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Current Projects

Stonedrummer EP

I’ve always loved making music, even when I wasn’t working with any artists. It’s in my soul to dig for samples, pick up the guitar and play the keys. Since I haven’t worked with an artist since 2015, I’ve had very little motivation to work on any music project, it’s been mostly films and commercials.

However, in January 2022 something clicked. I NEEDED to make music again.

I started tinkering with a few samples, a few guitar riffs. I made hip hop, trap, rock, soul. It was a time of breakthroughs for me. However, about 3 months into this project my father unexpectedly passed away. There were so many tough days, and the music was all I had. I’m thankful that I had this outlet, and I’ve poured everything I have into this album. It will definitely be dedicated to my dad.

This project has been unlike anything I’ve worked on previously. It’s got a little of everything that I find inspiring from hip hop, punk, old school, new school, and psychedelic rock. Since it’s mostly instrumental, I had to make the tracks short with lots of transitions. I tried singing a few lines, but it’s not a vocal album by any means.

About 70 beats later I whittled in down to seven tracks, fifteen minutes in length for my first solo EP.

My next steps are to get it on the streaming platforms and hopefully in the hands and ears of artists, producers, tastemakers, and anyone else who wants to work and collab. Let’s go!

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Current Projects

A Love Supreme

I recently completed the sound mixing and editing for a proof of concept called “A Love Supreme” written and directed by my dear friend, the late Juan Caceres Carreño.

Juan had received funding from HBO Pa’Lante and 150 Studios in early 2022 and was expected to deliver the proof by the fall. Shooting the episode in the span of 2 days, he captured the nuances of relationships in New York City. In his words:

“A Love Supreme is a dramedy about the Relationships, Friendships, Breakups and Makeups of Latinx childhood friends from Uptown, Nueva York City. A ‘Mixtape’ for your heart.”

Although the project was time constrained, the actors he chose brought his characters to life with humor, depth and complexity. Casting young and largely unknown talent, there is a familiarity to their stories and friendships.

Shot entirely in the streets of New York City, Juan was able to highlight the energy, the pulse and the sounds of the city. The 10-minute episode whets the appetite for a full 10 episodic television program, which I’d be honored to work on.

The proof concept is made up of four vignettes — two inside shots, two outside shots. The outside scenes were difficult to clean up with the mics picking up EVERYTHING under the sun. There’s a motorcycle that sounded like it was just out of the shot, numerous cars, and tons of crosstalk.

Despite the complications, I was able to render out most of the unwanted sound using Izotope RX Denoise and a 3-band Waves EQ in Pro Tools Studio. After I cleaned the audio, it sounded thinner, but I re-laid the RX tracks on top of the original dialogue and lowered each track about 10db, depending where it needed to sound fuller.

Juan, being a true New Yorker as he was, wrote in his notes he wanted to incorporate old school hip-hop classics. We used Camp Lo’s “Luchini”, A Tribe Called Quest’s “Excursions” and “Bonita Applebum” into certain scenes. We captured his vision.

I am so saddened that Juan will not be able to see his project finished, but those of us involved made sure we stayed true to his vision and concept. Whatever happens from here is in God’s hands.. love is supreme.

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Current Projects

SM SoundFX

I created Sound Mods Sound Effects in 2012 as sort of a sound warehouse; a repository for sound effects I had built and maintained over the years. With thousands of sounds just collecting dust on my hard drive at home, I knew other sound designers and filmmakers would be able to take advantage of this vast library.

I’m still sitting on tons of sounds that need to be catalogued and uploaded, so my work is never done.

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Current Projects

Sound Design & Editing

I’ve worked in sound and music for almost three-quarters of my life. It has been and continues to be very fulfilling. While music was a focal point early in my career, for the last decade I’ve sharpened my skills in creating sound effects and designs, as well sound mixing and editing.

Previously I had only produced music for singers and other musicians, but when a friend contacted me to score and add sound effects to a project, it was a challenge I was eager to take on. Over the years I sought more projects and found myself working on various commercials, short films, reels, and eventually my first full length feature film.