Navigating the Modern World of Music with Thomas Eggensberger

Artistic professionals may change the way they approach work as the world evolves but they always find a way to create and influence us. German born Thomas Eggensberger may not conduct himself the same way as the composers, orchestrators, and arrangers of the 1980 or 1890s but he basks in the opportunities which gravitate towards someone as extraordinary as himself in 2021. Eggensberger’s contributions to the music libraries of the world’s most thriving music production houses can be heard in television, film, and video games, influencing audiences and the next generation of creatives who follow in his footsteps. Through his work, Thomas communicates that he is a true artist who finds himself immersed in a cosmos of musical possibilities; it’s through this same work that we as the audience find ourselves materialized in this same sonic world. It seems as if you cannot go anywhere in the modern world without being touched by his contributions.

We’ve come to think of our world as having a soundtrack. Whether it’s in our daily commute or in the entertainment we watch, there is a musical score that accentuates and often directs our emotions. The need for this sonic encouragement is greater than ever before in the history of the planet. As part of Counter Communications, Thomas contributed compositions to the worlds of Film, TV, and Gaming via their distributor Spirit Production Music (known for placements with MTV, HBO MAX, CBS, Lionsgate, and many more). Counter Communications creates albums for these different avenues which capitalize on the extraordinary, and often expedient, compositions of Eggensberger and others. Thomas creates equally specialized musical pieces for music production house GoWest Sound (which has scored trailers for Wonder Woman, Bladerunner 2049, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, etc.) for different music albums ranging across countless musical genres, as well as trailer albums released through music library companies such as Sound Insurgents. This allows filmmakers instant access to trailer music that most appropriately complements their own promotional efforts. This approach is the inverse of a traditional approach for musical accompaniment, requiring Thomas to take a more sound-design based approach to writing. His sample library company Green Light District (run by Eggensberger, Marlon Lang, and Dylan Love), has had placements in the video game Halo Infinite, the HBO Original Docuseries Heaven’s Gate: The Cult Of Cults’ and various other productions. Embracing the eclectic opportunities afforded him as a modern composer often serves to inspire Thomas to cultivate untapped creativity. When German based music library company Intervox requested submissions for radio news intros, the composer dove in deep. He describes his music/psychology approach to the tracks he created which were licensed, “Each track really features a very distinctive ‘radio music sound’ that you can often hear when listening to a report intro announcement on the radio, such as ‘politics around the world’ type of programs. Therefore, the music needed to reflect a sense of urgency and timeliness, which was achieved by using a slightly higher tempo and lots of interesting electronic ‘clicky’ noises, which in a way mimic the sound of a clock or time going past. Both tracks are quite similar to each other, both with the same type of ‘sound logo’, a short passage and arrangement of distinctive notes around 5–15 seconds long, which creates the identity of the track. It is almost like a jingle but used as the intro of the whole music track so that every time you hear the sound, the mind remembers and associates the sound with ‘the evening news’.”

Happy to be pulled into a traditional setting as well, Mr. Eggensberger recently served as the arranger and orchestrator for the recording of Oscar & Nicolas Neidhardt’s “Love of the Times.” Captured at the iconic Hollywood Scoring in Los Angeles whose clients include Disney, Netflix, Universal, NPR, Microsoft, etc., this exciting rock and orchestral work is reminiscent of stadium acts like Queen. In contrast to working his wizardry with musical software, “Love of the Times” saw Thomas conducting an orchestra of Hollywood’s elite studio musicians. This song’s musical components which blends the tradition of classical instrumentation with that of modern rock is an apt setting for Thomas Eggensberger, a professional who has found his place in the industry by pursuing new possibilities rather than the most conventional path. This is where the musical present meets the musical future.