Thinking in Sound: Johnny Green on How Music Tells a Story

Johnny is an award-winning composer, producer and creative director with over twenty years of experience in the music, film and advertising industries. As a talented multi-instrumentalist, Johnny has brought his music to life on large-scale advertising campaigns in Australia and the USA for brands such as AT&T, Nike, Tourism Tasmania, British Airways, Telstra, Volkswagen and Farmers Insurance ‘Help Point’ (directed by Noam Murro), to name but a few. With gongs from London International Awards, CLIO, Graphis and AdFest, Johnny brings a wealth of experience, leadership and musicality to Heckler Sound. His relentless pursuit and passion in evolving his mastery of composition, production, and repertoire affirms Johnny's reputation as a dynamic and engaging composer.

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?

Johnny> Great question. I hopped on zoom with a director recently and he gently prefaced the briefing with “I’m not quite sure if this will be helpful?”. It was. His thoughts on minimalism differed somewhat to mine. Through discussion and musical examples we cut to the essence of what needed to be achieved, emotionally. Music can be subjective and open to interpretation, both sonically and in an emotional sense. Is it a plucked cello or a muted acoustic guitar? Does the song make you feel elated or moody? So, I’d have to say listening to the idea or brief and making sure, to the best of your ability, that you’re answering the brief is a crucial starting point for how it ultimately evolves.

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? 

Johnny> Occasionally, I communicate music and sound, onomatopoeically. It’s a great way to break the ice and have anyone in the room feel comfortable enough to talk through something they may otherwise feel uncomfortable or nervous about. Getting an idea up is definitely a solo activity. However, developing an idea with other performers, composers, agency creatives or a director in the room can be rewarding and beneficial for the project. Collaborating with a composer/ orchestrator and recording an orchestra on a direct-to-client brand campaign for KPMG is up there for memorable.

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

Johnny> I oversee an impressive roster of signed and independent artists. These are musicians who may not have much experience in film and TV or scoring to picture but bring something legitimate and unique to the table. I think this gives Heckler Sound an edge over our competitors. It's exciting when our artists are awarded the job and have their music go final, especially on large campaigns. It breathes fresh air into our industry. Also, just being creative. Starting with a blank canvas and creating something from scratch. I don’t think that will ever get old.

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

Johnny> Having seen it change a few times in my career, the things that keep surviving are relationships and quality of product. They seem to supersede change in tech, industry and financial climates.

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

Johnny> Labrinth has been blowing me away. Especially his score and music on the show ‘Euphoria’. When I first heard 'I'm Tired' I absolutely had to learn those chords, they were infectious. He has such an unorthodox pallet and brilliant ideas. Hans Zimmer also offers up a great philosophy on music, story telling and the creative process. I recently enjoyed viewing ‘How 'Dune Composer Hans Zimmer Created the Oscar-Winning Score | Vanity Fair’. For electronic music production, no one beats Boris Blank, in my opinion.

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? 

Johnny> Silence. I’m constantly exposed to music and sound and therefore welcome the silence when it comes to ‘non music / sound’ related work.

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 - how does that factor into how you approach your work? 

Johnny> Having a system or studio environment that produces a flat-frequency-response is a good place to start to ensure your music and sound mixes translate across all the various sound reproduction mediums, small to large. I’m excited about the addition of platforms like Dolby Atoms, spatial audio and binaural mixing. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Apple’s certified Dolby Atmos/spatial audio room in its Martin Place HQ. Impressive! I think there’s scope to make these specific platforms accessible, as they can also translate within a stereo field, ie: left and right monitoring like your headphones, or even a sound bar, which everyone has access to. The majority of what I produce is in the two-channel, left and right stereo field listening environment. I’ve always used analogue hardware signal paths going into my software and therefore don’t invest into an ‘either/or’ philosophy.

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

Johnny> My musical taste is vast and I love that. I can listen to a modular set by Sébastien Léger and then put on a Steely Dan album, straight after. With the convenience of streaming, I would have a guess and say a lot of people’s listening would be quite varied.

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…)?

Johnny> I have recently become a vinyl nerd… *sigh*. I’ve found a source for first and second Japanese pressings and have been adding considerably to my collection ever since. My latest addition is a 1972 CBS/SONY pressing of ‘Kind Of Blue’, still in its original plastic wrapping, unopened. I’m a messy Spotify-er. But a surgeon when it comes to my vinyl and lossless audio archiving.

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?

Johnny> Prehistoric archaeology. LOVE! It’s pushing the timeline and narrative of human civilisation further back, with each discovery - namely, Gunung Padang in Indonesia and Göbeklitepe in Türkiye.

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

Johnny> Destinations and archaeological sites that specifically have archaeoacoustic properties are a growing bucket list of inspiration. The Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni in Malta; Chichen Itza in Yucatán, Mexico and Chavín de Huántar in Peru, to name a few. I’ve travelled extensively throughout Greece and could keep visiting indefinitely. Monemvasia and The Mani in the Peloponnese have been highlights of my Grecian travels. Mexico’s Teotihuacan pyramid complex was also a major high point - as was sitting on top of Huayna Picchu, listening to Plastikman.

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?

Johnny> Quality and depth in music and sound will never change or fade. That is what I gravitate towards, regardless of genre and era. As a composer and musician, I strive to produce honest-sounding material. I guess I gravitate towards hearing it, as well. Recent music that has wowed me is ‘Fuzz Jam’ by The Lazy Eyes, ‘Yebba’s Heartbreak’ by Drake and the album ‘El Bueno Y El Malo’ by Hermanos Gutiérrez, produced by Dan Auerbach.