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Screen Magazine - Index

Screen Magazine - Screen Magazine: Vol. 29, Issue 13 - Index

HiFi Music + Sound Design Pumps Up The Volume
Having gotten off to a blistering start, HiFi Music + Sound
Design (Santa Monica, Calif.) is kicking it up a notch. The
music company, launched last fall by composer/creative
director Paul Robb and executive producer Birgit Roberts,
has expanded its services, brought in new talent and
formed a new national sales team to keep pace with its
booming business.
Drawing on its deep ties to the recording industry, HiFi
has formed a music licensing division and tapped music
supervisor and former Warner Bros. A&R director Kevin
Laffey to head it. It has also added four composers – Jan
Pomerans, Kevin McCormick, Michael Gatt and Brian
Sargent – as well as sound designer and composer Owen
O’Toole. To handle sales, the company has signed with
veteran rep Mary Matusz on the West Coast and Paul Saylor
in Chicago and the Midwest.
HiFi is making the moves to better handle the volume of
projects that have been coming its way. The company
launched informally last fall as Robb was completing an
international tour with Information Society, the seminal
techno band he co-founded. Since then, Robb and Roberts,
who had previously worked together at Face the Music
(NY/LA), have completed projects for Honda, Bosch Home
Appliances, Mattel and Mazda, as well as a new branding
campaign for Tylenol.
“When we started HiFi, we made it a point of our business
plan to include our relationships in the recording industry,”
explained Robb. “We want to bring that credibility and
expertise into advertising. Our goal is to do things better
and smarter by combining the best of both worlds.”
Robb and Roberts were particularly keen to add licensing to
their offerings and found in Laffey the perfect candidate to
lead that venture. During his stint at Warner Bros., Laffey was
responsible for signing such high-powered artists as Brian
Eno, Daniel Lanois, Julee Cruise and Suddenly Tammy! (in
addition to Robb’s band Information Society). Additionally,
he has experience in music supervision for film and television
with credits including “Break Up,” “The Last Stand” and the
Academy Award-winning short “Big Mama.”
Laffey also has a background in music publishing, catalog
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representation and artist representation.
Through his various activities, he has developed relationships
with record labels and artists worldwide. Laffey said that he
looks forward to applying his experience to advertising
projects and said the barriers that once separated the
advertising, entertainment and recording industries have
vanished.
“There are no more boundaries,” he said. “The work I do
as a music supervisor for film and television is no different
from what I do for commercials.” He added that the mix of
talent at HiFi suggests some intriguing possibilities. “I can see
us doing hybrid remixes, taking existing tracks and tailoring
them to the needs of the client,” he said. “You may take an
older song that appeals to one group of consumers and
remix it so that it appeals to a different demographic as
well.”
Similarly, the composers that HiFi has added to its roster
have music industry backgrounds and experience as
songwriters and composers. Pomerans is a British-born and
classically-trained composer and one of the founders of the
electronica band Zen Cowboys. He has also written music
for the television shows “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Desperate
Housewives” and “The Simpsons,” and for commercials
promoting GMC, Ford, BMW and Coke.
McCormick is a Grammy-winning producer, songwriter and
instrumentalist who has a long association with Jackson
Browne and has also performed with such artists as Melissa
Etheridge and Keb Mo. He, too, has written for television with
credits including “Sex and the City” and “Ally McBeal.”
Gatt is a veteran of several Los Angeles-based indie bands
and has also performed with such artists as Black Eyed
Peas, Blur and Spinal Tap. He has scored spots for Honda,
Tylenol and Mattel.
Sargent is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and
recording engineer of considerable accomplishment. A
graduate of Berklee College of Music, he has scored spots
for such brands as Tylenol, Honda, Aetna, Planet Waves
and the NHL. He has produced and engineered several
albums, including work by roots musicians Liam Bailey and
Greg Liszt.
O’Toole’s experience includes a stint as
program curator at public radio station
KZYX (N. Calif.), where he developed
an interest in avant-garde and antique
recordings. He is also a member of the
experimentalist Wet Gate ensemble
that gives musical performances using
16mm movie projectors. His experience
as a sound designer and composer
for commercials goes back more than
15 years and includes a longstanding
collaboration with director Jeffrey
Plansker.
//www.hifiproject.com