May 2024

Brigitte Dajczer is a highly versatile composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist who creates music for film, games, TV and streaming media.

Firmly rooted in years of experience touring, performing and scoring as the performing artist Briga; her work spans across many genres: from orchestral and hybrid scores, to electronic, to songwriting, and eastern European and Balkan folk music.

Brigitte has been involved in creating music for AAA Games, be it as a musician, composer, recording engineer, string arranger or orchestrater. Credits include: CAPCOM's REVII and RE8, The Shadow of the Tomb Raider, UBISOFT'S Rainbow 6 Extraction, League of Legends' Quiyana Championship Theme, Warner Brothers Montreal's Gotham Nights and Netflix's The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

She recently scored the feature film MOM, a psychological thriller starring Emily Hampshire (Schitts Creek, 12 Monkeys, The Rig), and is the lead composer for the MMORPG Into the Echo and its lore web browser game Journey Across Raava.

Over to you, Brigitte…

MASA: It would be great to hear a little about your musical background. And what initially drew you to composing? Were there any particular composers, films or games that inspired you?

BRIGITTE: I grew up in a musical family. As a kid, I completed my ARCT classical violin exams at the Royal Conservatory of Music. During those formative years I’d win music competitions and buy other instruments with the prize money. I spent most of my time practicing violin, reading books and/or teaching myself to play the instruments I had purchased (flute, piccolo, accordion, piano, recorders, guitar, bass, cello etc.)

A Theory/Harmony 3 teacher at the Conservatory of Music saw my creative inclinations and she gave me a VHS tape with an advert of Mount Royal University’s RCM programme. She asked me to compose music on the piano for it. I was so excited that I ran home and spent the week writing a piano piece that fit exactly in that 60 second commercial.

At the time, I was obsessed with Danny Elfman’s Batman score. I was also a big fan of classical composers such as Edvard Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Sarasate. I didn’t really listen to the radio much, choosing instead to listen to film soundtracks and/or play Super Mario, Space Quest I and Mah Jongg -V-G-A.

I was a real geek.

MASA: What was your journey like breaking into the industry? Were there any challenges you faced?

BRIGITTE: My biggest challenge was proving to people that I was not only a proficient violinist but could also compose in different genres of music; from orchestral to electronic, and everything in between.

Although I was already scoring music to linear media (film & streaming), I started off as a session musician in the game industry. Composers needed solo violin to enrich their orchestral scores that consisted mostly of virtual instruments. My first gig in the industry was playing solo violin on Michael A. McCann’s score for the 2006 game: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell – Double Agent. From there things really picked up for me as a session musician/string arranger/orchestrator, and I eventually got my first break as a lead composer in 2018 with the isometric puzzle game “Fracter”.

MASA: From powerful film scores to captivating game soundtracks, your music ignites all sorts of stories. Do you have a favourite platform to express your musical voice, or is the joy in the variety?

BRIGITTE: The joy is in the variety of projects that I’ve had the chance to be part of. If the story is interesting to me, then I love playing the game, or watching the movie, or reading the book, and checking out the theatre production etc. Before anything else, it’s the concept/idea that ignites my creativity. From there, the narrative finds its shape within the platform, and they become inseparable from one another. Form and content are born together, and plunging into storytelling with the creative team allows for infinite musical possibilities. It’s in this creative freefall, let’s say - this state of oblivion - that my music comes to life at the same time as the image that drives the narrative.

MASA: You scored Adam O’Brien’s movie ‘Mom’ recently. It would be wonderful to hear a little about that experience?

BRIGITTE: The process had an unusual beginning. Usually, you’ll meet up with the director just before the shooting of the film, discuss the musical direction, and take it from there. In this case, ‘Mom’ started production just before the pandemic, and took much longer to be completed due to the imposed lockdowns. By 2023 the feature film was finally in post-production. Adam, along with one of the producers, decided to drop the previous electronic music approach and opted instead for an orchestral score.

The producer reached out to me, asking if I’d be interested in scoring orchestral music to the film. I watched the edit they were working on at the time, as I was intrigued. It’s a horror film, but not your usual horror film that has senseless killing, gore and jump scares accompanied by a thin storyline. At first glance Mom gives horror fans what they want: the killing, the gore and the jump scares. However, it’s more than just another summer scary movie. It’s the poignant struggle of a new mother with post-partum as she faces the monster that lies within.

