Synths, Style and an API: A Very Original Music and Mixing House Lands in LA

When mischievous music makers make their way to LA, anything can happen.

If the composers in question are Fall On Your Sword (FOYS), be on high alert. Already a hot original music house–as well as proficient audio post mixers–after several years of creative output in their Williamsburg, Brooklyn HQ, FOYS knew that a coastal switch was essential for the ultimate level up: Los Angeles was calling.

For real business growth, FOYS partners Lucy Alper and Will Bates knew only California would do. That meant taking their distinctive aesthetic–playful, artistic, tongue-in-cheek, with a dark streak–and super-sizing it to fill up all those wonderful square feet that LA has to offer.

A prolific composer, art installation aficionado, and music artist, they made sure that FOYS’ North Hollywood studios would not only look the part, but synch up with Bates’ creative workflow and recognizable style. Equipped with instruments from ultra-modern to classic Mellotron and beyond, as well as a sharp ear for combining them, Bates’ sonic storytelling skills are in high demand.

FOYS partners Will Bates and Lucy Alper. At the bar where most of their best ideas are born.

Recent TV/film original score assignments include Netflix’ “Unbelievable”, Syfy’s “The Magicians”, the Amazon feature film Bliss, plus the latest untitled feature documentary by famed director Alex Gibney. Meanwhile, recent advertising clients include Lincoln, Clinique, Canada Goose and Altice.

Check out the company’s compelling portfolio here, and you’ll hear for yourself their wide range of feels, effortlessly gelling ultra-contemporary, futuristic, retro, creepy and captivating exactly as needed. According to Bates, their signature starts with his own personal blend of organic and synthetic textures, then goes from there. “I feel like I’ve been doing this long enough that I have a good grasp of story and melody,” he says simply. “A lot of shows I’m working on now call for thematic scores, rather than just atmospheric textures.”

Blessed in LA with 4,000 square feet to work with (a significant expansion over the Brooklyn facility’s 2500 square feet — to compare, see SonicScoop’s 2012 visit there), Alper and Bates have additional room to accommodate the needs of FOYS’ creativity and clients. Expanded flexibility for working with his custom API console, pedal collection, and eclectic instruments was addressed by the work of studio furniture specialists Sound Construction & Supply. Simultaneously, NYC-based studio builder Chris Harmaty of Audio Structures designed FOYS’ 5.1 and 7.1 mixing stage The Fitzroy.

For Alper and Bates, the move to LA wasn’t just an opportunity to get closer to the clients they were working with already. It was also a chance to show even more of what defines Fall On Your Sword. “It’s important to us that people see a lot of the design choices that we make,” notes Bates. “The way things are curated, and the attention to detail–we wanted that to be something people latch onto when they walk through the door. It’s high end and professional, but also unique and different. You’ll get something that’s very special.

“In NYC, you got that feeling, but it was a little more rough and tumble. That was almost a basement, with that windowless sort of warehouse vibe. This place is much more open and airy, with natural light in every room, and art everywhere.”

Even though you could throw a brick in LA and hit a composer, FOYS feels secure that there was room for one more. “There’s a lot of business here, and a lot of people we’ve been working with have made this move before us to lead the way,” Bates says. “Plus, there’s not a huge number of LA spaces that offer all of what we’ve got in a one-stop shop: original music, sound design, and mix. There’s definitely a different feel to the FOYS space than others we’ve been to in Los Angeles, and we’ve always been mindful of that: carving our own identity.”

Now feast your eyes on these fancy photos, with additional insights direct from FOYS (all photos by Daniel Orren):

Will’s API Console and custom desk designed by Sound Construction & Supply: Having the gear always switched on and instantly available to play was critical for Will when designing his room. Mics are always set up for the drum kit/upright piano etc. in the live room and feed directly to the API. Having the flexibility of aux sends allows him to use pedals and amps in ways he’d never imagined prior to the board.

The Thames (Will’s control room): So many of Will’s sounds are created using pedals, and re-amping them in the “re-amp room” (pictured left). Also seen here is a custom made Mellotron from Streetly Music in England. This is the 8 frame model which allows for a total of 24 voices (instead of 3 in the original Beatles version). Will picked the tapes himself, and Streetly installed everything along with a custom half speed switch (featured heavily on his score for Hulu’s “The Path”!)

The Thames (2): We set up a second monitor in the back of The Thames which is literally a mirror of Will’s main screen. He tends to spend far too much time tinkering in front of the modular rig so this was a necessity!

The Forth: Our assistant composer’s writing room.

The Fitzroy: Our 5.1 & 7.1 mixing stage, designed by Chris Harmaty of Audio Structures and closely modeled after The Foundry, our former mixing stage in Brooklyn. Featuring JBL monitoring and an Avid S6 which sits atop a custom-built desk on wheels designed by Sound Construction & Supply, this room can be reconfigured as a tracking room where we can record a 10-12 piece string ensemble.

– Custom Desk in The Fitzroy: Because this room doubles as a tracking and writing room in addition to mixing, we needed a desk which could house both the S6 as well as a keyboard controller. And as such a thing didn’t exist, we worked with Sound Construction on a custom design. The Yamaha E70 sitting quietly in the back is in fact a circuit bent replica of a CS80. As the E-70 utilizes many of the same chips as the CS80, it is much more than the Grandma organ it resembles. Created by a delightful Russian acquaintance of our’s.

The Faeroes: Our sun-drenched live room, home to an antique Sohmer Upright (which has traveled across the 5 boroughs of NYC and across country to LA and has somehow never needed tuning). It’s an amazing room for tracking live drums, especially with the new addition of timpani which you may or may not be hearing on every score from now on. Designed by Chris Harmaty of Audio Structures. Like all the rooms, this one is patchable from anywhere in the facility.

The Orphanage: home to our eclectic collection of instruments that get dusted off for our more specialized projects. Also kept here are various elements of art installations of the past, likely to be used again for art installations of the future. Sea of Fire, the very first FOYS interactive art piece is set up here on permanent view. And not pictured is the newest addition to the Orphanage: a Steinway grand piano of which we have recently become the custodians occupies the center of the room.

Kitchen and Lounge: Our beautiful kitchen designed by none other than Will’s very own mother-in-law, we wanted to emphasize the indoor/outdoor way of life that is inherently California. Lucy can often be found here making lunch, family style, usually vegetarian.

Outdoor Patio: Coming from Brooklyn, the idea of having an outdoor space that we could enjoy all year round was an absolute dream. We wanted to create a space that felt like a mediterranean oasis, featuring an original sunset mural by artist Sarah Bereza. And naturally, we built a bar.

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