This interview is part of an ongoing series profiling the members driving The Ivors Academy’s Councils – a unique part of our structure that puts creators at the heart of the organisation. These conversations offer insight into the voices shaping our work and championing your interests across the music industry.
Mat Andasun is Deputy Chair of The Ivors Academy’s Media Council. A self taught drummer, percussionist, singer and guitarist, Mat's music has featured on Netflix, BBC, ITV and Channel 4, as well as in campaigns for major brands including Apple and Samsung. Now, alongside his work as a composer, Mat plays a key role in shaping the future of the profession through his work at The Ivors Academy.
In this interview, he shares how collaboration has shaped his journey, why consistency beats perfection, and what keeps him inspired.
What would you say to someone considering joining The Ivors Academy?
The more you put into it the more you get out of it. If all you do is hand over your subs and take advantage of the member benefits, then you're not making the most of your membership. Learn about the organisation, go to the events, network, volunteer. Remember: it's a member organisation and it relies on active engagement from its members to be a good advocate within the industry. Without that, it lacks legitimacy.
How did you land your first big opportunity in the music industry?
I spent the first 20 years of my working life in music education and undertaking projects funded by the Arts Council and Youth Music, so I came to the commercial side of the industry late in life at age 40. It was reuniting with an old school friend who was doing very well out of production music that sparked the change as I realised there were other ways of making a living from music. He kindly made an introduction to a producer at what is now Universal Production Music and that was my start in media music writing. Since then, it's been a gradual climb with the odd leg up, but that first break was the most significant.
What’s the best career advice you’ve received?
I've never been much good at taking advice, which isn't something to be proud of. I've also never really had a mentor, as I suppose my chance at getting one would have happened in my twenties had I been working in the industry at that point. However, the one advantage of starting out as an older person is that you have more patience to learn from others. From that I would say the most valuable thing I've learned is simply turn up every day and write the best music I can. Persistence and stamina are underrated.
What’s a recent project you’re particularly proud of?
An album that's just being finished for Warner Chappell Production Music where I finally learned how to use space in my writing.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Its propensity to attract selfish, greedy chancers. The UK music industry is a small one and although it's highly competitive it also has, through PRS and MCPS, a hard-wired collegiate way of working. When disruptors seek to unsettle that for their own gain, everyone loses.
What’s a recent piece of music that inspired you?
The score to the second season of White Lotus was amazing. I spent many years playing and studying Brazilian and Cuban percussion, so to have some of that find its way into a hit show was a breath of fresh air.
How do you stay creative when facing writer’s block?
To be honest, I find writer’s block to be a luxury a jobbing composer can ill afford. I just turn up every day and write even if it's awful. Like exercise, you can have a terrible training session, or one that floats by, but the important thing is that you had one. But the key to being able to sustain that is not to work silly long hours and also to make sure that every day you do enough of the other stuff that makes you feel alive - for me that's gardening, exercise and practising guitar and singing (it would be drums too but I don't have enough room for a kit in my studio).
