In today’s music industry, which is often criticized for its predictability, a growing number of singer-songwriters are seeking to break free from the confines of formulaic pop music.
Now, musicians are beginning to embrace the power of cinematic music.
According to British composer, music producer, and director Oscar Osicki, this trend is driven by a desire to create more immersive and emotionally resonant experiences for listeners.
Osicki, a specialist in orchestral and cinematic music production for artists and filmmakers, has dedicated his career to bridging the gap between classical excellence and modern innovation. His background is steeped in musical tradition, highlighted by achievements like conducting his school orchestra in Beethoven’s 5th Symphony at the age of 18 – a first for any student at the institution. He further honed his creative skills composing for theatre plays, some of which achieved sell-out status and five-star reviews at the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Osicki’s exceptional musical journey led him to the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, where he excelled as a soloist and recorded five albums with the prestigious Hyperion label under esteemed conductor Stephen Layton. The choir was ranked among the best in the world by Gramophone Magazine. While at Cambridge, Osicki earned his double first-class degree and founded both the Trinity Chamber Orchestra and the Adonis Ensemble, showcasing large-scale orchestral works in prestigious venues across London and Cambridge, and collaborating with celebrity artists such as Stephanie Childress. Following Cambridge, he accepted a position at Yale University, where he served as Music Director of the University Chapel Choir, co-directed the Yale Camerata, and spearheaded a variety of productions within the New Haven community. While at Yale, he completed a Master’s degree in choral conducting with a full scholarship.
With such a rich background in classical music and composition, it’s no wonder he has a thing or two to say on the predictability of modern pop music.
“It’s no secret that a lot of mainstream pop music has become formulaic – the same chord structures, predictable beats, and a static vibe that barely evolves throughout the song,” Osicki observes. “Instead of taking the listener on a journey, many tracks feel sonically identical from start to finish.”
He argues, however, that the issue isn’t necessarily a reflection of the artist’s intent. “The pop charts are basically just a sales chart, and record labels are in the business of making money,” he said. “So instead of taking risks, they push ‘safe bets’ – songs that follow a proven formula because they know they’ll sell.” He draws a parallel to Hollywood blockbuster films, where a successful formula leads to a proliferation of similar releases designed for mass appeal, rather than innovation.
So how does cinematic sound fix that? Osicki believes the answer lies in the power of storytelling through music. “To me, cinematic sound is all about storytelling through music; it’s the kind of production that makes songs feel bigger, more immersive, and emotionally powerful, like something you’d hear in a film,” he explains. “Instead of looping the same chords and beats, cinematic music evolves, building tension, emotion, dynamics, and contrast throughout the song, just like a great movie soundtrack.”
This approach involves incorporating orchestration, atmospheric textures, and dynamic shifts to create a sonic journey for the listener. “A cinematic song might start small and intimate, then explode into something massive – or it might move between hope, tension, and resolution, just like a great film score,” Osicki illustrates. “When you add these elements to pop, the goal is for the music to become more of an immersive experience, which is more like sitting in an IMAX cinema versus watching another same-ish movie on your iPhone.”
Getting to the heart of a song’s story is the first key step for Osicki. He needs to know the story behind a song, “the emotions, the subtext, the journey it’s trying to take the listener on,” he says. He then treats it like scoring a film. He creates what he calls a “musical moodboard” of cinematic ideas, like a map detailing where the song could go. The artist then listens to his ideas, offers feedback and picks out their favorite ideas. “From there, we start shaping the first version of the song, crafting it until it feels right,” he said. “This process lets us find the sound together—to create something that feels cinematic, immersive, and deeply personal to the artist, telling the story that they want to tell.”
Osicki’s experience extends to composing works for institutions, including the D.C. National Cathedral, Marquand Chapel in New Haven, and BBC Radio 4, demonstrating his composing capabilities across film, radio, concert, and theatre performances. As a producer, he specializes in bringing orchestral production to commercial song writing, which shakes up the pop song format.
The challenge, however, lies in the accessibility of cinematic production. Traditionally, recording with a full orchestra has been an expensive endeavor, placing it out of reach for many emerging artists. “But in the last 10 or 15 years, technology has changed everything,” Osicki explains. “Now, using hybrid orchestral film-scoring techniques, powerful computers, and some skill, it’s possible to create an immersive, symphonic sound from a home studio.”
While mastering these techniques requires dedication, the democratization of technology has made cinematic production more attainable for independent artists. By blending live instruments with high-end digital orchestration, Osicki is able to offer upcoming musicians the depth and immersiveness of a full cinematic production without the prohibitive costs.
“I’ve found that there’s a surprisingly huge demand for this kind of sound, because artists feel it helps them to stand out, and by working with orchestras in a hybrid way—sometimes recording key live elements and layering them with digital production—I’m able to offer upcoming artists the depth and immersiveness of a full cinematic production without the traditional costs,” said Osicki. “It’s been a long-term mission for me to democratize orchestral music, and bring orchestral-style music to a more popular audience, and so this is about making orchestral storytelling available to more people; both audiences and artists.”
This mission resonates clearly within the industry; Osicki’s first orchestral production call for artists received 135 applications for only five available slots, demonstrating the strong, growing interest in this approach. He has worked with artists across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, including Chloe Edgecombe (an Argentina’s Got Talent finalist) and Caitlin Quisenberry (a finalist on The Voice, season 24). His orchestral productions have garnered attention from BBC Introducing, Monocle Radio, and numerous international television broadcasts.
As audiences increasingly seek deeper, more authentic and emotionally engaging experiences, the fusion of pop sensibilities with the grandeur of cinematic music offers a promising path forward. In fact, Osicki’s work is just one example of breaking down barriers and democratizing access to cinematic sound, paving the way for a more diverse and artistically dynamic musical landscape.
