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.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More