Meet Mustafa Yazicioglu | Film & Video Game Composer

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

Hi Mustafa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’m a composer who creates music for films and video games. For me, it’s crucial to stay focused on the projects and music I’m working on and not to get distracted from that concentration. I even avoid changing the environment where I produce music, as it can influence the mood that the project conveys to me and that I need to reflect in the music. With this mindset, I decided to set up a studio that is entirely my own, where I can work in the comfort and mental space I desire. I initially established this studio in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, I formed a partnership with Ömer Kalli, who is involved in Films, TV series, Video Games, and other media productions. Together, we created a structure with my music company, Digitalent Entertainment LLC, and Ömer Kalli’s media company, Kalli LLC. We decided to move this structure to the U.S., and today we’ve taken the first steps towards establishing our studio in Los Angeles, which will be the showcase of this new venture.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My music journey began at the age of 6 with classical piano lessons. My family has always been interested in music and various forms of art. My father was an amateur musician, though he didn’t play an instrument, he had a remarkable singing talent. It was his love for music and cinema that guided me towards the world of music.

My entire childhood was spent within the realm of Chopin, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky. These composers created immortal works and their influence can still be seen in the music I create today. Their melodies, harmonic richness, and orchestration techniques have left a lasting impact on me. One notable aspect of my approach is that even while playing their pieces, I would constantly make changes and variations. For instance, when playing a Chopin piano piece, I would think, “This section could be different,” reflecting my inclination to explore beyond the existing material. Eventually, I began composing my own music and stopped interpreting other composers’ works, which opened the door to a broader world for me. Composition is such a magical realm! After extensive experimentation, I started studying composition with Prof. Dr. Server Acim, where I learned harmony and orchestration. I decided to pursue this field academically, even though I was still in the first year of high school, with two years ahead of me. During those two years, I focused on orchestral music experimentation and explored theatrical music, experiencing the epic nature of stage music.

Then came the turning point in my life, the moment I decided what I wanted to do next: film music! The initial spark for this passion was the movie Back to the Future, which I watched during middle school. Alan Silvestri’s score for the film completely captivated me, and I witnessed the unique synergy between a film scene and its music. However, I was still in the wrong place. I thought I could create film scores by composing orchestral music, but I soon realized this wasn’t the case. During my first year at university, I understood that specialized training in film music was necessary. After completing my studies in composition, I decided to pursue education in film scoring, and from that point on, my life has been dedicated to composing for films.

The biggest challenge for me was accessing this education and the related resources. In Turkey, the country where I grew up, there were no film scoring programs at universities, only composition programs. This was back in 2002, when internet use was not widespread, and accessing such content was quite difficult. I would order books from America and wait several weeks for them to arrive. After university, I enrolled in the film scoring program at Berklee, where I learned the technical requirements of film music. During my first year, I landed my first professional job in the industry.

For this reason, I wrote and published a book called “Film Music Techniques” in Turkish in 2016, to help new people who are talented in film music. It is still the only book published on this subject in Turkey. I have conducted seminars on film music in various universities’ Cinema-TV and Radio-TV departments. Afterwards, I started making videos on Youtube where I explain the techniques. Because the education part of this work is also very important.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First of all I show my friends who have come to Los Angeles for the first time the places that are the heart of cinema. Like Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. I show them the shooting locations of productions that have left their mark on world cinema, which I have visited many times myself. Marty McFly’s house in the movie Back to the Future is one of them. I visit there often and even published a vlog about it on my YouTube Vlog channel. One of my favorite places in Los Angeles is The Grove. It is a very lively place where you can find everything you are looking for in any subject. Hard Rock Cafe, Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse and Lucky Strike Hollywood are among the places I love with their ambiance and menus and where I host my friends.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My story and the work I do are the result of a collective effort. Therefore, the people I would like to give credit to are Ömer Kalli (my production partner) and Burçin Aktükün (my solution partner and award-winning sound engineer).

Website: https://www.mustafayazicioglu.com

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

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

Youtube: www.youtube.com/MustafaYaziciogluMusic https://www.youtube.comMustafaYaziciogluVlog

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-tr/artist/0iJsqo6m7gNRGhDmCufyCR

https://music.apple.com/tr/artist/mustafa-yaz%C4%B1c%C4%B1o%C4%9Flu/332850589?l=tr