Bang music

Infobox Company
name = Bang Music LLC

type = Independent
foundation = 1989
location_city = New York, NY
location_country = USA
location =
3 locations: NY, LA and Norway
locations =
key_people = Lyle GreenfieldBrian JonesBrad StrattonSara Iversen
area_served = World wide
industry = Advertising, Music, Production
services =
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
slogan =
homepage = http://www.bangworld.com/

Bang Music is a music and sound production company based in New York City with affiliates in Los Angeles, London and Stavanger, Norway. Founded in 1989 by Lyle Greenfield, Bang has created music for advertisers such as Heineken [1] , McDonald's, Mercedes-Benz, Victoria’s Secret, Nike, Sprite and Verizon, for entertainment media including MTV, VH1, ESPN and HBO, and television programs such as “Scrubs”, “Shear Genius”, “Blow Out” and “Strangers With Candy.”

History

Bang Music was founded in New York City in January, 1989 by former advertising agency creative director Lyle Greenfield. The company established its headquarters in the studios of NYC hip-hop recording facility, Calliope Productions. Within the converted midtown factory loft a new generation of producers and artists recorded their first albums, with a novel sound mixing beats, samples and vocals. Among the artists were De La Soul, Queen Latifah, Black Sheep, A Tribe Called Quest, Brand New Heavies and Stereo MC's. (Bob Power, one of the engineer/musician/producers in residence, worked with The Roots, and assisted in the production of Deee-Lite’s crossover club/radio hit “Groove Is In The Heart.”)That sound, emerging in the late 80’s and early 90’s, became a key element in Bang’s early identity. Some of the company’s early soundtrack creations were for national advertisers such as Mercedes-Benz [3] , Budweiser, KFC, Coca-Cola, Converse, Revlon and Cover Girl…and promos for entertainment media including HBO, MTV, Radio City Music Hall.

1990s

In 1993, Bang left Calliope and established its own studios downtown, occupying the second floor of a two-story landmarked, red brick building in the heart of New York’s Flatiron District. The building, believed to have once been a horse stable, was transformed into the company’s recording and office facilities, creating an eclectic composition of antiquity and technology.In the mid-1990’s Bang Music ventured into a new area—the record business. Spearheaded by former Bang partner-composer Christopher Joannou, the company formed Notorious Records and put out the single “Release Me” in 1995, a dance-house track that became an international club hit and reached the Top 5 position on Billboard’s Dance Chart. A video for the song was filmed in Greece and the band, known as Industry, was signed by MCA Records in the UK for European distribution.In 1996 Notorious also released “I Have No Fear”, written by Bang’s Greenfield and British-born composer Gavin Spencer, and performed by singer Annette Taylor under the artist name Le Monde. The song became a minor club hit and “gay anthem”, rising to #34 on Billboard’s Dance Chart. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=359&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Dance+Club+Play&ci=3024537&cdi=7102084&cid=09%2F28%2F1996] Dance Hall Of Fame mixer Tom Moulton (“Disco Inferno”) was enlisted to create the “Hallelujah Journey Mix” of the song, which became a seminal DJ spin, later to be licensed by Rhino Records for their “Circuit Party Spins” CD. Notorious followed up “I Have No Fear” in 1997 with a Le Monde house remake of Phil Collins’ iconic hit “In The Air Tonight”. Billboard praised the recording, saying “Just when you think every plausible rock song has been converted into a dance track, here comes another natural selection... This New York-rooted act does a solid job of linking the song’s darkly intense lyrics with a firm house beat and ethereal keyboard.” Also in 1997, Greenfield joined a group of nearly three dozen music production companies in New York City who were engaged in discussions concerning fair business practices and rights for those hired to create music for the commercial and entertainment industries. The following year a new trade association was incorporated—the Association of Music Producers (AMP), [ http://www.ampnow.com ] a name proposed by Greenfield. He was voted AMP’s first President, and is currently President of the association’s national board. [http://adage.com/songsforsoap/post?article_id=126578] Bang established offices and studios in Santa Monica, CA in 1997. [http://creativity-online.com/?action=news:article&newsId=93124&sectionId=news] The operation was overseen by Joannou. Three years later, he and Greenfield ended their partnership.Record ventures and song production fueled Bang’s currency in the commercial world as the company attracted high-profile assignments well-suited to its contemporary, irreverent style. By the late 1990’s most of the song parodies being produced for Sprite’s “Obey Your Thirst” advertising campaign were written and recorded at Bang, commissioned by Coca Cola USA agency Lowe & Partners in New York. Bang also created music for other brands at the agency, including award-winning spots for Heineken, Mercedes-Benz and Sony in what was regarded as a creative heyday for Lowe, led by Chairman and CEO Lee Garfinkel. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE4DE133FF936A15754C0A963958260] In 1997, musician Jane Mangini joined the company’s roster of composers. A formally trained keyboardist from the Berkeley School of Music who was at the time playing in a piano bar on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, she brought a very different melodic sensibility to the Bang collective—a pronounced stylistic shift from the music of Bang’s guitar-trained composers. Mangini’s compositions were heard in commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Kodak, Sony and for a handful of “public service” messages (New York Cares, United Way of America, The Catalog For Giving, and in the 2004 Democratic Presidential campaign).