As I wrote music to the film, I’d go back and rewatch the whole thing to make sure it was working out ok. With every spotting session we had, a different perspective into the lead character (Meredith) would emerge. I didn’t get bored or indifferent at viewing #5 or viewing #12. Instead, two things happened: the horror got better, and Meredith’s situation became more complex. Is she really the bad guy?

MASA: Can you discuss the unique challenges and opportunities you faced when composing the music for the game 'Journey Across Raava' last year? What aspects of the game did you draw inspiration from?

BRIGITTE: Working with Etlok Studios on Journey Across Raava & their upcoming MMORPG Into The Echo has been a lot of fun. Communication and transparency are shared values between us, making the collaborative process quite effective. I think the main challenge has mostly been for the devs in securing financial resources as an indie game and unknown IP.

Some unique challenges I’ve encountered on Journey Across Raava are mostly as audio director. This involved casting and directing actors for voice overs, as well as working with the developers to build a web-browser based audio implementation system. Overseeing audio branding and user interface sound design were intrinsic to the project. I also led the musical direction of the trailers and the game’s musical themes.

MASA: When you start working on a new game score, what's the first thing you do to get a feel for the game's world? Is it diving into concept art, chatting with the developers, or something else entirely?

BRIGITTE: It’s a combination of all the above. Sometimes you have access to the game’s build, and if that’s the case I like to take the time to play it to get a feeling of what’s going on. Other times the game doesn’t exist yet, and I’m working off concept art and conversations with the developers. We’ll often touch on other games as a starting point, a reference if you will. And of course, the game lore is intrinsic to all of this!

MASA: As a multi-instrumentalist with extensive experience of performing, orchestrating and arranging, this must be a large part of what makes you stand out amongst the competition composition-wise?

BRIGITTE: These days, so many people are creating great music without a formal musical education. We have so many tools at our disposal, and access to so much knowledge via the internet.

I think my background helps me deliver well-crafted music on time and within budget. However, there’s more to it than creating great music. You need to be a good communicator and a good collaborator. Are you willing to listen to your clients and give them what they envision? Do you have taste that is in line with today’s trends? Can you positively influence others and find common ground within their vision?

Along with diversity of talent, hard work, resilience, don’t forget to throw luck into the mix. Being at the right place at the right time is intrinsic to embracing the opportunity.

MASA: Your deep knowledge of Eastern European and Balkan folk music is captivating! We'd love to hear about your path into the World Music scene.

BRIGITTE: My father emigrated to Canada from Poland, and he used to play the piano after he put the kids to sleep. I remember listening to a music you didn’t hear on the radio. There was Klezmer music, songs from Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Jewish songs. It wasn’t until my adult life that I put two and two together. By reliving his musical nostalgia on the piano, my father had inadvertently passed it on to us.

After finishing my master’s degree in fine arts, I longed to learn my father’s folk songs from the “Old Country”. By then, my father had passed away, so I started learning, performing, and composing music under the artist name “Briga” and jammed extensively with local Montreal musicians from the Polish, ex-Yugoslavian, Romanian and Bulgarian diaspora. Throughout the years, I continued my studies of musical folk traditions by exchanging with local musicians during my tours through Germany, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Tunisia, and Turkey. Having the chance to exchange musical knowledge with so many different musicians from around the globe has broadened my musical vocabulary and deepened my appreciation of many different cultures. I am grateful for this beautiful gift.

MASA: And lastly, what will you be looking for when judging? What makes a piece of work worthy of a Music+Sound Award?

BRIGITTE: As a baseline, I’ll be looking/listening for a work that starts off with good production value, a sonic branding that drives the image and its interactivity, something that draws the player into the game’s world and doesn’t fatigue the ears after 30 minutes of gameplay.

From there, the top selected works will hit the player differently. They will have a unique voice that elevates the gameplay to something more experiential; going beyond the obvious elements we expect into a feeling that cannot be expressed with words.

MASA: Thank you, Brigitte, for sharing your insights and inspiring musical journey. Your great passion is so motivating. We look forward to following your future work!