Meet Cyrus Melchor | Music Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cyrus Melchor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
One thing that sets me apart from others that I find the most exciting is that I record all of my music with gear that I’ve wholly designed and built myself. The whole signal chain is made up of Mount Cyanide original circuit designs – mic preamps, equalizers, compressors and filters. No clones! Haha, I’m as proud of my circuits as I am of my songs. And the process is similar. When I say no clones I mean it! Yes, I learn from the past. But I don’t copy it, I build from it. Just as I learn from classic chord progressions, I learn from signal flow. What notes can climax a verse to a chorus or which electronic component can couple a differential receiver into the equalizer section – same thing. Look to the masters. But the core of the composition or circuit should be from my own ideas. As I often record organic elements ( drums, live strings ,etc.) of a song to tape, I utilize a strictly discrete topology in my amplifier like they did in the early 70’s (that means no microchips / integrated circuits) . But then I also use virtual instruments in the most digital of recorders – Pro Tools – in that same song as I use the newest surface mount transistors for current sources in the same amplifier. Pardon to go that dorky but that’s what I’m doing : )

I got to where I’m currently at in my career with one thing ; stubborn perseverance. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t hard. Because I couldn’t imagine it any other way. It couldn’t be another way so much that I don’t even realize that I’m being persistent.

One of the major lessons I’ve learned is accepting feedback, respecting it and reacting to or with it. I started out completely stubborn at every facet of production. If A&R criticized my drum tone, I’d clap back and fight to keep what I had. I didn’t really see the merit in collaborating with executives. I was a dick. Now I realize that I was hard to work with. Either I got jaded from major label work or I was actually just not hireable because of that dickishness. But I found myself not working on album projects anymore. I was doing occasional tv commercial projects at the time. Soon, I found myself saying yes to all that came my way. These were just demos so I hadn’t actually landed any yet because I was just doing my thing and just composing in the stubborn personal way like I’d always done. I was living off of the mere quantity of demo fees. One day I realized that wasn’t enough. I needed to start getting these things placed on TV. When a revision note came in from a major beer commercial, I initially reacted as I always did. They asked me to make it sound more like a radio hit song. I made some changes but added some dusty drum loops and whale noises. After turning it in it became obvious from their tone that I was gonna lose this. Jamie Foxx was in the commercial. Was I really gonna miss out on this opportunity because I wanted to alienate rather than relate strictly out of ego? I got rid of the loops and whales, cleaned up the mix and added the necessary kick pattern to make it “current” and asked them to give me another chance and listen. They did. And I landed my first national TV spot. I’ve since gone on to win two CLIO and two AICP Awards for Original Music Composing.

Now I find the collaboration to be fun and even more rewarding. I’ve gotten to the point to where folks know my voice and when they hire me we’re already all on the same wavelength. So when they ask for revisions it’s usually, almost always, for the better. The composition turns out way better than I initially set out for and that’s because of their ideas and feedback. There’s nothing in the world quite as awesome as mutual respect. And it makes for far better art!

I’ve been pretty busy on the film scoring front lately. I recently scored the HBO documentary “LFG” and it earned me a Critics Choice Documentary Award nomination for Best Score. I also composed the music for the Danny Lee directed “Who is Stan Smith?” which was produced by Lebron James and his Springhill company. And at this very moment I’m scoring a new HBO film about a current famous rapper / singer. I can’t disclose their name yet but the hint is that everybody’s waiting on their long awaited much delayed new album. And speaking of albums, I recently produced Old Man Saxon’s “Rothkos, Chicken and Waffles.” It’s out everywhere.

So what I find most important these days is finding the beautiful blend of maintaining both my personal vision with an open mind.

What I want the world to know most about my brand is that as a music composer/producer as well as recording gear developer, Mount Cyanide may not be for everybody and that’s a good thing because I’m certainly not into mass production but if you’re into something unique, personal and handmade with the attention to every detail being thick and juicy – then this highly caffeinated sludgy cup of tea is for you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had a friend coming in from out of town the first place I’d take them is to get something good to eat that is wholly Angeleno. And if you think of LA and don’t think of Mexican food well then I don’t know what to tell you – you’re probably not my friend that’s visiting me from out town. But if you are that friend then we’d hop on the 5 South, and hit El Tepeyac in Boyle Heights. Manuel’s Special. For me there’s nothing quite as heavenly and LA as a burrito the size of a table and both filled and topped with a tasty slow cooked meat stew. After that, I don’t think we’d be able to do much else as we’re definitely gonna need some rest. But after a few ZZZ’s, we can hit a dispensary to pick up some vegetation, blast some music and take Vermont all the way north until it ends. The Griffith Observatory is the best way to take in the vastness of Los Angeles at night. You can see every single neighborhood all the way to the water. You can follow all the roads heading south and realize the layout of the land and have it make a bit of sense, It’s really quite a linear topography. I’d hit my brother Clint up and tell him to meet us at the Drawing Room on Hillhurst where the scene isn’t glossy Instagram Hollywood but actual working Hollywood #nofilter

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve got two major mentors in my life. Mix Engineer Dave Pensado is the closest thing I’d consider a guru to me. The times I’ve spent with him have not only helped at my craft of sonics and production but life in general. His wisdom is as brilliant as his mixes. Kelly Bayett, head honcho at Barking Owl Sound, has believed in me since I was only the “rap beat guy” working on commercials. I mean that’s really what I was at the time. One day she sent me a brief for an orchestra piece and I was like – what? She said you’re gonna kill this. I didn’t but I suddenly thought I could. Within a few years we’d wind up at Henson Studios with a full orchestra playing one of my compositions. I damn near cried.

Website: http://www.mountcyanide.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mountcyanide/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyrusmelchor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cyrusmelchor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mountcyanide

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MountCyanide

Other: Produced by Mount Cyanide https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7bPsVmfW2Rzv7PhtgvqUjl?si=38a91da78ffb4d54 Mount Cyanide Analog (Recording Gear) https://www.mountcyanide.shop/

Image Credits
Old Man Saxon