Composer Talk

Our next guest is the co-founder of NYC-Based Found Objects and the composer behind such films as I’m Thinking Of Ending Things and Swan Song. 

He’s the composer of Apple TV’s Franklin starring Michael Douglas and I’m so excited to chat with him today. 

And the composer is… Jay Wadley

Our next guest is one of the first composers I ever met when I first moved to LA. He is best known for his work scoring Sneaky Pete, Meet Cute, and recently Netflix Hit Homicide: New York. He’s also written music for video games including Far Cry 6 and Skull and Bones and I’m so excited to welcome him to the podcast.

And The Composer Is... Stephen Lukach

Our next guest is on the rise having written music for films premiering at Sundance, SXSW, and the Los Angeles Film Festival among many more. They scored A24's Problemista by Julio Torres, and the Gotham Award and Independent Spirit nominated film Bruiser on Hulu. Under their solo moniker OHYUNG, they produce genre-shifting music that moves between ambient, experimental pop, and distorted noise. I’m so excited to welcome them onto the podcast.

And the composer is… Robert Ouyang Rusli

Our next guest is behind the music of projects including Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy, Blue Planet II, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, HBO’s The Last Of US, and Netflix’s Damsel.

He was mentored by legendary composer Mike Post and has frequently collaborated with composers Atli Örvarsson and Hans Zjmmer having contributed music for Dune, Top Gun: Maverick, and Dune 2 among many other films. I’m so excited to welcome him on the podcast. 

And the composer is… Dave Fleming

Our next guest is one of the first people I met when I started my journey as a composer. She’s an amazing composer, and vocalist and earned her B.M. in music composition from Biola University’s Conservatory of Music, going on to work with notable composers James Horner, Thomas Newman, and Jacob Shea.

She is the composer of Dreamworks Animation’s The Croods: Family Tree, Harlan Coben's Shelter on Amazon Prime, and the documentary After Death. 

And the composer is... Hannah Parrott

Our next guest is an amazing composer, one of the most in-demand music editors working in Hollywood, and an author. He has earned 17 Golden Reel Award nominations and has scored films including Shawn Mendes: In Wonder, The Last of the Winthrops, and Camp Arrowhead among others. His work as a music editor can be heard on projects ranging from Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie and The Kissing Booth, to The Flash and Avengers Age Of Ultron. I’m so excited to welcome him onto the podcast! 

And the composer is… Shie Rozow

Our next guest has scored everything from comic book adaptations to award-winning documentaries. He is a Filipino-American composer who has scored some of the most exciting projects of the last few years. His dark synth and guitar-driven work was heard on the Russo Brothers' adaptation of the acclaimed comic 'Deadly Class'. And his emotional and poignant music was featured in the powerful Peabody Award-winning docu-series 'Surviving R. Kelly'. For the latter, he also took home an ASCAP 2020 Screen Award.
Born to Filipinx immigrants, his family taught him music at a young age. His curiosity would lead him to play in bands and to study film scoring at USC's prestigious Scoring For Motion Pictures and Television program. He would go on to be mentored by and collaborate with Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Goransson (Black Panther) and Theodore Shapiro (Bombshell). With the former, he co-composed the A24 film starring Chance The Rapper, 'SLICE'.

He recently scored the Adele Lim directed Joy Ride and I'm so excited to talk with him on the podcast.

And the composer is... Nathan Matthew David

I'm so incredibly excited to welcome back our episode 9 guest to the podcast. He is Steven Caple Jr's go-to composer and recently scored the latest Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts. Since we last spoke, he has also scored HULU's horror/thriller Jagged Mind and co-scored Netflix's Wedding Season and Disney's World's Best with Raashi Kulkarni. I am so excited to welcome him back on to Composer Talk!

And the composer is... Jongnic Bontemps

Our next guests are 2 of my favorite composers in LA! They teamed up to craft a synth-infused score for the vampire horror-thriller Night Teeth for Netflix, the action-packed movie is the biggest project the co-composers have tackled yet, with wall-to-wall music and a gritty soundtrack that is essentially a roadmap of Los Angeles.

