Thinking in Sound: Defining the Role of Music with Justin Hori

Internationally award-winning composer and creative director Justin Hori has developed a knack for crafting poignant, contemporary audio stylings for branded content, making original music for award-winning projects with such top clients as Apple, Reebok, Adidas, Volkswagen and Budweiser, among many others. Having spent years working with Human Worldwide and Squeak E. Clean Studios, the natural progression of his career has led him to his next ground breaking endeavour as partner and creative director at Racket Club.

LBB> When you’re working on a new brief or project, what’s your typical starting point? How do you break it down and how do you like to generate your ideas or response?

Justin> The first thing I do when working on a new brief is to define the role of music for that particular project. One day the brief could be for a broadway style musical number, where the music plays a starring role. The next day it could be a dark underscore that is mostly there to support the mood and tone, and go almost unnoticed. We like to create a broad range of ideas on the first round of demos. It's always important to cover the client's creative direction, and then we like to go outside the brief and bring our point of view. Sometimes giving the client something they're not expecting wins at the end of the day.  

LBB> Music and sound are in some ways the most collaborative and interactive forms of creativity - what are your thoughts on this? Do you prefer to work solo or with a gang - and what are some of your most memorable professional collaborations?  

Justin> I think there are merits to working solo and collaboratively. As a composer, a lot of the work is done alone, but when I do collaborate I find the experience more fulfilling and inspiring. I love working with singers so much. I recently worked with an artist, Anusha Savi on a Volvo spot. These days it's common for artists and producers to send files back and forth on the internet, but she came to the studio to cut the vocals. It's so much better to be in a room with the talent where you can truly collaborate in real time. I co-produced and co-wrote a song for the Lego Movie 2 with Karen O and Sam I. The studio passed on the song, but it was still a bop. I got to work with one of my childhood heroes, KRS 1 on a Nike spot. He voiced the Santa character in this really fun holiday spot.  As a bonus, Lupe Fiasco voiced Blitzen the reindeer!

LBB> What’s the most satisfying part of your job and why?

Justin> The most satisfying part of my job is knowing that I get to do what I've loved to do since I was a kid for a living. I got interested in music production and specifically DJing when I was 13. Back then, I thought I'd eventually have to pivot and get a 'real' job, but luckily that hasn't happened yet.

LBB> As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it?

Justin> I think the way the gen z's consume advertising is influencing the way music is used in a big way. People get content from TikTok and Instagram where the music plays a crucial role in the videos. Advertisers are going down this path too. I've seen a lot of briefs over the last couple years where they're looking for the next big TikTok hit.        

LBB> Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?

Justin> My favourite producer is J Dilla. He was one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He approached rhythm in an entirely different way, and spawned legions of fans and imitators. Most of his work was created on an Akai MPC 3000. He is such a legend that his actual instrument is on display at the Smithsonian. 

LBB> And when it comes to your particular field, whether sound design or composing, are there any particular ideas or pioneers that you go back to frequently or who really influence your thinking about the work you do?

Justin> The artists or producers that influence me depends on the brief. If the brief is a pop track with hip hop influences, I might think "what would Pharrell do?" If it's a dramatic action score, I'll try to think like Hans Zimmer.

I've seen a lot of music documentaries, and they always inspire my work. From the way Dave Grohl mics a drumkit, to how Anthony Marinelli made those synth sounds on Thriller.  

LBB> When you’re working on something that isn’t directly sound design or music (lets say going through client briefs or answering emails) - are you the sort of person who needs music and noise in the background or is that completely distracting to you? What are your thoughts on ‘background’ sound and music as you work?

Justin> I think my mind is so focussed on music a lot of the time, so when I'm doing other tasks, I prefer to not have anything on. It's like my brain needs a break from music.  Even when I'm driving, I can listen to music for only so long before I'm switching a podcast on.     

LBB> I guess the quality of the listening experience and the context that audiences listen to music/sound in has changed over the years. There’s the switch from analogue to digital and now we seem to be divided between bad-ass surround-sound immersive experiences and on-the-go, low quality sound (often the audio is competing with a million other distractions) - how does that factor into how you approach your work?

Justin> It's interesting because we're working on these very expensive systems and our work sounds amazing on it, but it also has to sound amazing on an iPhone. That's something we consider a lot in our mixing and mastering choices. For example the bass that I'm hearing in the studio won't be heard on a phone speaker, so there's things we do to make the mix translate across all devices.   

LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like? 

Justin> I usually take my kids to school in the morning, so I play their music. My kids like Imagine Dragons, Marshmello, T Swift etc. 

Then I like to skim through the latest releases on Spotify or Apple Music or I'll put on KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic is still a great show.  

LBB> Do you have a collection of music/sounds and what shape does it take (are you a vinyl nerd, do you have hard drives full of random bird sounds, are you a hyper-organised spotify-er…)?

Justin> I have a huge collection of samples/sounds that I've been building for 20+ years. I also have an extensive record collection from my years as a DJ. I also like to design synthesizer patches from scratch. I've been spending a lot of time with the Hydrasynth which is a really versatile synthesizer.

LBB> Outside of the music and sound world, what sort of art or topics really excite you and do you ever relate that back to music (e.g. history buffs who love music that can help you travel through time, gamers who love interactive sound design… I mean it really could be anything!!)

Justin> I love cooking and food. Making music and cooking are similar in a lot of ways. We're combining disparate ingredients which, on their own aren't very good or interesting, but when you mix it all together it becomes something new and wonderful. 

LBB> Let’s talk travel! It’s often cited as one of the most creatively inspiring things you can do - I’d love to know what are the most exciting or inspiring experiences you’ve had when it comes to sound and music on your travels?

Justin> I was flown to the Bahamas to record a Junkanoo band for an Atlantis Resorts commercial. It was a 70 member band with a big brass section and about 40 percussionists! We had them all in this big ballroom at the resort, it was such a fun experience to meet all these musicians and hear a style of music I've never heard. I took the sampled parts of the band and made a track around it.

LBB> As we age, our ears change physically and our tastes evolve too, and life changes mean we don’t get to engage in our passions in the same intensity as in our youth - how has your relationship with sound and music changed over the years? 

Justin> I'm not as much of a music fan as I was when I was younger. I used to seek out music with much more fervour. These days I'll come across an artist that interests me and I'll listen to all their work until I find something else. One month I was listening to Babytron, and the next it's Zach Bryan, so the range is pretty broad.