It’s one thing to soundtrack your own life, but quite another to soundtrack those of others. As the passive listener in a restaurant, store, or hotel, you’re subjected to an experience catered to you by someone else. So what factors into curating music for an environment where different people interact and inhabit the space?
To answer that question, we caught up with Michaelangelo L’Acqua, whose days are dedicated to the creation of sonic environments as the global music director for W Hotels. Read on to learn more about the delicate craft of music supervision for a global brand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_I8QpzTzOY
Shutterstock: Where were you professionally when you realized that you wanted to get involved in curating music?
Michaelangelo L’Acqua: I was 8 years old when I was given a violin, and from there, I knew I was meant to have music in my life. I’m dyslexic, and the world at a young age was very confusing to me, but when I was given music, it all made sense. Music freed me from the restrictions that the world put on me by my scholastic studies. This was in the 1970s, and cognitive disorders were addressed far differently from how they are today. At school, I was considered a challenged child. With music, I was revered as a gifted musician. The path was simple from there. I’ve never known any other thing that I’ve wanted to do in life.
How does a global music director come to that position? What steps did you have to take to end up in a role where your musical opinion is trusted wholeheartedly?
I’ve had a very long career where I have acquired many different skills in music. I’ve been a session musician as a guitar player, a record producer, a TV commercial composer, a fashion runway show producer, and a music supervisor. Through my evolution over these 20 years, I’ve finally evolved into a sonic brand specialist. I’m sure there are easier ways to this path, but this was my way. I hold true to the 10,000 hour rule, and I’m now pushing closer to that.
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What’s your day-to-day like on the job? Is it different every day, or is there a rhythm to your workflow?
Every day is different, but the general workload is understanding the pulses in the music, fashion, lifestyle, and technology scenes. From there, you need to know how to create specific strategies for each of your clients.
Have you ever catalogued songs in your head for particular moments that may not have been appropriate at the time, but that you knew would make for great use later on?
Always. When I did fashion shows, I had categories for each of the designers I worked with, based on the seasons (Spring and Fall). In curating hotel soundtracks, it’s a nonstop job of placing tracks to create the perfect 24-hour score.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtngZIBNBbE
Are there any particular songs that have traveled with you through the years as mainstays?
Every morning for the past 10 years, I’ve done a combination of yoga and meditation for 20 minutes and I always listen to Peter Gabriel’s film score for The Last Temptation Of Christ. When traveling on the road alone for long periods, I find it so important to keep myself in the most present of spaces in my mind.
Do you think that songs dictate people’s moods, or that moods dictate people’s choice in songs?
Music always dictates the mood or accentuates the mood you’re in. It’s the one thing that humans react to in a completely visceral way.
http://open.spotify.com/album/2HVx2tiZnLX8xeaUthed1e
What is (in your opinion) the greatest album of all time?
Steve Wonder’s Songs in the Key Of Life‘. For me, this is the Bible for songwriting and arranging.
Who’s your favorite present day artist?
There are so many really good people out right now in many genres. But I’d have to say that I loved Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange. I thought it was really creative and pushed the boundaries of soul, R&B, and production. We need more innovative albums like this in the game.
What was the first vinyl/album you owned?
For vinyl, “Planet Rock” by Afrika Bambaataa, in 1982. In 1979, my sister gave me my first Sony Walkman with my first two tapes, Off the Wall and London Calling.
When I heard “Planet Rock” at The Rink in Teaneck, New Jersey (second best roller rink, behind Skate Key in the Bronx!), I totally freaked out. It was like a religious experience for me. Fast forward 30 years and Arthur Baker, who produced this track, is a good friend of mine. I can’t believe I get to sit in the same room as him and talk music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh1AypBaIEk
What are some of the challenges you face in working for an international brand? What factors do you have to take into account when curating for a global audience?
When you’re creating a sonic brand identity for a company, most of the the time it’s not a music brand. Therefore, there are challenges that come into play when engaging with the individuals in the corporate machine and their egos. You need to understand how to circumnavigate these personalities in order to get your creative ideas across, as well as learn how to frame ideas so that the people who are signing off feel they were an integral part in their formation. The creative part is easy in comparison to the politics.
What’s your favorite recent project that you’ve worked on?
I’m executive producing an amfAR AIDS charity album right now, to be released early next year. It’s an ’80s covers album aimed at helping bring awareness to a younger generation; amfAR needs everyone’s support to end AIDS in our lifetime. It features some of today’s hottest artists singing their favorite ’80s songs.
Is there any advice you can offer others looking to enter the field of music curation?
You have to really, really, blindly want to do this caree,r because it will be the hardest road you will ever walk, with an unbelievable amount of rejection at every turn. In addition to music supervision, learn every aspect of the business, so that you can keep your career moving forward no matter what. Your life mantra for breaking through needs to be “Not if, But When.”
For more on Michaelangelo L’Acqua, visit his website at lacqua.net.