‘I like it when you can tell something’s been made by hand’

Music has been recorded in these rooms in Zurich for around 30 years. Two years ago, Mirjam Skal took over the recording studio in Zurich’s 5th district together with her studio partner Jakob Eisenbach and refurbished it. They did a great deal of the work themselves.

“I think I plastered twelve walls and ceilings myself”, Mirjam Skal tells me. Clay, lime, mineral paints – there’s hardly anything perfectly smooth here. That’s exactly what she likes.

“I like it when things are handcrafted or homemade. When, instead of a polished finish and perfection, there are rough edges, corners and textures, and you can see or feel that it’s organic.”

As she talks about this, a parallel with her music becomes apparent. Skal laughs: “That’s very funny, because I don’t think anyone has ever drawn that parallel before. But it’s definitely there.”

When composing, too, she seeks out her own, handmade sound. She works with her voice and collects unusual instruments: a theremin, a hurdy-gurdy, harps, flutes, a small bagpipe and a kantele that belonged to her mother.

Music was part of her life from an early age. Skal’s mother was an organist, and there was a piano and an organ at home. Skal improvised, composed melodies and heard music in her ‘inner ear’, as she puts it. For a long time, however, no one was supposed to hear her music.

It wasn’t until she was at secondary school that she began to share her music with others. During an open day at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), she eventually attended a presentation on the degree programme in Composition for Film, Theatre and Media.

“For me, it really was like a gong going off. I knew: this is it.”

The fact that image and music are so closely intertwined for her also has to do with her synaesthesia. In her perception, sounds and visual impressions are strongly linked. The image therefore has a direct influence on her music: grain, blurriness or movement can become the starting point for a composition.

Her path to university was fraught with doubts. Skal had learnt music by ear for a long time and only began to read music properly quite late on. Surrounded by students with years of classical training behind them, she sometimes felt she was lagging behind.

“At some point, I realised: OK, I’ll never manage to be brilliant in every subject. But I’ll take away whatever benefits me, whatever inspires me, whatever challenges me and lets me learn something new.”

When asked what advice she would give her younger self, she replies: “Everything will be fine. You can trust your intuition. And don’t compare yourself to others.”

Mirjam Skal believes that the time may soon come when almost any kind of film music can be generated artificially. She is banking on something else: the desire for human collaboration.

‘I think filmmakers make films because they feel the need to tell a story using the craftsmanship of other people. And as long as that doesn’t disappear, handcrafted film music won’t disappear either.’

At the same time, according to Skal, artificial intelligence could change what we perceive as valuable.

“I think that perfect, polished, overproduced music will fade into the background. That the imperfect, the handmade, will then be valued more highly. But perhaps I’m just hoping that.”

The past few years have been a busy time for Mirjam Skal. Several works she has composed during this period will premiere in 2026. “Enjoy Your Stay” by Dominik Locher was screened at the Berlinale, and in Cannes she took part in the “Spot the Composer” programme. She sat on the jury for the German Documentary Film Music Award, having won the prize herself the previous year.

But when asked what she is particularly proud of, she mentions something else first.

“That, although I’ve gone through many intense and stressful periods, I now have a very good and healthy work-life balance. That I’ve always been able to protect my joy and passion for this work.”

During her mentoring programme, Skal spent several extended periods in Los Angeles. There, she saw how people working in the film and games industries were pushed to their limits.

“For me, it’s more important to be happy with my work and my life than to have a meteoric rise in Hollywood and then completely burn out.”

She decided against moving to Los Angeles. In Zurich, she tries to take her evenings and weekends seriously. When asked what the most important thing in life is, Skal doesn’t need a complicated answer:

“Fun. Having fun with everything you do. Doing things with joy.”

Mirjam Skal, born in 1996, is a film music composer who lives and works in Zurich. She studied composition for film, theatre and media at the Zurich University of the Arts. She composes for film and television and works with both electronic and acoustic sounds and instruments. In 2021, she took part in Berlinale Talents.

Upcoming dates
Swiss cinema release of 111 – ECHOES OF HALIFAX, on 1 October
Swiss premiere of ENJOY YOUR STAY on 3 October at the Zurich Film Festival