High Five: Exploring the Intersection of Music and Storytelling
I have seen a lot of the advertising world. As both a film and television score composer and the founder of music and sound agency duotone audio group, my interest lies at the intersection of storytelling and music. Selecting just five works for LBB’s High Five was very difficult, but ultimately I focused on choosing works that used music and sound in an innovative and memorable way to tell important and engaging stories...
Donate Life - 'World’s Biggest Asshole'
Agency: The Martin Agency
Production: Furlined
Director: Speck + Gordon
Post: Lime Studios
Sound: duotone audio group
This film is one of my favourite projects that we’ve worked on here at duotone. This PSA, which manages to be both comedic and moving, features a powerful rearrangement of Coldplay’s 'Fix You' by duotone’s own Civil Brother (Ross Hopman and Jordan Lieb) and a masterful mix and sound design treatment by duotone audio post that generates all the feels. It’s one of those films that makes you laugh, cry and hate - all in less than a few minutes.
Beats By Dr. Dre - 'You Love Me'
Agency: Translation
Production: PRETTYBIRD Los Angeles
Director: Melina Matsoukas
I remember being deeply moved by this spot when it launched in 2020, a year when many brands stayed silent as our nation faced an important reckoning regarding social justice and racial equality. The music calls to mind the work of Robert Glasper, Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar...a grounded jazz inspired bass, cut-up drums and floaty synths speak to the past, present and future of black music. The interjection of the choir is both a musical climax and an exclamation of unabashed culture.
adidas - 'Hello Tomorrow'
Agency: TBWA\Chiat Day San Francisco
Director: Spike Jonze
Sound: Squeak E Clean Studios
A classic spot from one of the masters, Spike Jonze. The vocals by Karen Oh really bring it to life with a flighty and quirky sense of nostalgia. One can hear influences from French Pop and musique concrete, but Karen’s twangy deadpan are the perfect grounding for such a whimsical and surreal spot and musical approach.
J&B Rare - 'She, a Christmas Tale by J&B'
Agency: El Ruso de Rocky
Production: Agosto
Director: Gabe Ibáñez
Sound: Chaco Music
An incredibly moving branded film from this past year, with a stunning usage of 'She' by Elvis Costello. One of those perfect songs that everyone knows and always forgets about, the piece is crafted perfectly to match the arc, moving from a story about personal actualisation to a story of love, acceptance and support for a trans loved one.
Adam McKay - 'Fake Chevron Ad'
Production: Hyperobject Industries
Listen, we've all done this brief...a giant, faceless corporation wants something that’s both 'modern and organic' while speaking to the 'deep humanity at the core of our brand'. We even have a template ready for it. But when the script is flipped and used in such a satirical way, well, we think it’s worth the extra staccato we tend to put into the strings. A well done 'ad' with an important message.