Directed by Adam Randall, the film stars Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as a working college student tasked with chauffeuring two mysterious young women (Debby Ryan and Lucy Fry) around Los Angeles for a night on the town. But all is not as it seems, and he’s soon dropped into a sprawling underground of vampiric tribes on the verge of a covert war. The film also stars Raúl Castillo, Alfie Allen, Alexander Ludwig, Sydney Sweeney, and Megan Fox.

The composers also have noted that the music is geographically influenced, with each city within Los Angeles having its own signature sound and introducing a new character. Locations featured in the film include Boyle Heights, Hollywood, Downtown LA, and Venice among several others.

The composer are... Drum & Lace and Ian Hultquist

Our next guest is best know for his work on Netflix’s Original Series, LOCKE & KEY. He also composed the score for Lionsgate and Hulu’s feature film, RUN — his third collaboration with director Aneesh Chaganty — starring Sarah Paulson. His previous work includes Michael Nader’s THE TOLL; Chaganty’s moving Mother’s Day spot for Google, SEEDS; and Chaganty’s SEARCHING, starring John Cho and Debra Messing, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up by Sony Pictures for worldwide distribution.

Studying film scoring at the University of Southern California, this incredible composer hails from Sacramento and currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Sarah, and their dog, Bodie. 

The composer is... Torin Borrowdale

Our next guest is a Korean-American film composer and multi-instrumentalist. The first American composer to have been selected as a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Breakthrough talent, his scores include critically acclaimed feature films COWBOYS (dir. Anna Kerrigan) and HOLLER (dir. Nicole Riegel). Also an artist-in-residence and National Advisory Council co-chair at the Ucross Foundation, his work spans across film music, theatre, XR, instrumental compositions, and songwriting. 

As a classically trained violinist and self-taught guitarist, he was a former live member of the electronic/folk band, The Books, and toured internationally with bands such as Gotye and Explosions in the Sky. For over 15 years, he has recorded with artists ranging from indie songwriters to Talib Kweli, and has composed music for dozens of major global advertising campaigns for Mercedes Benz, Squarespace, Google, Netflix, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, among others. 

And the composer is... Gene Back

I'm so excited to welcome this incredible composer duo from Bleeding Fingers who recently won an Emmy award for "Outstanding Music Composition" in this year's 42nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards for their work on the BBC documentary series 'Primates'. We talk composing, work/life balance, and more in this episode, and hope you enjoy it! 

And the composers are... Denise Santos + Adam Lukas

Special thanks to Judith Moy for editing this episode! 

Launched in Los Angeles, California in 2021, skybox Audio is an innovative sample library company that creates virtual instruments using cutting edge approaches in technology. They have recently released Hammers + Waves, a 10 instrument modern keyboard collection like no other. Captured with beyond-human precision by robotic automation, this collection blew me away and I'm so excited to talk with the composers and co-founders of the company! 

And the Composers are... Azrul Saleh + Danny Dunlap

Our next guest is an award-winning Venezuelan composer based in Los Angeles, CA who specializes in film, TV, Interactive, and New Media music.

His sensibility as a composer is evidenced in his lush orchestral scores, always infused with hints of his diverse upbringing and culture. His eclectic style is the consequence of his development as a musician, going from pop and rock bands, to a classical music education, to jazz and electronic influences from his studies in the US.

​He recently scored the film “The Secret History of Venom” for Marvel Animation, and has written for many feature films including the Venezuelan box office hit “Papita Segunda Base” and the Daytime Emmy Award winning Documentary “Out of Iraq”. His music can be heard on the feature documentary “History of the Emirates”, and on hit TV shows like Netflix’s “Outer Banks” and “What/If”, AMC’s “Dietland”, Bravo’s “Girlfriend’s Guide To Divorce”, Freeform’s “Good Trouble” and HBO’s “Adventure Time: Obsidian”. Other recent projects include the feature films “Christmas Comes Home”, “Farm to Fork to Love” and “Stranger In The Attic”, as well as the Venezuelan film “Plástico”.

