Former music house executive producer Bill Ronan and ad agency vet Trish Murray have launched Downtown Composers Collective (DCC), a Brooklyn Heights-based commercial music/sound design shop that represents established musicians and recording artists for spot projects. Ronan and Murray share executive producer duties at the new venture.
The initial DCC talent roster consists of composers Steve Fisk, Wayne Horvitz, Henry Threadgill and Nicky Skopelitis; the latter also serves as DCC’s musical director.
Before moving back to their native New York in 1998, Ronan and Murray (who are married) resided in Seattle. There, from ’92 to ’97, Ronan was executive producer and co-owner of now defunct music/sound design/ audio postproduction company CineVox. Murray formerly served as VP/director of broadcast production at Cole & Weber and DDB Seattle, and executive producer/head of broadcast production at DDB Seattle.
Having returned to the East Coast, Ronan spent about a year as a freelance agency music producer at J. Walter Thompson, New York. He subsequently joined audio mixing facility Photomag, New York, as executive producer and marketing/sales rep. Murray has worked as a freelance producer for various New York agencies.
The goal of DCC is to bring a fresh perspective to the advertising medium through the talents of a group of composers known for their music and creativity, said Ronan, adding that the impetus for the venture came during his recent agency freelance tenure.
"In coming up with ideas for music for commercials, I was always pulling out CDs for [agency people] to try," recalled Ronan. "What happens is, they like a musical direction, and hand a CD to a music company. No one appropriates the CD verbatim, but it’s giving [music houses] the style and the general vibe of the music. I thought, why can’t we work with the guy that actually made this music? If he wrote it, he can obviously write something as good, or better, specifically for your commercial. And from a producer’s standpoint, you want to work with the best people which, to me … are the guys making records."
The artists DCC represents aren’t pop music chart-toppers. Rather, they are eclectic, critically acclaimed artists who have reputations for innovation in contemporary music. Said Ronan, "I wanted to work with some amazing guys, so we went out and recruited a bunch of people who are pretty much my musical heroes. They’re all from different musical genres; we tried to cover a lot of musical territory."
A well-known producer on the Pacific Northwest music scene, Fisk made his name through production work for such alternative acts as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Afghan Whigs, the Posies and Soul Coughing. An electronic pioneer in his own right, Fisk is a member of the bands Pigeonhed—a hybrid soulful funk/electronic groove group—and Pell Mell, an all-instrumental ensemble whose brand of psychedelic, ethereal music has earned a cult following. His first solo project in 14 years, 999 Levels of Undo, was released on the Sub Pop label last month.Composer/keyboardist/pianist Horvitz is a recording artist who has performed extensively throughout Europe, Japan and the U.S. As a collaborator, he has performed and recorded with such artists as John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Butch Morris and Elliott Sharp. He currently is a member of the groups Zony Marsh, a hybrid jazz/rock/ R&B quartet; Four Plus One Ensemble, an ethereal chamber group; and Ponga, an improvised groove and urban noise band.
Threadgill is a composer/ multi-instrumentalist and bandleader who has recorded more than 150 works. He is considered to be an influential avant-garde jazz artist and composer, although his diverse musical palette defies easy categorization. In addition to his solo work, he currently leads the ensembles Zooid and Make A Move.
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Skopelitis has collaborated, performed and recorded with numerous artists including Herbie Hancock, Michael Stipe, Bootsy Collins, Steve Vai and Richard Thompson. He is known for his distinctive style of guitar playing, and for his fusion of world music with rock, jazz, dub, hip-hop and electronica. He currently is a member of Ekstasis, an all-instrumental rock/funk/ trance ensemble.
Ronan observed that while many agency people want to hire recording industry talent, the artists’ lack of commercial experience can prove problematic. "Agency people hear great stuff on the radio or on a CD, but it’s hard to find artists who actually know the advertising drill. [For instance], get them to do a thirty-second spot with a five-second lift, and do four revisions because the art director doesn’t like the cymbals … it all falls apart. That’s where Trish and I come in: We can deal with the business/ production end of it and let these guys create.
"That’s the beauty of the whole thing," continued Ronan. "We’ve got guys who are completely off the charts creatively, who probably would never think to work on a commercial in a million years. Now we’re going to conform them into the advertising medium, for better or for worse."
According to Ronan, the company is currently bidding on several jobs for undisclosed clients. Ronan and Murray are handling national sales and marketing duties for DCC.
