Today we’d like to introduce you to Enoch Kim.
Enoch, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I moved to Chicago in 2007 after graduating from Greenville College with an audio engineering degree. In Chicago, I got involved with a band called Jadiid with a college friend. After a year or so, I quit that band and joined another band a year later called The Hudson Branch. I was a multi-instrumentalist for both bands playing mainly violin, keyboard, and drums.
A couple years later, I quit The Hudson Branch and started working on building my business as a composer in 2012. I think the first paid gig I got as a composer was for a documentary called Remember Me Sue which was about Sue Duncan who started an after-school program on the south side of Chicago.
Several months after that, I created music for the app storybook, Flewn, which still contains some of my favorite works. Slowly over the years, I worked for a bunch of independent filmmakers. In the summer of 2017, I took on engineering and composing music for a Gimlet show, The Pitch, and have been working with them ever since.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It was really hard for sure. I had to start from zero because I knew no one in the film realm. I would sit in front of the computer for hours just emailing people to see if they needed a composer. I wasn’t sure if I would get an opportunity to make music for a film at all. It took several months of reaching out to people before I got anyone interested in taking me on as a composer. In the first 3-4 years, I made a bunch of music for films for free because I needed to build a portfolio of work.
It’s also a very lonely process. When I’m sitting down emailing people, I’m usually alone. When I’m creating music for a project, I’m usually alone. And because building my business took up 90% of my time, I was 90% alone. If it wasn’t for my girlfriend and my friends, I think I would have drifted into a deep dark psychological place.
Not only was the loneliness hard, but added onto that was my struggle with depression which is something I’ve been dealing with for as long as I can remember. Having to function and get things done while carrying a grey shroud of depression is really hard. At least it was for me.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a musical artist and audio engineer. My business is creating music for films and podcasts. I’ve created music for several independent documentaries such as Remember Me Sue, app: the human story, and Cliff, Superfan! I think most people find me through youtube vlogs that use my music such as Gary Vee, Ben Brown, and Slyfox Family. Currently, I am audio engineering and composing music for a podcast called The Pitch by Gimlet.
I’m really proud of my journey during these past seven years. There’s not a single moment that I can say is my proudest moment, but the persistence and discipline I engaged in trying to build my business is something I take a lot of pride in.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was always into music. To be specific, I was really into Christian music (lol). I wanted to be a Christian rock star when I was in high school. Like a lot of artist types, I was always deep in my head and full of emotion. One of my mentors in high school told me a couple years ago that I was a “tortured child”. I didn’t see it back then, but I definitely see it now.
I was really hard working. I wasn’t that smart, but I made the top 5 of my high school class through sheer hard work. I didn’t even like school, but the Asian immigrant mentality in me had to get good grades.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.themusemaker.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themusemakermusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themusemaker
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/themusemaker
Image Credit:
Jacob Boll – https://www.jacobboll.com/
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