The composer is... Sandro Morales-Santoro

Our next guest is a media composer, pianist, music educator, and music theorist. Studying under composer Dr. Scott Meister and pianist Dr. Bair Shagdaron, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Music Theory/Composition from Appalachian State University in 2012. Immediately following, she enrolled at Columbia College Chicago’s Master of Fine Arts program “Scoring for the Screen”. She was a Follett Scholar (Columbia’s highest honor) and studied under composers Gary Chang, David McHugh, and Andrew Edwards. To conclude her time at Columbia, she recorded four works Capitol Records and earned her degree in May 2014. 

Following her time at Columbia, she began an internship with film composer Mark Isham then interned at Kraft-Engel Management. She met composer Jake Monaco while there and assisted  him for a number of years before "graduating" onto writing additional music for projects including Dumplin' and Human Discoveries. She has recently co-composed the score for A Cinderella Story: Starstruck with Jake and I'm so excited to talk with her about it!

The composer is... Brittany Dunton

Our next guest is a composer born and raised in Los Angeles. His latest projects include Eytan Rockaway’s Lansky, starring Harvey Keitel, and Jonathan Hensleigh’s The Ice Road, starring Liam Neeson. He joined the Assassin’s Creed universe for Wrath of the Druids (2021). He co-produced Gryffin’s Deluxe orchestral album (2020) and composed additional music on Mission: Impossible - Fallout for Lorne Balfe, and on The Crown, for Hans Zimmer and Rupert Gregson-Williams. He also wrote additional music on HBO’s His Dark Materials.

The composer is... Max Aruj

Our next guest is an Oscar-nominated composer and experimental musician known as Hauschka who is behind the score of Showtime’s acclaimed crime drama Your Honor (starring Bryan Cranston) and most recently, the Joe Penna directed sci-fi thriller Stowaway. The film follows a three-person crew on a mission to Mars that faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board. *Starring: Daniel Dae Kim, Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette, and Shamier Anderson.

Stowaway differs from most sci-fi films, which are generally action-packed, high-energy, and loud. Stowaway takes place entirely on the spaceship, and the four crew members are the only people featured. The focus of the film is the crew’s communication with one another—detailing their raw and humanistic conversations, as they decipher their options for survival.

Our next guest is a Music supervisor who has lent her expertise to the creation of some of television and films’ most unique sounds. She is the music supervisor on FX's Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe-winning series Fargo; Hulu’s Golden Globe and Emmy-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale; FX’s Snowfall; Hulu's Shrill; HBO Max’s dramedy series Generation; and Amazon Prime's Bosch. Other credits include FX’s Legion; Hulu’s The Great and Normal People; Apple TV’s Ron Moore series For All Mankind; USA Network’s Mr. Robot; and many more. 

Her upcoming projects include Patrick Brice's horror/thriller There's Something Inside Your House; Shawn Levy’s Netflix sci-fi film The Adam Project; Peacock's mini-series Angelyne; Sam Esmail’s ABC crime series Acts of Crime; and Apple TV+’s drama series The Shinning Girls and animated series Harriett The Spy.

The music supervisor is... Maggie Phillips

On this episode, we welcome back Amanda Jones to the podcast! Since we last spoke, she has written music for From Cradle to Stage, Good Trouble Season 3, and Adventure Time: Distant Lands among other projects! Welcome back to the show! 

Our next guest is a composer from the Netherlands who has worked internationally as one of Europe's youngest established professional composers on some of the most popular TV shows and biggest films in Europe. Now located in L.A., he is known for his score for Disney's Minnie's Bow-Toons show.

The composer is... Vidjay Beerepoot

Our next guest is an Emmy-nominated score mixer and recording engineer/producer whose recent score mixing credits include Netflix & GDH’s  Thai horror film Ghost Lab, directed by Paween Purijitpanya, which premiered on May 26th; Focus Features’ drama feature Blue Bayou, starring Justin Chon and Alicia Vikander, slated to premiere on June 25th; Netflix’s Cobra Kai, starring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka; and HBO Max’s documentary feature Tina, starring Tina Turner, Angela Bassett and Oprah Winfrey. 

He has become a recognized face in the music scoring industry for specializing in recording and mixing music for films, television shows and video games. His work on Netflix’s Golden Globe and Emmy Award-nominated series Ozark, starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series in 2020. 

