Music and sound houses Squeak E. Clean Productions and Nylon Studios have merged to form Squeak E. Clean Studios, bringing together a diverse roster of artists offering musical talent and audio production to agencies and brands. The company fuses leadership from both former houses, with Nylon’s Hamish Macdonald as managing director, and Nylon’s Simon Lister and Squeak E. Clean’s Sam Spiegel overseeing the company’s creative vision as co-executive creative directors. Nylon’s founding partner David Gaddie serves as a strategy partner.
The new Squeak E. Clean Studios has absorbed and operates all the existing studios of the former companies in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Austin, Sydney and Melbourne. Clients can now access a full range of services in every studio, including original composition, sound design and mix, music licensing, artist partnerships, experiential and spatial sound and sonic branding. Clients will also be able to license tracks from a vast, consolidated music catalog.
New York-based executive producer Christina Carlo is transferring to the West Coast to lead the Los Angeles studio alongside Amanda Patterson as sr. producer. Deb Oh is executive producer of the New York studio, with Cindy Chao as head of sales. Squeak E. Clean Studios’ Sydney studio is led by executive creative producer Karla Henwood, Ceri Davies is executive producer of the Melbourne studio and Jocelyn Brown is leading the Chicago studio. Squeak E. Clean Studios is focused on empowering diverse and creative voices in their cross-Pacific pool of talented artists and leaders. The company is deeply committed to strong support of the Free the Bid initiative, with three full-time female staff composers already on the roster. Nylon’s roots Down Under also offer an expansive international reach in terms of talent for Squeak E. Clean Studios.
Macdonald commented, “This merger unites the inventive music work that Squeak E. Clean is famous for, with a focus on artist collaborations and vanguard compositions and the exceptional team of award-winning composers, sound designers, and mixers that Nylon Studios has assembled over its 17-year history. It has never been harder for brands to remain relevant and our goal at Squeak E. Clean Studios is to create music and sound that puts brands into the cultural bloodstream.”
Lister noted, “I always admired the ‘culture changing’ work that Squeak E. Clean Productions crafted-like the Adidas ‘Hello Tomorrow’ spot with Karen O and Spike Jonze’s ‘Kenzo World’ with Ape Drums (feat. Assassin). These are truly the kind of jobs that are not just famous in advertising, but are part of our popular culture.”
Spiegel added, “It’s exciting to be able to combine the revolutionary creativity of Squeak E. Clean with the outstanding post, creative music and exceptional client service that Nylon Studios has always offered at the highest level. We love what we do and this collaboration is going to be an amazing opportunity for all of our artists and clients. As a combined force we will make music and sound that people love.”
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More