Meet Maarten Schellekens

Music was extremely important to me as a kid. I composed my first musical piece on the piano when I was 12 years old, and until my late thirties spent most of my free time listening to and creating music.

I got back into making music in 2018, after having had very demanding jobs that did not allow me to make sufficient time for my musical endeavors. At that time, I mostly created traditional songs with guitars, piano, and keyboards.

With the advent of music technology, a whole new world opened up to me. Orchestral libraries that I could play on a computer had emerged, and it became increasingly difficult to distinguish their sounds from real orchestras.

I always liked to listen to cinematic music that evoked strong emotion and often had orchestral tunes in my head. Having these musical ideas performed was always beyond reach. Suddenly, this became a real possibility. - Maarten Schellekens

Orchestral Works - Released 2021
In 2018, I decided to take a deep plunge and acquire the Vienna Symphonic Library for composing orchestral pieces. The scores I wrote in notation software could directly be performed, and I could easily experiment with different instrumentation.

One of these musical pieces, which later became a big hit on the Free Music Archive was Hopeful on the album Orchestral Works. This album reflects this stage of my musical journey very well. - Maarten Schellekens

Ambient Electronic Works - Released 2021
Having re-established my routine in making music, I decided to expand my horizon. After taking the Hans Zimmer Masterclass, I decided to also dive into synths and I acquired most of the U-He synthesizers that Hans Zimmer uses for his music.

It takes a long learning-curve, but the possibilities are almost unlimited. I created two albums under my Amarent artist name with music using synths only.

Tuesday Night is a good example of this, made completely on the Zebra synth that Hans Zimmer has used for so many of his film scores. - Maarten Schellekens

Neo-classical Works - Released 2021
Next, I started blending orchestral work and synths. Reading by Lamplight, which was received well on Spotify, is a good example of blending traditional orchestral with modern sounds in a natural way.

Also, Into the Unknown, which is one of my favorite evocative pieces, shows how synths can complement an orchestral piece. During this time I also rediscovered the piano, as in the short solo piece: For Nadine, which also does well on Spotify. - Maarten Schellekens

Cinematic Music - Released 2022
Since then, I have further broadened the use of instrumentation and genres to elicit different emotions.

Deliverance, for example, uses strings and piano in an unorthodox way to build momentum. - Maarten Schellekens

Chillout Lounge - Released 2022
In the more ambient, Sweet Dreams (Middle-East Remix), middle-eastern instruments like the tanbur, the oud and the qanun feature prominently, building on a basis of modern synths.

My path forward is to focus on cinematic, evocative music that touches the heart of my listeners, that is suitable for film and video and enhances the emotions that the film wants to elicit.

Maarten Schellekens