Some of his past score mixing credits include Universal Pictures’ Oscar and Golden Globes-nominated revenge thriller Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan and Bo Burnham, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020; Voltage Pictures’ horror film The Seventh Day, starring Guy Pearce and Keith David; 30 West’s Wild Indian, starring Michael Greyeyes, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival; Netflix’s The White Tiger, starring Adarsh Gourav and Priyanka Chopra; Showtime Networks’ Golden Globe-nominated series The Borgias, starring Jeremy Irons; History Channel’s Vikings, starring Katheryn Winnick and Gustaf Skarsgård; Treyarch/Activision’s video game Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War; and many more.

The mixer is... Phil McGowan

Our next guest is a Composer for film and television. He is known for his scores for Star Vs. The Forces of Evil,  BH90210, and Hello My Name Is Doris. We recently chatted about his time working with Napoleon Dynamite and How I Met Your Mother Composer, John Swihart, as well as how he has gotten to where he's at in his career! 

The composer is... Brian H. Kim

Our next guest is a Grammy-nominated Composer/Arranger/Orchestrator who has worked in nearly every medium in Los Angeles for over 10 years. He was recently recognized by the Recording Academy with a Grammy nomination for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella for his track “Uranus: The Magician” off his album “The Planets: Reimagined,” a modern big band jazz reinterpretation of the famous classical suite by Gustav Holst. It was also included on the Chicago Tribune’s “Best Jazz Recordings of 2020.”

His most recent work as a composer can be found in Magic the Gathering: Throne of Eldraine, Star Wars: Battlefront I and II, and Star Wars: The Old Republic - Knights of the Fallen Empire. As an orchestrator, he has added his musical touch to a variety of film, television, and video games scores including The Queen’s Gambit - Netflix’s biggest scripted limited series in history - Disney’s Frozen 2, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. As an arranger, he has written for the National Symphony Orchestra featuring Babyface and Common, The Metropole Orkest, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as Lindsey Stirling, Katharine McPhee, and Matthew Morrison.

The composer is... Jeremy Levy

Our next guest is a two-time Emmy-nominated film and TV composer, singer/songwriter, and producer of the critically acclaimed band, Goldspot. He received Emmy nominations in 2020 for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for his original song "Memorized" (shared with Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith) and in 2019 for Outstanding Music Composition For a Series for his work on NBC's Golden Globe and Emmy-winning drama series, This Is Us, now in its fifth season. He has the distinction of being the first South Asian person to be nominated in the Primetime Emmy score and song categories. 

The Composer is... Siddhartha Khosla

Our next guest scored Hulu’s documentary series Sasquatch, which premiered on April 20, 2021; and recently scored CBS All Access’ Coyote; and HBO’s documentary miniseries Tiger. From composing the brooding hybrid orchestral score to Zipper, to his original song "Jamie Smiles" written for the cult comedy classic Just Friends, his ability to create a meaningful impact for a wide spectrum is showcased through his work. Past credits include National Geographic’s documentary Sea of Shadows, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019; Apple TV’s The Banker; Hulu's Baghdad Central; FX’s The Most Dangerous Animal of All; ESPN 30 for 30’s two-part documentary series Lance; Showtime’s four-part documentary series The Trade; and more. He has also contributed towards an impressive variety of notable projects including George Nolfi’s Birth of the Dragon and Cinemax's action series Warrior, both of which he co-composed with Reza Safinia; as well as the Academy Award-nominated documentary film Cartel Land, which he co-composed with Jackson Greenberg. In 2002, he became the youngest Grand Prize recipient of the Turner Classic Movies Young Film Composers Competition, and along with accolades such as the prestigious Cannes Lion, Clio, and BMI awards, his accomplishments have earned him esteem and recognition as a highly versatile yet specialized talent. 

The composer is... H. Scott Salinas

Multi-award-winning composer KOVAS scores Netflix's hit original series On My Block, starring Sierra Capri and Jason Genao; and Tatiana Kelly’s up coming documentary The People vs. Vegas Dave. He received a Clio Award for writing, producing and co-starring in Dunkin’ Donuts campaign ad “Runnin’ on Cold Brew” featuring three-time NFL Pro-Bowler Odell Beckham Jr.. As a recording artist, KOVAS can be heard on several features, tv shows and top-selling video games including Netflix’s Golden Globe-nominated series Glee; Hulu’s Emmy-nominated series American Dad; Oscar-nominated thriller Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks; Columbia Pictures’ 22 Jump Street; EA Sports’ Madden NFL and Saintʼs Row IV. KOVAS has also produced and remixed for some of the biggest names in music including Justin Timberlake, Usher, De La Soul, M.I.A, Chris Brown, and more.

