Asche & Spencer, a music/sound design house with bases in Minneapolis and Venice, has hired "Seoor Amor"-a.k.a. Mark Gordon-as its West Coast-based executive producer. Gordon will replace executive producer Hugh Barton, who has announced plans to depart the company and launch his own firm.
Although Gordon began at Asche & Spencer on Jan. 3, Barton will continue to work at the company for the next couple of months. "My own plans are coming together beautifully, although I don’t want to say too much at this point," said Barton. "I gave Thad [Spencer, principal/creative director at Asche & Spencer] three months to make sure that the transition is really smooth, and clients don’t feel they’ve been left in the lurch. I want to make sure I’m totally devoted to this company for the next two months."
Gordon’s music-related credits include serving as a music supervisor for several independent feature films. Among them is the film noir spoof The Woman Chaser, adapted from a pulp fiction novel by Charles Willeford, and directed by Robinson Devor. It was among the first to be accepted into the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, to be held in Park City, Utah, from Jan. 20-30.
Gordon is probably best known in Southern California, where he has worked as a mobile DJ at such events as the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me release party. Regarded as one of the ambassadors of the lounge music revival, Gordon has also spun lounge music as Seoor Amor at L.A. clubs such as Liquid Kitty, Encounter at LAX and Legacy. Additionally, Gordon has hosted local station KXLU’s radio show, "The Molotov Cocktail Hour," for nearly 10 years.
Spencer related that he met Gordon through a mutual friend. Although Gordon has no firsthand commercial experience, Spencer said, his musical credentials made him well suited for the company.
"I think a lot of people think of Asche & Spencer as musical archeologists," said Spencer. "We’re good at understanding and being able to execute lots of different styles of music with a clever, sort of left-wing, bent to them. That’s what so great about hooking up with Seoor, because that’s what he really likes, too."
Gordon said, "Thad and I just clicked, and got each other’s vibe immediately. He told me about the job and it was something I hadn’t ever considered. When I really thought about it, I got very excited because the work I saw on their reel just blew me away. I was crying from laughing so hard, and when Thad told me the behind-the-scenes information about [for instance] the Jukka Brothers spots [for MTV, via Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis] and some of the other spots, I thought, ‘I have to be a part of this.’"
Another selling point for Gordon was the strong connection between music and sound design in Asche & Spencer’s work. "There is great sound design … on the reel. I think sound design has grown in importance in the past few years, and rightfully so."
Spencer cited among Gordon’s credentials a "monstrous" record and CD collection that numbers close to 10,000 pieces. "What is sometimes a difficult but critical part of the music creation process is the jump-off point, where you ask ‘Do you have any particular place you want this music to go?’" Spencer said. "Oftentimes, clients don’t yet have a clue and need our inspiration. Having all of this great music at our disposal … is going to be amazing."
Gordon noted that he will in part be acting as a musical supervisor for commercials: "Finding the right flavors for the right pictures and the right moment-hitting those emotional spots dead-on-it’s a very exciting challenge. I’ve been enjoying that in the film world, and I’m looking forward to working with Thad and his cast of characters."
