Preparing for its planned expansion to the West Coast, Minneapolis-based commercial music and sound design house Wow+Flutter (W+F) has added producer Joanna Jahn.
Her hiring frees up W+F principal/composer Dale Goulett, who along with his music and engineering duties, had been serving as the shop’s producer. W+F is slated to launch a West Coast studio sometime in the first quarter of 2001; it will be headed by company principal/ composer Jerry Brunskill, who will relocate to Southern California from Minneapolis.
"With the coming expansion, we will have an even greater need for an infrastructure that can support music production on a national level," said Brunskill. Currently, Jahn is working closely with Goulett in order to ensure her smooth transition to being the company’s primary producer.
Jahn formerly spent three years at Minneapolis-headquartered agency Martin/Williams Advertising as a broadcast coordinator. Her duties eventually expanded to assisting producers by serving as a music researcher. She primarily worked on Martin/Williams retail accounts Target, Dayton Hudson and Mervyn’s.
Through her role at Martin/ Williams, Jahn explained, she helped coordinate music sessions between the agency producers and the music houses, and typically attended the sessions. In the process, she became familiar with the people at W+F. In addition, she is a singer and voiceover artist herself, and has performed as a vocalist on some W+F radio and television spot tracks.
"It was a big jump for me to come from a big agency to a music house," recounted Jahn. "I did my research before I came over here, and everyone in this town really likes W+F. And I got along with them right away when I worked here as a vocalist. They’re good businessmen and good guys to work with."
Left coast
W+F is currently scouting locations in the Los Angeles area for its West Coast studio. As part of its marketing push to increase its national presence, W+F is preparing a new showreel, updating the Web site and planning to hire its first-ever sales reps.
Formed in 1987, W+F has composed tracks for hundreds of spots. Clients include BMW, Miller Lite and Timex via Fallon, Minneapolis; Porsche via Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis; Country Hearth bread via Clarity Coverdale Fury, Minneapolis; and Rubbermaid, U.S. Bank and Cargill, for Martin/Williams.
W+F has composed an entire music library for ABC Television, for that network’s prime time line-up, adapting the familiar four-note theme used in the "Yellow and Black" campaign. From ’98 to ’00, W+F has also composed music for CBS Television’s Grammy Awards. The music house is currently working on a project out of BBDO Minneapolis, for an undisclosed client.
"Locally, Wow+Flutter has been doing very well," reported Jahn. "Everyone knows them and people are very comfortable working here. But going to Los Angeles is smart because that’s where many people finish. If you can have an office there and people are used to working with you, it’s a good move."
In addition to Goulett and Brunskill, W+F’s roster consists of composer/producer/engineer Ken Brahmstedt and composer/ producer Jason Barnes. The company also works regularly with freelance composers Jeff Victor, Charlie Erickson, Tony Braasch, Tom Hiel and Michael Wandmacher.