Music supervisor Joe O’Riordan, has lent his expertise to creating unique sounds on shows such as Adult Swim’s Loiter Squad; MTV Network’s Ridiculousness and Greatest Party Story Ever; Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules; Dakota Pictures’s Imagen Foundation Award-nominee for "Best Comedy Primetime Television Program" Lopez; Netflix’s hit original series The Comedy Line Up, starring Aisling Bea; Nickelodeon Network’s The Dude Perfect Show and Crashletes; Science Channel’s The Explosion Show; and many more.

I'm very excited to welcome them on the podcast!

Our next guest is best known for scoring the drama series The Fosters, as well as several films including The Art of Getting By, starring Freddie Highmore, and Higher Ground, directed by Vera Farmiga. A veteran of the indie film world, he composed the music for the comedy All Nighter starring Emile Hirsch and J.K. Simmons, and A Happening of Monumental Proportions, Judy Greer's directorial debut.

In 1996, he formed the rock band Deadsy with longtime friend Elijah Blue Allman and Renn Hawkey. After their first album was released, the band embarked upon several world tours, opening for bands such as Linkin Park and Stone Temple Pilots. During his time with Deadsy, he also began composing music for various films and television shows. Since 2007, his film work has been a regular fixture at some of the world's most integral film festivals, from SXSW to Cannes to the Tribeca Film Festival.

He also founded Gramoscope Music in 2006. Some projects they have created music for include the new theme for Real Time with Bill Maher, American Horror Story, So You Think You Can Dance, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Wicked Tuna, Glee, and Burn Notice.

The Composer is... Alec Puro

Thanks to Ian Carvalho Traphagen for editing this episode!

Our next guest is a film music composer with more than 50 film productions. He studied in Boston at Berklee College of Music where he obtained Summa Cum Laude with a double major in Composition and Film Scoring.

His latest worldwide release on Netflix has been the film “BAJOCERO” by director Lluís Quílez and starring Javier Gutiérrez and Karra Elejalde, which has been the highest rated Spanish premiere in Netflix, being number one worldwide in its first week.

His multifaceted style has led him to compose soundtracks covering very different genres. As for animation, in 2004 he composed for the first short of TADEO JONES (Enrique Gato) and its sequel (both won the GOYA FOR BEST ANIMATION SHORT). In 2012 he was nominated for the Goya Awards for the soundtrack of “TAD THE LOST EXPLORER” and in 2017 he composed the sequel “TAD THE HEROE RETURNS” for which he received several international awards.

One of the genres he likes the most is drama / thriller. In 2014 he worked on his first American co-production, “AUTÓMATA”, a science fiction film produced and starred by Antonio Banderas and directed by Gabe Ibáñez that won several international awards. He also worked on the Franco-Spanish co-production, “EVOLUTION” by director Lucile Hadzihalilovic, which won the special prize of the Jury at the San Sebastián Festival 2015. In 2016 the psychological thriller “PET” was released, an American co-production directed by Carles Torrens and also the Argentine co-production “BLACK SNOW”, directed by Martin Hodara and starring Ricardo Darín and Leonardo Sbaraglia. In 2017 he composed for the American co-production “BENT” starring Sofía Vergara and Karl Urban and directed by Robert Moresco and in 2019 he did it for the American co-production “KILL TEAM” directed by Dan Krauss who has been nominated twice for his documentaries for The Oscar Awards.

