BPM Featured Artists and Composers January 2017
- Selma Ducanovic
- Dec 1, 2016
- 2 min read
Happy New Year! Here are five of our Billy Penn artists that we want to highlight for this month:
Ok, so they’re not really an artist or a composer, but they have lots of great artists and lots of great composers who make great music. The RokBox production team facilitates collaborations across genres. Team members have licensed music for feature films and for television shows on PBS, Fox Sports, HGTV, Bravo and other networks. All RokBox tracks available through Billy Penn Music were produced or written by RokBox team members. In addition to providing such existing music for licensing, RokBox specializes in collaboratively creating customized tracks that explore the intersections of multiple genres.
As a composer, Rodney’s specialty is composing music that authentically explores culture and style. He especially loves combining different elements of music. For example the score to the film Broken Pots Broke Dreams (a documentary about the Chinese economy) he combined Tuvan throat singing with Tabla, Banhu, Chinese percussion and Ruan. The score also included traditional European instruments such as strings and piano. For the film “The Violin” he drew on his love of Eastern European Estonian composer Arvo Part. “The Violin” a love story set in Hungary during the Holocaust and the music features a haunting violin against minimalist piano.
3. Minas
With recordings of original music and a collection of over 100 songs, Orlando and Patricia’s compositions have been compared to classics by Cole Porter and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Capturing the essence of great songwriting with memorable melodies, inventive harmonies, and poetic lyrics, the music of Minas is engaging and timeless.
Minas takes Brazilian and American roots to create a sound that is fresh and innovative, from ballads tinged with melancholic traits of Blues and Choro, to Folk coasting on the subtle coolness of a Bossa Nova pulse, to upbeat Sambas elaborated with instrumental jazz improvisation, scat singing and whimsical whistling.
4. FortuneWest
Cory Wilson aka FortuneWest is a rock, hip-hop, and electronic music producer and mixing engineer based in Philadelphia. Unrelenting in his passion for awesome sound, he continues to evolve and expand his abilities as a creator of music.
Cory graduated from Drexel University in 2012 with a degree in music production.
Cory is half of the production duo BmbuWEST (@bmbuwest), and a co-founder/editor of the music blog Crate-Expectations.org (@crateexpectationsblog)
Skyward Eyes - FortuneWest
5. 1 Echo 1
Central Pennsylvania's 1 Echo 1 is a five-piece alternative rock band with huge hooks, infectious melodies, and uplifting lyrics. 1 Echo 1 is guaranteed to capture your attention with a perfect mix of hard hitting guitars and powerful keyboards. Don't pass up a chance to hear one of the most unique Alternative bands in the USA.