Lance Gurisik

As part of our Show and Tell series, we asked electronic music producer, Lance Gurisik, to share an assortment of interests outside the studio.

Lance Gurisik studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he completed his Honours in composition. After graduating, Lance embarked on a career as an in-house composer at Song Zu, where he created a diverse range of music for television shows and campaigns.

But what brings Gurisik to the hallowed pages of Attack is his other work as a touring electronic artist, including a 2015 Boiler Room appearance. His latest release, Quanta, is a “2-step drum loop recorded from my modular and I just started messing around on my Juno 106 with this two chord modal vamp. I just recorded the audio, no midi in one take and it was done.”

We asked Gurisik to show us what else makes him tick when not making music.

Chess

I play a lot of chess, mainly online. I first got into it when I was in primary school and then got back into it during Covid lockdowns.

My favourite chess streamer is ‘agadmator’. His video breakdowns on youtube of pro games are super helpful, especially for learning all the different openings and becoming more familiar with tactics. Add me on chess.com, let’s play! : lanceg123

‘Succession’ TV Series 

Succession is the best TV drama in the last 10 years. The characters are so toxic and the tension feels so palpable at times.

Season 3, Kendall’s 40th birthday was one of the cringiest / most painful moments in TV I’ve ever witnessed! Just thinking about it makes me sick. 

Italian Food

I’m half-Italian and was fortunate enough to be spoiled by my nonni’s delicious food for my entire childhood, and up until very recently. They moved to Sydney after the War, brought their culture and recipes and didn’t change a thing. 

Here’s an interesting video on how to make homemade olives.

Igor Stravinsky – ‘Themes and Variations’ Book 

If you are a Stravinsky fan I recommend this book. It’s a funny autobiography and shows a real insight into what Stravinsky was like. It has some letters written by him to reviewers and he really doesn’t hold back – it’s pretty funny.

I feel like this book really humanises one of the greatest composers.

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

I’ve been sinking some solid hours into this game. It must have been intimidating for Nintendo to follow up on Breath Of The Wild but they have definitely delivered! You can really get lost in this game…Also, the music is so damn good!

MESS (Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio)

MESS is an incredible organisation based in Melbourne. They are a not-for-profit, that houses some of the rarest synthesisers in the world. They hold workshops for people who want to learn about synthesis and let you record these amazing instruments as well.

I was fortunate enough to record the Yamaha CS-80 (the synth made famous by Vangelis in Bladerunner) for a bunch of new music the last time I was in Melbourne. All the folks that work there are lovely too! 

‘Arrested Development’ TV Series

I love this show so much. It is so ridiculous. I think Gob is my favourite.

I have too many favourite moments so here’s the best of Gob Season 1. 

Plants

My partner and I have a lot of plants in our apartment. At one stage we had over 40 plants and I have since been banned from buying any more. Since we got our little cat Gio, a lot of our plants have been chewed to death…There’s a Plant Collector’s Fair that I go to with my mum (who also has too many plants) and they have an amazing collection of rare plants. 

‘JackRabbit’ Short Film

This is a great little short film directed by Alex Feggans, made a few years back, that I had the pleasure of scoring! I work as a screen composer as my full-time job and I am fascinated by the role of music in film, as it serves such a different purpose to a piece of standalone music. It can be a powerful tool to manipulate an audience into feeling something that isn’t there, and can play psychological games with the viewer of to feel about what they are seeing. I think a great example of this is Daniel Lopatin’s score in Uncut Gems. 

‘Cosmos – A Spacetime Odyssey’ Documentary 

Finish on an existential one… The Cosmos is a great documentary series about the universe. There’s something equally terrifying and awe-inspiring about the enormity of the cosmos. It is a nice reminder of how insignificant we all are, yet how fortunate we all are to experience this thing called life. Also one of my favourite opening TV theme tunes! Alan Silvestri at his best. 

Lance Gurisik’s ‘Quanta’ is out now. Find him on Instagram.

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