2000

In 2000, Mangini recorded an album of her own compositions at Bang’s studios under the artist name O’2L (pronounced O’Toole). Mangini/O’2L was subsequently signed to a record and distribution deal with Peak Records in Los Angeles by record producer Mark Wexler. She has since recorded her third album for the label, and is a touring keyboardist with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Mangini continues as a contributing composer with Bang Music.Sara Iversen joined Bang as a senior producer and marketing strategist in 2000. She had worked previously for advertising agencies, first as account executive at DeVito/Verdi on the Seagram business, then at Lowe Worldwide on GMC. At Bang Iversen has produced the commercial music for Neutrogena, Victoria’s Secret, Monster.com, Gillette and Mountain Dew. In September, 2000, Greenfield hired Brian Jones, then working at William Morris Agency in New York, as an executive producer and resident composer. Jones subsequently recruited his writing partner Espen Noreger as a composer for Bang. Noreger, who maintains a studio in Stavanger, Norway, is the drummer for the Norwegian rock band The Getaway People, who were signed by Columbia Records in the U.S. in the late 1990’s. By 2004 Jones was made a full partner in Bang Music. [http://www.sourceecreative.com/specialfeatures.php?ID=7&a=i] His writing credits, together with Noreger, range from TV series such as “Scrubs”, “Blow Out”, “House Wars”, “Shear Genius”, MTV’s “Summer On The Strip” to dozens of national spots, from Verizon, Dairy Queen, Embarq and Mini Cooper [http://creativity-online.com/?action=news:article&newsId=38039&sectionId=from_crea] [http://creativity-online.com/?action=news:article&newsId=37556&sectionId=ad_critic_news] to Victoria’s Secret [http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=v4ejW3ZG] and McDonald’s.In 2005 Jones affiliated Bang with Media On Demand Productions (MOD) in Santa Clarita, CA, collaborating on songwriting projects. MOD specializes in music supervision, sound design and audio post-production for television and film. In 2008 Media On Demand changed its name to Studio 8 Sound after moving its office and facilities to Universal City. MOD/Studio 8’s credits include Spiderman III, Sex And The City, Collateral.In early 2008 Brad Stratton joined Bang Music as executive producer. Previously, Stratton helped establish Sound Lounge Music and Sound Design in New York City, was a senior producer at Fluid Post and was head of music production at D’Arcy Advertising in New York. In August, 2008, Bang Music partnered with Cutting Edge Group/Air Adele, a London-based record label, music supervision and sound production consortium with credits in feature film, television and commercials. The companies will collaborate on international post-production projects from their facilities in Los Angeles, New York and London.

Bang will celebrate its 20th anniversary in January, 2009.

References

External Links

* [http://www.bangworld.com Bang Music Website]