The composer is... Zacarías M. de la Riva

Our next guest is renowned for his live shows, where large-scale audience participation and interaction is often a major element of the performance. Since 2003, he has released five solo albums, including 2015's Gliss Riffer, released by Domino Records. His work as a film composer includes the original soundtracks for 2011’s Twixt (with Osvaldo Golijov), 2017's Rat Film and 2018's Time Trial, both released by Domino Soundtracks. He recently scored All Light, Everywhere; Strawberry Mansion; and Philly D.A. — all of which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

The composer is... Dan Deacon

Named one of the Society of Composers and Publishers’ “Film Composers to Watch,” our next guest has won numerous awards, including the World Soundtrack Award for “Best Composition by a Young International Composer,” the ASCAP Jimmy Van Heusen Film Composer Award, the Alan Menken Composer Award, and the distinguished Elmer Bernstein Film Scoring Award.

Brivik recently scored Wild Indian, starring Michael Greyeyes, Jesse Eisenberg and Kate Bosworth, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30th as part of the U.S. Narrative Competition lineup. Other upcoming projects include Justin P. Lange’s horror film The Seventh Day, starring Guy Pierce and Keith David.

The composer is... Gavin Brivik

I'm so excited to welcome this phenomenal game composer who has worked at Jackbox Games (nee Jellyvision) since it sprang from the mind-loins of Harry Gottlieb in 1995. Starting out as a writer, he meandered into editing, directing, sound effecting, and finally music composition. He's had a hand in every game Jackbox has created and is one of the most innovative and creative composers I've had the pleasure of chatting with! I'm excited for this new season of Composer Talk starting with this conversation!

The composer is... Andy Poland

Check out the music for Jackbox Party Pack 7 here: https://jackboxgames.bandcamp.com/album/the-jackbox-party-pack-7-soundtrack

This RTS award-winning composer is also an Ivor Novello, BIFA, and Cinema Eye Honors nominee; a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, and the IFMCA Breakthrough Composer of 2020. Amongst various BAFTA, Oscar, Emmy acclaimed productions, her recent projects include critically acclaimed Oscar 2020 nominated film For Sama, Sundance 2020 winning feature The Reason I Jump, American Murder Netflix's most watched documentary feature to date, Annapurna Interactive Film-Game Telling Lies and BBC drama series Unprecedented. She’s one of my favorite composer/sound designer hybrids and I’m very excited to meet her today!



The composer is… Nainita Desai 

Our next composer is an American born composer (of Taiwanese, Chinese, and Japanese descent) and a nerd at heart. He is known for his work on 4 seasons of Escape the Night (YouTube Originals), 2 seasons of Wil Wheaton's TableTop (Geek & Sundry), co-writing a song with Marvel legend Stan Lee, and is the creator of Star Wars Musical, a spoof of Star Wars as a Disney Musical.

He was selected as one of eight composers to the inaugural class of the universal Film Composer Initiative, the first Hollywood studio program to nurture diverse voices in composing, and includes mentorship with Universal Film Music executives and DreamWorks Animation executives. He actively advocates for the need for diverse voices in composing through his work on the Composers Diversity Collective Executive Committee.

The composer is... George Shaw

A protege of Oscar-nominated composer John Powell, this next guest has become a sought after talent, contributing additional music to many of Hollywood’s major franchises including How to Train your Dragon, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Pirates of the Caribbean, Wreck-it Ralph, Rio,  & Despicable Me among others.

As a lead composer, he scored the drama thriller Promising Young Woman starring Carey Mulligan which premiered at Sundance 2020. His other credits include NBC/Universal’s How To Train Your Dragon: Homecoming holiday special, and Sony Playstation’s action-platformer video game Knack II.

The composer is. Anthony Willis

Our next guest is a German-born film composer based in Los Angeles. He’s best known for his work on the highly successful, romantic comedy trilogy, Netflix' The Kissing Booth. The sequel was released in summer 2020 and once again, achieved a record-shattering number of streams on the platform. The release of The Kissing Booth 3 will premiere in the spring of  2021.

​In 2007, he became an integral part of Aaron Zigman’s team where he earned credits on top-grossing films such as The Proposal, The Ugly Truth, Sex and the City: The Movie, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, and The Shack. The composer’s other credits include Disney’s first nature documentary Earth, the eclectic and intimate score for the Mar Del Plata Film Festival Grand Prize Winner Las Malas Intenciones (The Bad Intentions), as well as his powerful lyrical score for Der Grosse Kater (The Big Cat). In 2017, he wrote the score for Seaworld’s new documentary-style show Orca Encounter. Most recently, he scored the Swedish survival drama Breaking Surface, the political documentary Welcome to Pine Lake (CBSN), the opioid crime drama Inherit the Viper (Lionsgate), and contributed to the score of the comedy The War with Grandpa, starring Robert De Niro.

