Who I Am
My name is Markus Junnikkala.
I’m a soundtrack composer, scoring for video games and picture.
Currently writing the soundtrack for the video game Breachway.
I describe my music as elaborately minimalistic with maximalist production, exploring archetypal narratives through ornate harmonies, alluring melodies, and visceral rhythm.
Beyond that, best to leave it to my fans to best describe my music.
To date, I’ve released 6 orchestral/cinematic albums under my own name, and several releases under other artist monikers.
My biggest inspirations come from video game-, movie-, and series soundtracks. My favourite composers are Nobuo Uematsu and Howard Shore.
My passion project outside of my scoring work is the Be a Better Artist Podcast, demystifying the creative process for all.
What Music Means to Me.
Growing up, words always felt like a lacking form of communication, but music makes complete sense to me as a language.
I believe music models meaning. It’s a form of auditory narration, where the relationships between notes and their sonic counterparts are abstracted and arranged to represent anything in the world, allowing us to experience deep truths about human life.
When I’m composing, I feel complete and connected to the transcendent. It’s hard to ask for anything more than that.
Although formally trained as a composer, it would be unfair to define myself as anything else than self-taught.
The traditional path of music education has resonated very little with me, and instead I’ve learned what I know primarily through listening, experimentation, and doing; recording and creating, over and over again.
Genres aren’t relevant when describing the music I enjoy, and mostly I’m moved by sensations of narrative, meaning, and unique tonal and sonic languages.
When I feel like I can hear the authentic real you in the music, count me in.
1989
I was born in Oulu, Northern Finland.
As a youngling, I felt very out of place in my country and culture that seemed to think so little of itself, and display such inanimate interest towards the richness and wonders of creativity, imagination, and innovation.
Simultaneously, my affinity towards stoicism, solitude, and melancholy far surpassed the comfort levels of even the average Finn.
This amalgamation supercharged my already strong introversion, pushing me to explore the deep depths of the human condition through imagination, analysis, and creativity.
The Nomad
Growing up, I didn’t feel like I belonged. Although blessed to have several friend groups, ultimately something was out of place. I felt as if I was looking from the outside in.
I’ve never shaken this sense of displacement, and largely deem it attributable to my seemingly infinite stream of curiosity.
Being an outsider drove me to become proficient at reading people. Perhaps because of this I’m obsessed with pattern recognition, reverse-engineering, and deciphering meaning.
Big or Nothing.
I’ve always been drawn to big ideas, looking for the deepest and most meaningful expressions in all things.
Growing up, I explored and expressed this curiosity through imagination, primarily in the form of play: with toys, Legos and video games.
Even at a young age, the importance of the Internet was blatantly obvious to me, and I’ve always viewed the world through the lens of where this technology and new-found connection can take us.
Because of these emerging digital experiences, although thoroughly uninspired by my surroundings, I grew to view the world as a place of great potential and possibility.
I was curious to see how one could manifest these vivid and grandiose creative ideas into something actual.
London, 2011.
Music crept into my life slowly and surely, until it finally had an inescapable grip on me.
I had always done music as a serious hobby, but never dared to consider it as a viable career path.
However, after studying another field and working a part-time job, it became clear that nothing else seemed worthwhile.
In 2011 I moved to London to study Music Technology and Music Composition at the London College of Music.
2014 I graduated with a First-class Honours, and had to decide how to continue my professional career.
I’m entrepreneurial to the bone, and had always wanted to build my own thing. I moved back to Finland to pursue my musical and entrepreneurial ambitions, and I’m still on that path today.
Becoming Gandalf.
Making it as an artist is hard. Not only is making a living a challenge, it can put tremendous strain on your mental health as you try to manage your inner demons, and navigate your position and worth in society.
A mark of an artist is the unwillingness to sacrifice creative vision and integrity. But upholding those values extracts a price.
When I was young, in my selfishness I never thought I’d want to teach. But as I’ve fought my demons and clawed my way forward in the industry, my desire to help others keeps burning brighter.
I want to be someone who I wished was there for me when I started pursuing a creative career seriously.
But it isn’t pure selflessness; I know one of the most powerful ways to learn is to teach.
This is why I created the Be a Better Artist Podcast; to demystify the creative process, so that all artists may actualize their creative potential.
It's 2024, what now?
I’m composing the video game soundtrack for Breachway; a tactical deck-building space roguelike, published by Hooded Horse.
I’m also working on the Be a Better Artist Podcast.
My long-term goal still remains the same: to write as much of the best music I can, and help as many creatives as possible.
I crave genuine, authentic, and meaningful connection with likeminded people, so please get in contact with me if anything I do resonates with you, and you’d like to either chat about it, or work together.
I’ll be waiting!