Kevin is an industry veteran composing genre-bending music in film, television, games, and commercials. Being trusted with iconic established brands as well as original emerging properties, Kevin creatively delivers an emotional and story-driven sound within each score.
He is a multi-instrumentalist, fanatical about creating his own sounds & samples, and loves collecting rare and interesting world instruments. Live musicians and ensembles grace his scoring stage in Santa Clarita, California, where Kevin can also be found performing and recording his scores.
Kevin is no stranger to accolades. From a 2019 BMI TV Music Award for Robot Chicken to a number of Annie Award Nominations for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score in an Animated Feature Production, Kevin’s passion for writing music is earning recognition.
“One thing I really focus hard on in my career is to be punctual. In my 20+ years, I can’t remember a deadline I haven’t ever hit. I believe in loyalty and working with a great team of people.”
What types of projects are you currently working on?
Currently, I am working with Cryptic Studios and Wizards of the Coast on their upcoming AAA video game Magic: Legends. Based on the popular Magic: the Gathering franchise. I'm scoring the latest module for Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainments fantasy game Neverwinter. And, I signed on to the 3rd season of Spider-Man on Disney+! and recently finished scoring Cartoon Network’s Ben 10 movie.
What made you choose the Mariachi library when you have a studio of your own?
I was looking for an authentic Mariachi library that had phrases but also the ability to customize and create my own original songs with the material. I was stoked to discover this library because it has both elements. Live real players recorded in their element with a great studio sound coupled with amazing Kontakt programming that allows the composer to harness that goodness but in their own creative way. Budget and time always play into a composer's decision making. I needed to compile some authentic sounding material for a demo and found We Sound Human's library fit that bill really well. On some of my other tracks I played trumpet and lots of percussion myself but there was no way for me to quickly replicate an entire Mariachi band!
What do you find unique and inspiring about the Mariachi library?
I love that you can change the pitch and tempo on the fly. This by far (besides the amazing sound) gives the library its "IT Factor". The first piece I wrote with the library uses different pieces elements but because I can control the pitch and tempo on the fly its easy to combine and create your own music. There is nothing worse than grabbing construction kit samples and just recreating the demo or tune that was originally created. We Sound Human libraries allow you to harness that power without resorting to just producing a song that sounds like the construction sample kit. I also like how the samples are organized - if you want to stick to one of the main pieces you can easily do that but if you want to load all the trumpets they are all there in one folder. Lots of flexibility.
What's the first thing you do when starting a new composition or session?
Listen and get inspired by the sounds. I load up some nice rhythm guitar to get a vibe going and then for me its off to the trumpets to get an authentic trumpet melody going. In my piece I played around with the first 2 beats of one of the trumpet licks and then transposed it and manipulated it into my own fresh mariachi melody. And it took 5 minutes. From there adding a second guitar and panning it to give the guitars a nice big full sound as well as adding the bass (Guitarron). Next is the amazing violins adding spice to what I had thus far and giving it some serious flair. Finally the most fun is when you throw in the authentic sounding Grito vocal calls and yells. Man those sound awesome. Sure beats me trying to do it myself (and I have!).
What's your advice for someone who's trying to find their own voice with music right now?
Explore what interests you and do the things that you love the most. Writing music for a living is really fun but it's also challenging and sometimes difficult. You have to do so many things that aren't fun so when it comes to really jumping into writing that has to be the best part! We Sound Human libraries are a great way to explore genres you are not as comfortable with. I don't have a Mariachi band in my back pocket. Of course I could hire one if the budget allows but to get those demo's approved and for me to understand better how to write for Mariachi We Sound Human's library was the sweet spot!
If you'd like to find out more about Kevin, and I absolutely suggest you do, then say hey Instagram, Twitter, or Website
"I'm so blessed to be able to come alongside the story-tellers, the directors, the producers and help their vision become reality."
Explore the sounds of Mariachi!
Embrace the swagger and sway of Mexican Mariachi music. Spice up your tracks with Son Jaliscience, Ranchera, Huapango, Jarabe, and other traditional and modern rhythms of Mexico that will have you screaming ¡Que Viva el Mariachi! Seamlessly weave the spirit of Mexico into your track with the raw sounds of the Gritos vocals, the melodious Coro vocals, the low call of the guitarron, the impetuous chords strummed from the vihuela and Mexican guitar loops, and no mariachi would be complete without the spicy, soaring melodies coming from the violins and trumpets.
- Includes: 3.2 GB (6 kits) mariachi music samples.
- Styles: Mexican, Latin, and Spanish sounds.
- Instruments: Gritos, trumpets, guitarron & more.
- Xtras: Chords, phrases, melodies, and more.
- Sounds like: Son Jaliscience, Huapango & more.
- Crafted for: Composers, producers, musicians.
- Formats: All music DAWs, loop & editing software.
- Price: $69
Explore the sounds of Mariachi