As an integral part of the thriving media industry in Los Angeles, he continues to share classic composition techniques and new innovations through both his work as a respected composer and as a professor at the University of Southern California.

The composer is... Patrick Kirst

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My next guest is the best sound designer I know! He’s contributed his unique sounds and synthetic textures to projects including Bloodshot, Dunkirk, Tag, and Marvel’s Iron Man VR game among others

The Sound Designer is... Drew Jordan
If you enjoyed this episode, I please ask that you might go to this link: https://gf.me/u/zanc94
Drew's brother was recently involved in a car accident and I ask that if you are able, that you donate to his Spinal Injury Recovery Fund at the link above. 

Our next guest is one of my favorite composers in the video game world. This ASCAP winning and MTV VMA nominated composer has received widespread industry acclaim for his world-class produced hybrid scores featured in film, television and video games such as Machine Games’ WOLFENSTEIN : Youngblood & Cyberpilot, Microsoft’s iconic HALO series (G.A.N.G. Best Original Soundtrack Award), Ubisoft’s PRINCE OF PERSIA: The Forgotten Sands and RED STEEL (IGN Award for Best Original Score), Tom Clancy’s GHOST RECON and H.A.W.X  series, as well as the epic theme music for the record-breaking online multiplayer game PLAYERUNKNOWN’s BATTLEGROUNDS, which has sold in excess of 50 million units with over 400 million players. His long-time collaborations with 343 Industries and Microsoft Studios include the re-imagined soundtracks to HALO: Combat Evolved Anniversary and HALO 2: Anniversary, as well as composing the original scores for HALO: Spartan Assault and HALO: Spartan Strike (the first HALO video game to be released on Apple devices). Additionally, he returned to the beloved sci-fi franchise to score the animated series, HALO: The Fall of Reach, adapted from the best-selling novel and produced by the award-winning animation studio Sequence. His third solo outing in the iconic HALO universe, he also composed, arranged and produced the first original pop song in the franchise’s history, “Take This Life”, featured exclusively on HALO: The Fall of Reach soundtrack.  

Prior to his composing career, this composer toured with and worked on releases by a diverse array of popular recording artists. After several years of touring, he became increasingly immersed in studio work, producing, remixing and songwriting. Recording under the artist name “Atlas Plug,” he released the critically acclaimed electronic / orchestral music album “2 Days or Die” which quickly caught the attention of leading music supervisors. His album introduced a new hybrid sound to the visual entertainment industry at large, garnering high-profile placements on numerous television shows, international commercials and movie trailers, simultaneously launching his music career in video games, which he continues to embrace as a cutting-edge and powerful musical voice in modern scoring. He also has a new masterclass available on his website teaching you the fundamentals of videogame scoring! 

The composer is... Tom Salta

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Our next guest is a multi-platinum selling record producer, composer, musician, and DJ who challenges categorization; equipped with an instinctual ear for creating music and an insatiable drive to explore the aural spectrum. 

He’s composed music for video games including Dota 2 and Counter-Strike GO and has sound design credits on films ranging from Captain Marvel, Deadpool 2, and Blade Runner 2049 to Incredibles 2 and Motherless Brooklyn. He’s also the host of one of my favorite podcasts, Tap Tempo. Fun fact, we also were the two Matt's tasked by Unfiltered Audio to do the artist presets for the free Pendulate Synth Plug-in! 

The composer is... Matt Lange

Our next guest recently scored Netflix’s Princess Switch: Switched Again, starring Vanessa Hudgens and directed by Mike Rohl; Netflix’s Holiday in the Wild, starring Kristin Davis and Rob Lowe, directed by Ernie Barbarash; and the prestigious BBC program Natural World, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

He has scored more than 50 films and TV shows including Netflix’s The Most Hated Woman In America, starring Academy Award winner Melissa Leo and directed by Tommy O’Haver; Billy Raftery’s documentary Angels In Exile, narrated by Charlize Theron; HBO’s Golden-Globe winning and Emmy Award-winning series Sex and the City, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon; Golden Globe nominee An American Crime, starring Ellen Page and Catherine Keener; 15 seasons of the Real Housewives franchise; National Geographic’s “Best Nature Programming” Emmy-nominated wildlife documentary Swamp of the Baboons, and many more.

