Qumu Interview: A Growing Anomaly
Qumu is a bit of an anomaly, even in the VGM community. Their style defies description and their identity is shrouded in mystery, but their music is undeniably engaging and their audience is growing. Recently, Qumu shared “I Am” with the world, after reaching 100,000 subscribers. That’s no small feat, so I wanted to ask the artist, what does Qumu mean to them?
Does the name Qumu have any particular meaning?
Sort of, but the meaning doesn’t really make much sense considering what I do now. I might say what it means eventually, but in the interest of keeping some of the excitement alive, I think I’ll keep it a secret for now!
How did you start making music?
I played the violin growing up, but I first started making music in 2009 during the whole Guitar Hero/rhythm game craze. I was inspired to pick up my dad’s guitar because of it and ended up recording something for fun. Then, my siblings pointed me in the right direction since they had previously made some music and had a license for Reason already. I started playing around with the software, and while the guitar didn’t stick around, the music production did. I’ve been making music ever since!
How would you describe your sound?
I was hoping I wouldn’t have to answer this, because I truly don’t know!
I honestly think my sound is just the result of a bunch of weird inspirations mixed with my own inability to properly recreate the styles and genres I want to make. If I had to describe the sound though, I guess I’d say it’s some kind of slightly weird melodic fusion of electronic and acoustic instruments, except the acoustic instruments are sampled or modeled. Sometimes, it’s upbeat and bubbly; other times, it’s chill and downtempo.
What are some of your biggest musical influences?
This could take a while! I have no idea if it’s possible to hear most of these influences in my music, but they inspire me!
I grew up with games on DOS/PC and a Nintendo 64, so 90s/00s PC and N64 games have naturally had a huge impact on me—composers like Grant Kirkhope, David Wise, Frank Klepacki, Paul Romero, and Koji Kondo to name a few. So lots of great SoundBlaster and MIDI music.
Outside of VGM, Infected Mushroom has had a huge impact on me, and their album Converting Vegetarians is my favourite album to this day. Their music taught me that it’s okay to experiment, be different, and to mix electronic and acoustic instruments. Music can still be amazing even if people can’t label it.
Caravan Palace was my gateway to electro swing, and I hold them and their album Panic responsible for getting me addicted to the genre. I believe it’s also fair to give the theme songs of Darkwing Duck and DuckTales a shout-out, as I think they’ve been pretty instrumental in getting me to love slap basses, and other funky sounds.
More recently, the genres of Vaporwave, Kawaii Future Bass and Lofi Hiphop have become pretty big influences. I don’t really listen to any particular artists in those genres, I just feel incredibly inspired by the sound and feel of them!
What do you think are some of your biggest musical strengths?
Definitely my ears and my musical memory. I can pick up melodies quite easily, and I have a strangely good phonetic and auditory memory. While playing the violin, I never learned how to read sheet music properly because I found it easier to play things by ear. It makes transcribing melodies a breeze, which is really helpful when making covers.
Also, I might not be perfect with my virtual instruments, but I feel I’m at least adequate at programming the MIDI for them and keeping them somewhat realistic.
I want people to know that who I am is not important. If they like my music, that’s really all that matters!
What do you think are some of your biggest musical weaknesses?
I’m an absolute disaster at performing and actually playing instruments. I also don’t have any kind of formal musical education, so my knowledge of music theory is pretty limited. Trying to improve though!
Like I mentioned earlier, I can’t read sheet music effectively, and while I’m good at picking out melodies, I’m not particularly good at recognizing different chords. I also really wish I was better at sound design, as I feel I very often end up relying on sounds I’ve found to work in the past.
In addition to covers, you've also composed some original music. Have you composed for a video game yet?
I have composed music for video games, but I haven’t composed anything original for a commercial video game yet. I did some stuff years ago for an aspiring game developer who was making a game for a school project, and then I did some more stuff for him later on for a game called Free for Fall (which I think is available on GameJolt if I remember correctly).
This might not count as composing, but I did make that one remix of “Welcome to Mafia Town” for A Hat in Time, which I’m really proud of!
Do you enjoy making covers or making originals more?
Well, it depends on my mood as I like them both in different ways. I really enjoy telling stories through music, and both originals and covers offer me different ways to do that.
When I work on original tracks, I have the freedom to do exactly what I want and tell the story that I want to tell, but it can also be quite daunting to have absolute freedom. I often feel choice paralysis hitting me when I work on original music. On the other hand, when I make covers, the original track already tells a story. It’s up to me to tell that same story or a similar one. I really enjoy retelling other people’s stories, but I also love telling my own, so…I’ll keep the answer vague, because that’s how I feel!
What is your philosophy when it comes to making covers?
To continue the story analogy, I almost always try to tell the story I hear when I listen to the original track. For the most part, I want people who listen to my covers to get the same feeling I get when I listen to the original. Of course, there are exceptions where I go completely off the rails and do something different (“Color Pulse” from Splatoon 2 and “Luma” from Super Mario Galaxy to name two), but I always try to stay in-universe, if that makes sense.
I’ve found that trying to force rigid ideas on a cover is the easiest way for me to get stuck, so I almost never go in with a plan or arrangement in mind when I start a new cover. I often just have a vague idea, a good feeling or love for the song, and then I just go with the flow and hope for the best!
What are some of your favorite covers that you've made and why?
Metroid Prime - I’m still happy with this one, and it’s the first appearance of several of the techniques I use today
Pokémon Center - I wanted to remix it for so long; I tried and failed many times before it finally clicked.
Frantic Factory - It turned out exactly how I wanted it to when I started out.
Link’s Awakening: Sword Search - I started out making two versions of it--one lofi-hiphop version and one chillwave version. I thought I eventually had to choose between them, but I somehow managed to unify the swingy lofi version with the completely straight chillwave.
You've been releasing compilations albums (Year 1, Year 2, Year 3), but do you have any plans for other albums?
Kind of? I’ll just say that “I Am” marks the beginning of something new. Doesn’t mean I’ll stop with what I’ve done so far, the covers will just have some company!
There are so many ridiculously talented people making VGM right now!
What's been your impression of the VGM community?
As far as I’ve seen, the VGM community is incredibly talented, hard-working, supportive, tolerant, and kind.
I have a bad habit of going quiet as soon as I find myself in a conversation with more than a couple of people though, including online. I’m also fairly “twitter shy”, so, sadly, I haven’t been as active in the community as I probably should have. But, the interactions I’ve had have been incredibly positive!
Who are some of your favorite VGM artist?
Oh, there are so many ridiculously talented people making VGM right now!
I guess if I had to mention anyone it would be the VGM artists I listen to the most at the moment, which are Vector U, Insaneintherainmusic and Soundole VGM Covers. All astonishingly incredible, and absolutely worth your time!
What's one thing that you want people to know about yourself?
I want people to know that who I am is not important. If they like my music, that’s really all that matters!
Do you have any upcoming tracks/projects that you'd like to share?
I’ve just completed my big project for 2019 (the new original track and the introduction of Qu and Myu to celebrate 100,000 subscribers on YouTube) so I don’t have any super fresh new information right now. All I can say is that I’m not done with music, and there will be more originals and covers in the future!
