Global creative audio network Squeak E. Clean Studios has added Brooklyn-based composer and artist Charles Rojas to its New York office and promoted Los Angeles-based Blade Thornton to new business development producer. Rojas brings a diverse artistic perspective to his work, informing his compositions with his “side hustles” recording music as a solo artist, crafting accompanying visuals, and sometimes stepping in front of the camera to act in independent films. His range of creative influences is evident in his original compositions for such brands as Google, Facebook, Honda, Kia, Spotify, and more.
Thornton previously served as head of experiential and artist liaison at Squeak E. Clean Studios. In his new position, he will be spearheading the company’s strategic growth into new and emerging industry sectors and platforms, pursuing opportunities to expand its full slate of music and audio offerings into exciting new verticals.
Hamish Macdonald, Squeak E. Clean Studios’ managing director, is enthused over having Rojas back at the company, noting, “Since his hiatus, his studies, freelance experience and time spent at Media Arts Lab have only expanded upon his abilities as a versatile composer able to elevate any brief.”
Relative to Thornton, Macdonald said “having Blade concentrate our efforts further into emerging industries and trends will continue our presence as much more than a traditional music and sound house.”
Hailing from Norwalk, Calif., Rojas infuses his West Coast and South American musical and artistic influences to his current home in Brooklyn, NY. The son of Ecuadorian and Venezuelan immigrants, Rojas grew up listening to everything from hip hop and punk, to Cumbia and Andean folk. In April 2020, he released his first single “Mixed Feelings”, a blend of R&B, hip hop, and bedroom pop. He followed up releasing a series of quarantine-themed music videos, and has since built up a dedicated following on Spotify and social media. His new single “Plans Fall Through”–a funk-pop ode to staying at home–was released in August 2020. Both songs will appear on his debut mixtape MixedFeelingsTape this fall.
After earning a degree in music industry studies from USC, Thornton took internships to explore various aspects of the business, from tour logistics to talent management, before landing at Squeak E. Clean Studios in 2016. He has led the studio’s experiential productions, contracting musicians and technical teams for various global experiences. Additionally, he has served as a liaison between talent and brand and agencies.
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