned” on a project that you could share?
You have to be careful sometimes with some clients you are working with. Make sure you get the final edit from them to work on. In some cases, I had to work with 4 different edits of the same project and of course I wasn´t paid 4 times for it. I said “you have to be careful” because I think you can spot in advance that stuff like this can happen so you can avoid it.
Any tips, hints or motivational speeches for the readers?
Don´t ever give up and take it seriously if you really want to be successful on this. Networking is a really important but do not act like a jerk. I already know cases of people that are trying to start in the business but their names are already in the “black list” of fellow composers and professionals of the industry. Don´t think of the other composers as competitors but treat them as people with experience that can only inspire you and help you. You have to be kind and cooperative with your fellows. I´m a huge fan of Kharma… if you do good things, good things will happen to you.
Also, don´t be afraid of saying “no” to a job just because it is so difficult to get hold on a project.
If you do a great job on it, the client can spread the word and you can start building up a reputation. If you are unsure on how good you can do a project maybe you have to say “no” because clients can also spread the word about you in a negative way. Maybe you can forward that project you can´t do to a friend that you think he/she can do a better job on it. He/she will probably remember that when he/she gets a call from a Hollywood director and needs help with the score, they can even remember that long before Jerry Bruckheimer knocks their door, so plenty of possibilities may appear just for being a “good guy”. Kharma works, trust me.