{"id":2879,"date":"2021-09-22T18:51:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T18:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/?p=2879"},"modified":"2022-01-14T19:04:42","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T19:04:42","slug":"special-artist-feature-felipe-adorno-vassao","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/special-artist-feature-felipe-adorno-vassao\/","title":{"rendered":"Special artist feature: Felipe Adorno Vassao"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n

\"FelipeFor many years, Felipe Adorno Vassao<\/strong> has been one of our stalwarts of production music here at Shockwave-Sound.com, having composed (at the time of writing) 277 royalty-free music tracks<\/a> of incredible quality, diversity, and attention to detail. Felipe is one of those guys who can\u00a0nail<\/em> any sound and has an incredible knack for coming up with grooves and sounds that just work so well with music for media, be it film, television, gaming, commercials or other projects — so many people have had their project lifted to a whole new level with his music.<\/p>\r\n

Felipe Vassao lives and works in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he picks up local as well as global trends and isn’t shy to try them out in his productions. We conducted an in-depth interview with Felipe for your reading pleasure and hope you’ll enjoy this special insight into the life and work of a master stock music composer.<\/p>\r\n

Felipe, can you tell me a bit about your background as a musician; how did you get started in the music industry and what were your first paid jobs?<\/h4>\r\n

“I had some piano lessons when I was a child and later on, around 12, I started messing around with a guitar we had lying around at home. I got into rock and heavy metal and started learning by ear and reading some chords, later on some TABs, getting into shedder territory: Steve Vai, Van Halen, Satriani etc.<\/p>\r\n

When I was in high school we were putting together a school play and I was selected to be in charge of the music. That was my first experience writing arrangements and I loved it.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

In my senior year, I had to produce and record some instrumental cues for that year\u2019s play and a friend took me to a studio he was working as an intern. The studio owner liked what I was doing and invited me to do some soundtracks, so I started getting some advertising gigs even before graduating from high school.<\/p>\r\n

My first paid job was some soundtrack for some advertising \u2013 I don\u2019t remember exactly \u2013 but shortly after I was spending all my free time in the studio.<\/p>\r\n

I got into music college in S\u00e3o Paulo (UNESP) but as time went by I started to be \u201ddragged into\u201d the advertising and soundtrack world, so I eventually dropped college after four years to focus on my career.”<\/p>\r\n

I understand you started \u00abTempero Music Production\u00bb a while back \u2013 when was this, and what\u2019s the story behind it? Are you running that company all by yourself, or do you have colleagues in the company?<\/h4>\r\n

\u201dTempero\u201d was an initiative started in the early to mid 2000s to write production music aimed outside the Brazilian market. I had been doing a lot of advertising music and soundtrack in Brazil since the early 1990s, and had some unused music lying around, so I thought it would be a nice way to branch out and put that idle catalog to make some money.<\/p>\r\n

For a while, my then-wife wrote some tunes, but since 2012 I have run it all by myself. And basically write music exclusively for Shockwave-Sound.”<\/p>\r\n

Related:<\/strong>\u00a0Royalty-Free music tracks like the “Kung Fury” soundtrack<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Can you remember how and when you first heard about Shockwave-Sound and what made you want to get in touch and offer your music to us?<\/h4>\r\n

“Sometimes a client contacted us to write original music, but with a limited budget, so we offer to find, edit and adapt library music instead. That way we can fit the budget but still have some degree of coherence and artistic criteria.<\/p>\r\n

On one of these assignments back in 2006 I came across Shockwave-Sound and loved the music available. It was an epic soundtrack<\/a> by Pierre Langer<\/a>. I immediately thought it would be a good place to have my music featured.<\/p>\r\n

I noticed it had very few Latin tracks and almost no Brazilian production music<\/a>, so I started by offering these genres.”<\/p>\r\n

It\u2019s obvious from the range of styles and sounds in your musical creations, that you are a versatile and multi-talented composer and producer. What\u2019s the secret of \u00abmastering all styles\u00bb in the way that you do? Any tips or guidance from you, for young musicians starting out, who want to try to achieve such versatility of all styles and genres?<\/h4>\r\n

“Thanks! I believe it\u2019s all about respect, practice, and fun.<\/p>\r\n

Respect for the culture and work of others helps you to put yourself in their shoes and try to understand their path to achieve that sound.
\r\nAnd after analyzing and listening a lot, it is time to give it a shot and make it your own. But practice and repetition go a long way.<\/p>\r\n

In the late 90s I got a gig for a Karaoke DVD company, in which we had to recreate a lot of popular music pretty similar to the originals, in audio format (not MIDI files), so we had to record and produce it as a regular record.<\/p>\r\n

This gig really helped me hone my skills into diverse genres, and made me a better listener as well.<\/p>\r\n

And I just love to try out new styles, almost as a \u201dworkout\u201d or a challenge, so if some new trend comes up I always try to write in that genre.”<\/p>\r\n

\"Felipe<\/p>\r\n

I\u2019ve also noticed that you have a talent and a knack for creating nostalgic, retro-sounding music \u2013 those lovely 1950\u2019s<\/a> and 1960\u2019s sounding tracks<\/a> that sound so authentic. How did you get into that, and why?<\/h4>\r\n

