November 2008 Newsletter from 300 Monks

WHAT DOES A CRANBERRY SOUND LIKE?

Just in Time for Thanksgiving - NJ’s Red October on PBS
If you’re in the Northeast of the USA, PBS station WNJN has scheduled this documentary by award-winning filmmaker Nancy O’Mallon to appear this weekend.   The half hour documentary is everything you ever wanted to know about cranberries and how they came to be a major crop in New Jersey.

Original music by Andrew Ingkavet and featuring Mike Stidolph on fiddle, mandolin, banjo and dobro.

Paramount Pictures Release of Noelle on DVD Finally, you can watch this film which had a very limited theatrical release last Christmas.  It tells the story of Father Jonathan Keene and the small town on the Cape which turns his life around.  Written, directed and starring David Wall with just about his entire family and the townsfolk of a small village on Cape Cod.  There’s even a cameo by Michael Sweet, ex frontman for Christrian rockers Stryper.  Sweet sings, well, sweetly in the climactic moments of the movie.  Formerly titled “Mrs. Worthington’s Party” the film won an award for Best Director at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. It’s now available at Amazon and a store near you.  Original score by Head Monk, Andrew Ingkavet. Production Music That Inspires We’ve been setting up some interesting lists of music for real-life usage on our blog.  Here’s some recent posts. Music from famous opera arias Music for Holidays and Christmas that doesn’t sound cliché Music that could be used for a Wedding scene Music that could be used in a Political campaign Music for a teen romance Browse the entire production music library. New Music from New Monks We’re always adding quality music from amazing artists, composers and producers worldwide.  Recent additions to our roster include the thoroughly interesting electronica with kitchen-sink of Filip Marian, the piano jazz stylings of Tom Scarano, the searing modern metal of Martin Haene, the thoroughly diverse Nicholas Markos who has created a plethora of Christmas music in just about every conceivable style, the warm pop of Jeneen Terrana, the melancholic folk of Lisa Cerboneand the dark brooding horror of Marinho Nobre.  Also welcome to ex-Nashville studio mult-instrumentalist Mike Stidolph with some warm country/bluegrass and even jazz. Other news from other monks are that yes, Tom Curiano is working on a very cool project with former very high profile prog-rock singer/frontman.  Matthew Puckett has had considerable success with a possible Grammy nomination for his theme music to the ABC show Hopkins.  Ahh yeah!  Jazz guru Dave Ephross has been gigging all over the planet and recently did a show for Mr. Vice President/Nobel Laureat Al Gore.  Doug Sparling has a track featured on the CD compilation Celtic Shores 2 .

Happy Fall and Happy Thanksgiving. Sincerely, The Head Monk

View the November 2008 Newsletter

Interview with Andrew Ingkavet at Music Supervision Central

When did you start 300 Monks, and what was your inspiration for doing it?
300 Monks is a collective of composers and producers living, working and creating cinematic music deep in the forests of Brooklyn.  We are like the Shaolin Kung-fu monks who perfect the martial arts, only we make visionary music for moving images.  We live in a hidden fortress in a Brooklyn most never know or see covered by deep centuries old forests…(full interview)

300 Monks July 2008 Newsletter

View Newsletter Summer 2008- July

300 Monks Designs Music for Starburst and Johnson & Johnson

300 Monks Designs Music for Starburst and Johnson & Johnson
Tuesday July 1, 9:01 am ET

Audio agency translates marketing into designed soundtracks

NEW YORK, July 1 /PRNewswire/ — 300 Monks recently designed music and sound for Mars’ Starburst website launching in July. Working with ad agency Digitas, the project called for a “golden age of Hollywood” look and feel. Group Creative Director Billy Seabrook says, “Having worked with Head Monk Andrew Ingkavet back at FCBi, I was confident that he would understand the concept and sound direction and deliver quality work on time and within a tight budget.” Sound design featured the ambience of a large theater with curtains opening, film projectors starting up and theater ropes dropping. “It was a rewarding creative experience,” says Senior Content Integration Producer Eoin McGrath. “Against the back-drop of a limited budget and a break-neck production schedule, I got the impression Andrew and his team have the talent and the resourcefulness to turn their attention to any sound/music design project, no matter what the theme, the brand or the application.”

Another recent 300 Monks project was a reality television show aimed at doctors. Produced by DraftFCB and sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, the show gave doctors a chance to “live in the skin” of their patients through the use of a special effects artist. 300 Monks started a creative discussion with tracks from their extensive library. The Head Monk explains, “Conversations about emotion can be very tricky as it is so abstract. We’ve developed a game of 20 questions to triangulate the exact corner of the musical universe.”

Initial music in the vein of smooth jazz, adult contemporary and Latin pop were deemed “too conventional” and discarded. In the end, the team opted for an alt rock sound for which 300 Monks provided multiple demo tracks to choose from. “Live In My Skin” will start airing this summer on the Physicians Television Network. “The advantage of working with 300 Monks,” says Associate Creative Director Jeff Yates, “is you have a wide range of composers with different specialties to choose from which makes for great speed and efficiency.”

About 300 Monks

300 Monks was founded by former agency Creative Director Andrew Ingkavet, who also has over 2 decades experience as a composer for film and theater. As Ingkavet began adding custom music as an added bonus for his advertising clients, he found it was almost always immediately accepted. Says Ingkavet, “Audio is so powerfully linked to the emotional centers of the brain. It’s like a direct line to your consumer. Having worked on both sides as Advertising Creative and Music Designer, I know exactly what is needed and how to get it from our global roster of talent. Designed Music(TM) is just that — it is structured to convey an exact emotion/story and live within the brand promise.”

    For more information, visit the company's website at http://300monks.com

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