The composer is... Alan Lazar

Our next guest has emerged as a fresh voice in the world of scoring music to picture as evidenced by her score to the upcoming Lionsgate comedy Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar starring Kristen Wiig and Jamie Dornan, co-composed with Christopher Lennertz. Her credits include the Netflix docuseries Trial By Media, the independent film Turner Risk, and the Karen Allen-starred film Colewell, for which she won a 2019 Hollywood Music in Media award. Up next for her is the FX series Pride and the action crime drama Echo Boomers starring Michael Shannon. 

As a score producer and composer of additional music for Chris Lennertz, she has contributed to major motion picture films including Bad Moms, A Bad Mom’s Christmas, the action-comedy sequel Shaft, Amazon's highly acclaimed television series The Boys, Netflix’s sci-fi series Lost in Space, Smurfs: The Lost Village, Baywatch, Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, Pitch Perfect 3, Tyler Perry’s Acrimony, The Happytime Murders, Uglydolls, and A Madea Family Funeral, as well as the long-running CW show Supernatural. In 2015, she was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award for her score on the short film Undetectable, and in 2016, she was asked to take part in Women in Film’s Women Composers in Media concert. In 2018, she was chosen as a fellow for the Sundance Institute Composers Lab and the following year she was chosen as one the BMI Conducting for Composers Fellows.

The composer is... Dara Taylor

A protégé of Randy Newman, our next guest earned a DMA in Composition at USC’s Thornton School, where he studied with Donald Crockett and Stephen Hartke. As a guitarist, he has performed onstage as opening act for The Who at the Hollywood Bowl; recorded studio sessions for Island/Def Jam, and Universal Records; and had songs featured on NETFLIX’ FIREFLY LANE, ABC’s SCRUBS, MTV, and VH-1. 

He is an EMMY Award-winning composer whose work for Film and TV includes scores for Netflix' Godless, directed by Scott Frank and produced by Steven Soderbergh, starring Jeff Daniels and Michelle Dockery, as well as Universal Pictures' A Walk Among the Tombstones, starring Liam Neeson. His most recent collaboration with Scott Frank is Netflix #1 show The Queen's Gambit and I'm so excited to welcome him on the show!

The composer is... Carlos Rafael Rivera

ur next guest has had an amazing career in music working for companies including The Orchard, EMI Music, Shrine America, and Fremantle Media among others. He is now the VP of music strategies and licensing for Crown Media Family Networks including Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries and Hallmark Drama. He’s in charge of overseeing music supervision and composition/score for more than 100 films per year. I’m incredibly excited to welcome him on to the show.

The exec is... Daryl Berg

Our next guests both got their start working in the dojo of renowned film composer Christophe Beck. Assisting him writing additional music on such projects including Ant-Man, Edge of Tomorrow, and Frozen among others, they have since gone the independent route and have racked up an amazing number of projects on their own!

Together they score megahit show Cobra Kai, and Quibi show Die Hart starring Kevin Hart.

The composers are... Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson

Our next guest is an amazing composer and a really lovely guy. Hailing from Aguadilla Puerto Rico, he had a chance encounter with legendary film and TV composer Blake Neely that led to a 3 year assistantship in LA. He is the composer on over 60 independent projects including R#J and The Time Capsule. He also has a new EP coming called If We Seek With Intent.

The composer is... Rene G Boscio

I’m very excited to welcome this Emmy award-winning composer who has a unique trap noire sound. His production chops got him signed to a publishing deal at a young age and since then, he's been a big name in the media composer space in Atlanta. He’s created Grammy-nominated, as well as Emmy, NAACP Image, and Peabody award-winning soundtracks. His work has appeared on OWN’s Greenleaf, BET’s Boomerang, STARZ’ Show P Valley, and Step-Up High Water.

The composer is... Matthew Head