Episode Summary: Creative Pep Talk #531

“Risks that Land Big Jobs, Be Your Own Client & Find Your Sound with Composer Oli Julian”

Host: Andy J. Pizza
Guest: Oli Julian (composer for Sex Education, The Twits, and more)
Date: November 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the intersection of creativity and discipline through the lens of acclaimed TV and film composer Oli Julian. Host Andy J Pizza and Oli discuss how to transition from client-driven work to personal projects, the importance of taste and sensibility, and the challenges of “becoming your own client” when crafting original work. Oli shares his unconventional creative journey—from aspiring rock star to advertising jingle writer to major composer—and offers practical advice on evolving your creative career by embracing risk, iterative growth, and authenticity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Formative Moments & Realizations (05:53–10:26)

• Eternal Sunshine’s Impact: The film and its score by Jon Brion profoundly influenced both Andy and Oli, making them realize film music didn’t have to be traditionally orchestral.
  • Oli: “I realized that film scores didn’t need to be, like, all John Williams and orchestras... I just had a thought, oh, hang on a minute. I might be able to do this.” (06:08)
• The importance of seeing your sensibility reflected in the creative world and how that can unlock new possibilities.

2. Early Dreams, Detours, and Rediscovery (10:26–17:32)

• Musical Roots: Oli grew up wanting to be a rock star, playing in every band possible as a drummer. He learned to overdub instruments at home, gravitating toward “production” early.
  • Oli: "That was what made me think, 'Oh yeah, I’d like to actually be a musician or a performing artist of some kind.'" (12:00)
• Detour via University: He studied German and Spanish before pivoting back to music.
• Entry to Industry: Started as a studio runner, then landed a writing job in advertising (jingles), gradually moving into TV and film scoring.

3. Interpreting Daydreams & Navigating Creative Careers (13:39–21:15)

• Career Guidance and Serendipity: An old school careers test predicted “music, media and marketing”—matched perfectly with his path.
• Incrementalism: Andy draws a parallel with “The Lincoln Protocol”—careers often evolve one step at a time, rather than from a grand vision.
  • Andy: "You just see a little bit further over the creative hill… That looks interesting over there, I’ll go there." (21:15)

4. Artist vs. Craftsman: Building A Versatile Practice (22:26–30:39)

• Oli sees himself as a craftsman who has learned to deliver consistently for clients, but also seeks “bigger” projects each time.
  • Oli: "I'm very much, you know, if you want me to build you a table, I'll make you a table…and I'll do it well, and you'll like the table." (22:26)
  • Contrasts his incremental journey with “artist-first” composers who bring an established identity.

5. Bridging Client Work and Authorship—Becoming Your Own Client (30:39–34:44)

• Transitioning to Authorship: Both discuss the difficulty of shifting from client-driven to self-driven work.
  • Andy: “Finding authorship in my own side projects... got me better jobs.”
• Creating Your Own Opportunities: Oli wants more work to reflect his own voice: "Having a bunch of stuff that is more emblematic of what you do." (33:40)
• Analogy to actors writing their own roles and creating new opportunities by showing their authentic voice.

6. Overcoming Creative Blocks & Finding Your Sound (35:04–38:16)

• Emotional Catalysts: Oli’s divorce triggered a surge in deeply personal, if “bleak,” music.
  • Oli: "I was listening to the albums I was listening to 20 years ago… it was just a purely psychological thing." (42:27)
• Discusses the urge to avoid relying on turmoil as a creative trigger and finding sustainable ways to generate new ideas.

7. Taste, Sensibility, and Personal Identity (40:24–45:00)

• Taste as a Compass: Andy and Oli talk about guilty pleasures, personal taste, and the difference between acquired and instinctual tastes.
  • Oli: “What music do you like? I really can't answer that question because I like a lot of music… I find it very reductive.” (44:19)
• Experience in advertising, and cross-genre work, enriched Oli’s palette but made personal identity more complex.

8. Creative Risk-Taking and Signature Moves (46:01–51:30)

• Risks with Big Clients: Oli shares the story of bringing a saw (as an instrument) to a Netflix pitch:
  • Oli: “I made some noises [with the saw] and sampled them… They’d already heard it in context, but I just showed them on Zoom.” (47:00)
• Musical Identity: Each project features a unique instrumental or sonic “identifier”—from yodels to ska to saws—feeding into his compositional fingerprints.
  • Oli: “I just need to be able to point to something and go, that's what this project is.” (48:06)

9. Album Process and Rhythmic DNA (51:30–53:09)

• For his solo album, Oli is exploring identity through his own voice, starting from rhythm (as a drummer/vocalist) rather than melody.
  • Oli: “My music is kind of rhythmic led, generally… that makes sense.” (52:59)

10. Creativity Myths & Longevity (53:09–55:07)

• Myth: Creativity Runs Out: Oli admits to fearing he'd “run out” of original music—a fear that hasn't come true.
  • Oli: “I suppose I always thought that it might run out… but I haven’t got there yet.” (53:34)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "[Jon Brion’s Eternal Sunshine soundtrack] was a pivotal moment for me, realizing that this career path was possible with my skills, as it were." —Oli Julian (07:10)
• "Your expectations grow and your ambitions grow… every step, stage of the way, I've just seen a little bit further over the creative hill." —Oli Julian (20:45)
• "There's a craftsman approach and an artist approach… I'm the craftsman." —Oli Julian (22:26)
• "Writing is literally 5% of my job… there's so much other stuff to being a composer because you're essentially running your own business." —Oli Julian (26:09)
• "I always thought that it might run out… That might still be the case, but I haven't got there yet." —Oli Julian (53:34)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:53] Formative influence of Eternal Sunshine soundtrack
• [13:39] Interpreting daydreams & childhood ambitions vs. reality
• [17:32] Breaking into composing via ad jingles
• [21:15] Incremental growth and analogies to Lincoln’s career
• [22:26] Craftsperson vs. artist approaches in creative careers
• [30:39] Struggling to bridge client work with personal authorship
• [33:40] Assembling a shopfront of personal work
• [35:55] Personal crisis unlocking creative output
• [42:27] Taste, nostalgia, and musical identity
• [46:01] Pitching with a saw for The Twits project
• [51:30] Self-discovery while making a solo album
• [53:34] The myth of running out of creative ideas

Takeaways for Listeners

• Embrace creative discipline as iterative and incremental; large leaps are often the result of many small steps.
• Risk and experimentation, even on “big jobs,” can lead to distinctive work and open new doors.
• Client projects and personal work are not opposites—skills and sensibilities can cross-pollinate.
• Creative blocks are real, but often situational—energy management and self-understanding are key.
• Your personal “sound” or style may evolve, but often traces back in surprising ways to your roots.
• Don’t fear that creativity will “run out”—the act of creating generates further possibilities.

Action Step (From Andy’s CTA “Make It Brief”)

Flip the script on your next personal project: Write yourself a creative brief as if you were your own client. Go through a discovery phase, create a mood board, and articulate a core message in action-oriented language to anchor your work. (55:40–end)

Overall Tone

The conversation is candid, humble, and practical, balancing anecdotes of big “breaks” with honest reflections on struggle, self-doubt, and the incremental path of the working creative. Both host and guest encourage listeners to value small steps, craft expertise, and authentic taste just as much as inspiration and artistic flare.