Andrew Fly

I’m extremely excited to talk with Flavio Garozzo (better known as Andrew Fly), who is a wonderful composer and sound designer, and also an owner of the VST library called ‘Cinematic Alpha’. So Andrew, tell us something about yourself, and the backstory behind the name of ‘Andrew Fly’?
When I was 15 years old my friends used to call me “Fly” as Flavio, then used to know one of the most important Italian producers of rock music Mr. Andrea Bariselli who inspired me for his amazing work, that’s why Andrew.

For those who aren’t familiar with your work, would love to walk us through your music resume and accomplishments?
I compose music for movies and commercials and I am working as a sound designer for my brand Cinematic Alpha.

At what point in your life have you decided to become a composer? Who was your biggest inspiration for making music?
The music is a natural legacy that I got from my father who is a songwriter, thanks to him I started at 6 years old my artistic adventure playing piano, synths, and analog multi-tracks.
I reached my maximum inspiration when I was 16 years old with my friend Dan Strano, so we decided to create a symphonic rock band called The End of Days. Then I used to know Fabrizio Famà in 2004, a film editor and director who discovered my talent as a film composer, so… here we go!

What do you usually start with when composing? How your creative process does looks like while making a song?
All my songs come from dreams and nightmares, so I need to be very fast in order to remember the sequence of melodies. My creative process needs existing pictures and an accurate selection of sounds in order to get the best result in terms of feelings. I am able to create a song but even I need to be totally satisfied or I delete the full project.

In your career as a film composer, you’ve made a huge catalog of songs for indie movies. How complicated is it to make a film score? What challenges had you overcome to be a composer for movies?
Joan of Arc written and directed by Michael Justin Lee is one of my best works as a film score, I am so happy that I won at Track Music Awards in 2020, and I am grateful for this production for the amazing opportunity I got. Creating a film score is simple when you have full creative freedom, but even complicate if you are forced to create something that is not your music style. I started my career as a film composer with very low-budget short movies and commercials, and I decided in 2008 to use Facebook in order to get more friends and clients. The real challenge was when I had to describe my job to family and friends, that’s why many people can’t imagine living with abstract products. My friends in the entertainment industry helped me a lot to get amazing results in music composition and obviously, I can´t forget my son Nicolas who is my best motivation.

Have you ever had a project in which you first thought you’ll make it with ease, but then in the middle of it, you saw everything going south? Do those situations happen often?
Always. Music is like a screenwriting process, 3 acts in which you have to use a “logic of composition”, that’s why composers and screenwriters are often not satisfied with their works. I need to get moved in order to be convinced of my composition but remember… if the audience is happy, that means you made a great job.

When composing, what’s most important – having a catchy rhythm or having a catchy melody?:)
Definitely both of them.

Also when speaking of catchy melodies and rhythm, I also have to mention, that your company ‘Cinematic Alpha’ makes such of tunes! From vocals to synths to rhythms. I’ve had the opportunity to play around with the ‘Vocals edition’ and ‘The Doors of Time – Past’. Can you please walk us through the process of making a music library?
The process takes a lot of time, and that’s why I need to be satisfied in terms of “feelings”. I always say to my clients that I am not a normal samples seller, but I love to ask for suggestions and I have a direct friendly relationship with them. My technical skills are focused on the creative development of sound design, that’s why I need a Kontakt programmer due to create a graphic user interface. The Doors of Time is a collection of 3 expansions inspired by the german TV Show Dark and Stranger Things, Money Heist, and Breaking Bad. I watched it many times these TV Series in order to get a similar mood in terms of sound design.

When making the ‘Vocals edition’, how do you know or tell the singer how to sing? Do you write notation for the singer or do you play it on piano how would you love it to sound?
Vocals Edition is a garage project who was supported and performed by two singers that I used to know on Facebook and Linkedin. I used to work with very simple tools, and I have given the first singer the freedom to invent vocal phrases. This library was an experiment, and I was scared of criticism because the sound design requires a good environment and powerful workstations. I’ve created this library with 6 minutes of random phrases that I manually tuned and mapped in 7 minor scales, Then I asked the second singer to perform the vowels performance, and here we go! Obviously, I am still learning from big library producers, and I can only be grateful to my colleagues for their suggestions and support.

What are your 4 favorite songs that you’ve made and why those?
Red Passion, Raven’s Flight, Reverse Legend, and Arboris Antiquae are my favorite songs.
I choose those songs because there is a strong connection with my life events, and I deeply love Raven’s Flight because it remembers my favorite city: London.

What’s your favorite genre? Is it different from the one you’re playing?
My favorite genre is electronic and symphonic music, but sometimes I admit that I can touch all genres of music as a marketing strategy.

I would love to ask you, do you remember your first time when you connected with a famous fellow composer? If yes, would you like to share the story with us?
Honestly, I love to contact all kinds of artists who made a difference in terms of genres of music, it is just to share feelings and speak with them about normal things.
For example, my friendship with Tim Truman was born on Linkedin, he is an amazing person who motivated me a lot about the Cinematic Alpha project. That’s why he is happily featuring my library Vocals Edition, Iván Martínez Lacámara is a great example of humility and talent, and I am very grateful to him for his motivational support. For me each human being is important, there are a lot of composers that deserve opportunities like you Alan.

Here is one funny question… do you find yourself suffering from G.A.S.? (gear acquisition syndrome)
The toilet paper is like an obsession, I don’t know why but I buy more than a normal quantity without a reasonable motivation.

What would you be today if you didn’t go the music route?

Movie production is my real goal, I think that I feel very satisfied especially when I write scripts.

As a composer, but also a sound designer, what is your definition of success?
Success is when you get happiness and respect for your strong efforts.

Based on the previous question, I also wondered, what skills do you think are essential to succeed as a media composer?
It is very important to study video editing, and advertising, so skills are consequences of passion for creativity.

If you have the opportunity to choose any famous composer to collaborate with, who would you choose, and why?
It is a very difficult question, I can only learn those talents, and that’s why I can feel lucky with any of them.

I also know, but probably others don’t – that you would love to become a film director! Wow! Would you please tell us, how come a music composer becomes a film director? Do you have any projects in making? Can you maybe share some clues?:)
I am writing my first TV Show called Morphers, a drama fantasy story, but I need to study a lot in order to become a film director.

What is the best advice you’ve been given?
Be kind.

And before we end this interview, is there something you would love to share with us or tell to the people that are reading this? Do you have any advice for upcoming composers, and those who are struggling to become a successful composer?
Don’t care about negative criticisms, be positive and productive.

Thank you so much Andrew for this wonderful interview and for having the time to share with us your insights about your creative and musical process! Wish you all the best in your career!:)
My pleasure.