“Growing up watching lots of North-American sitcoms, as a lot of people worldwide, I was crazy about the theme songs – from the 50s to 80s \u2013 but these 50s and 60s have a special place in my heart due to Ren & Stimpy, a 90s\u2019 cartoon that used a lot of retro library music to create a stylistic dissonance with the overall non-sense of the series.<\/p>\r\n

I also love Henry Mancini\u2019s songs and arrangements, so writing these tunes is a way to connect with all these passions. And also sometimes I get inspired by a preset on a sampler, or by a retro sound that I got from my guitar amp, and develop from there.”<\/p>\r\n

Related:<\/strong>\u00a0Gangster Flick, Vol. 1<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Do you ever use \u00abunconventional\u00bb ideas or come up with some music or recordings in unusual, fun ways? Any examples of this?<\/h4>\r\n

“Sure! Sometimes I\u2019m editing something and get stuck in a glitchy loop. If that catches my ear I bounce it and develop something from there. That was how \u201dTiny Bits<\/a>\u201d started.<\/p>\r\n

In advertising we get a lot of requests to be bold and crazy, so sometimes we try some wild things, like producing a food jingle using only its packaging for sounds and samples.<\/p>\r\n

In other cases I can think of a cool guitar solo in my head and instead of practicing and recording it with the instrument, I sing it into autotune and an overdriven amp, and it really sounds like a crazy guitar, but with a unique quirk.”<\/p>\r\n

We may have some readers from Brazil who may have heard your music in some famous or well-known TV commercials?<\/h4>\r\n

“Oh, I believe so! Since 2005 I\u2019m the founder and partner of a Brazilian music production studio aimed for advertising called LOUD+.
\r\nWe\u2019ve done campaigns for almost all major Brazilian advertisers, from telecoms Vivo, Claro and Oi, to car manufactures GM, Ford, VW etc, to beauty (Dove, Natura, Avon etc) to the food industry.<\/p>\r\n

The list is extensive, so you can check out some selected works here: https:\/\/loud.bz\/publicidade\/<\/a>
\r\nOn the other hand, I\u2019ve been producing some singles and albums for artists since late 1990s, and have been collaborating with Emicida<\/a>, a huge name in Brazilian urban music, since 2007.<\/p>\r\n

Last year his latest album \u201dAmarElo<\/a>\u201d won a Latin Grammy award, in which I co-wrote and produced the title track.”<\/p>\r\n

Wow, I didn\u2019t know you had also worked on such high-profile, mainstream music releases. In a few words, who is Emicida, and what is his style and sound?<\/h4>\r\n

“Emicida is a Brazilian rapper, with whom I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to be collaborating since his debut back in mid-2000s. His take on rap is very unique, bringing a lot of our Brazilian heritage to the music, and expanding into fashion, TV, visuals etc. always connecting his narratives with the enslaved African legacy and its consequences.”<\/p>\r\n

What is the main software you use for recording and mixing your music?<\/h4>\r\n

\"Logic“I\u2019ve been using Logic<\/a> to produce since it was called \u201dNotator Logic\u201d running on an Atari desktop computer (i\u2019m old… heheh). But I\u2019ve been producing some stuff on Ableton Live<\/a> since 2018 and I\u2019m loving it. So right now I\u2019m between the two. But Pro Tools is still my favorite software for mixing.”<\/p>\r\n

I know what you mean; I\u2019ve been using \u00abSONAR\u00bb since back in the time it was called \u00abCakewalk\u00bb (I\u2019m old, too! hehe). What would you say is the main difference in the process and approach, between working with Logic and with Ableton Live? What makes the process different?<\/h4>\r\n

I tend to use Logic for more \u201dhuman\u201d music \u2013 orchestral, jazzy etc \u2013 stuff that has to sound kinda \u201dlive\u201d, mainly because its MIDI Transform functions are super good, and I do use a lot of \u201dhumanize\u201d to bring some sauce to stiff MIDI tracks.<\/p>\r\n

On the other hand Ableton Live\u2019s warp is just amazingly easy to mess around with, and super stable. Not to mention that I believe it sounds better for EDM and general Pop music.<\/p>\r\n

I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the sound engine, the factory compressors and reverbs, but when I start a Trap or a House beat on Logic it lacks a \u201dbeef\u201d that I can easily achieve on Ableton Live.<\/p>\r\n

In a nutshell: If I\u2019m starting a tune on a piano, guitar or orchestra, I\u2019ll probably go for Logic. If it\u2019s \u201dbeat\/sample oriented\u201d I\u2019ll reach out to Ableton Live.<\/p>\r\n

\"Felipe<\/p>\r\n

Below is a playlist of only a few of Felipe’s great royalty-free music tracks that he’s composed and produced for us here at Shockwave-Sound.com<\/a>. Enjoy!<\/p>\r\n

<\/div>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many years, Felipe Adorno Vassao has been one of our stalwarts of production music here at Shockwave-Sound.com, having composed (at the time of writing) 277 royalty-free music tracks of incredible quality, diversity, and attention to detail. Felipe is one of those guys who can\u00a0nail any sound and has an incredible knack for coming up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[168,1],"tags":[33,87],"class_list":["post-2879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artist-series","category-shockwave-sound","tag-artist-feature","tag-felipe-adorno-vassao"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2879"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3102,"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879\/revisions\/3102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}