Music


 

Production music (library music) by Chris Melchior (more than 700 tracks available in a wide range of genres).

Dissertation : “ambient music, beginnings and implications” by Chris Melchior.

“Evolutions”. . . writing original tracks live on stage (this project is not currently active).

 


I picked up a violin before I was one year old . . . my father used to play his violin most evenings, and left a little quarter-size instrument around which I soon picked up and sawed away at!

As well as learning violin and music theory at the Fitznells School of music (which no longer exists) I also learned recorder, and reluctantly took piano lessons in order to be able to apply for music college. At the age of 12 I was accepted to the Royal College of Music (London), junior department, after being awarded a county scholarship.

I was also a member of the Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra, which I had the experience of leading (in American vocabulary, I was the “principle”). By the time I was 18, I was playing in four orchestras a week and had fascinating experiences such as playing more than once at the Schools Proms (in the Royal Albert Hall, London), including a concerto with the famous classical guitarist John Williams, and studying chamber music at Pro Corda (one of my most enjoyable life experiences at the time, with tutors including members of the foremost string quartet in the world).

But by the age of 18, I knew that classical music wasn’t for me, although the skills and experiences I had up to that time have proved immensely valuable in later life.

During the next few years, I gradually learned what I did want to be involved in, which was my own personal creativity. Coming back to music, but from the very different perspective of my own personal creative expression during my Degree in music and fine art at Middlesex university, was a revelation (and made far easier by the skills and experiences from earlier in my life).

The basis of the teaching there was to first listen to some music in a specific genre, study some of the theory about that style, then compose music in that genre ourselves. The point in understanding the theoretical basis of how the music worked was to enable us to create some of it. And after having studied various genres, we were then free to create our own new music and explore our own free creativity.

During my Degree, I invented a new musical sub-genre (atonal heavy metal), and a radically new sound synthesis algorithm (based on very direct use of fractals to generate sound), as well as being involved in a wide variety of other musical experiences in a wide range of styles. I also studied, and played jazz in America.

In the early 90’s when I left university, to get paid for composing or even playing music required having all the right contacts (which was something I was not good at, back then), but now, with the evolution of the internet, all that changed, and it’s been a great pleasure to now be selling some tracks that I created (but couldn’t use) back then. These days I can have a track on sale within hours of finishing it, just by uploading it to a website.

In the late 90’s, as well as doing various masters-degree classes in electronic music in America, I enjoyed creating music for a computer-games company (as well as building the recording studio there), resulting in me creating all music and sound effects for the Carmageddon Splat Pack, part of “Game of the Year, 1997” (PC Zone Reader awards).

I now have over 700 tracks of library music (see above) being used in movies, TV, video etc. which provides a long-term residual income, as well as the total creative freedom which I enjoy so much.

I have also realized one of my early dreams of writing original music live on stage (creating chill-out and dance music, using Reason software with a keyboard controller, see above), as well as enjoying co-writing music as a founder member of the White Monkey Trip production group, and many other fascinating projects.