Daniel Rojas (film composer) explained

Daniel Rojas
Birth Date:1988
Birth Place:Heredia, Costa Rica[1]
Origin:Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre:Film score
Occupation:Composer, producer, arranger, guitarist
Years Active:2009–present
Associated Acts:Klaus Badelt, Demi Lovato
Website:http://danielrojas.com/
https://www.506music.com/

Daniel Rojas (born 1988) is a Costa Rican musician and composer primarily working in the fields of film and television.

Biography

Born in Heredia, Costa Rica into a musical family,[2] Rojas studied Jazz Arranging & Composition at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas on scholarship.[3] [4] After graduating in 2010, he moved full-time into session player work, primarily as a guitarist. His film and television work has included working as an assistant composer, arranger, and music team member for composers such as Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt, and Alan Menken.[5] Rojas also performed as a member of Demi Lovato's band, and also worked as a guitarist on recordings by artists such as Bryan Adams and Jason Mraz, among others.

Session work eventually gave way to composing and arranging scores and songs for movies and television shows. His film projects have included songwriting for Money Monster (2016), directed by Jodie Foster and starring Foster and George Clooney,[6] [7] and Downsizing (2017), directed by Alexander Payne and starring Matt Damon.[8] Television composition work has included scores for The Demon Files featuring Sean Astin (2015, Destination America), and True Nightmares featuring Tim Robbins (2015–2018, Investigation Discovery).[9]

Currently, Rojas is the series composer for Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, a DreamWorks Animation television series.[10] He composes both score music and songs for the series, which stars the voices of Karen Fukuhara, Deon Cole, Coy Stewart, Sydney Mikayla, and Dee Bradley Baker.[11] The first season of Kipo debuted on Netflix on January 14, 2020, with the Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Season 1 Mixtape) soundtrack album debuting a few days earlier on January 10.[12] [13] Both his music composition and production company, 506 Music, and his music library production company, Nimble Music (co-owned with Jack Gravina), are based out of Culver City, California.

Selected filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorRole
201230º CouleurLucien Jean-Baptiste et Philippe LarueAdditional music, assistant to Klaus Badelt
2012The Philly KidJason ConneryAdditional music, guitarist
2013Beyond All BoundariesSushrut JainMusician, featured soloist
2015RoomLenny AbrahamsonCo-songwriter & co-performer: "Bag Fight"
2016Money MonsterJodie FosterSong arrangements
2017DownsizingAlexander Payne
  • Songwriter:
    • "Manjing Jam" (also performer)
    • "Green Emerald" (also performer)
    • "Extraordinary" (also performer)
    • "Billy-Jane Doe"
    • "Avago"
    • "Un Reve"
    • "My Belo Horizonte"
  • Performer: "Monday Monday"

Television

YearTitleNetworkRole
2012RTL (Germany)
M6 (France)
HBO Canada (Canada, English)
Super Écran 1 (Canada, French)
Music team (4 episodes)
2015The Demon FilesDestination AmericaMusic by (6 episodes)
2015True NightmaresInvestigation DiscoveryMusic by (6 episodes)
2020Kipo and the Age of WonderbeastsNetflixOriginal score and songs
2021M.O.D.O.K.HuluMusic by (10 episodes)
2021Hit-MonkeyHuluMusic by (10 episodes)
2022Monster HighNickelodeonOriginal score

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Meet Daniel Rojas of Los Angeles CA. Voyage LA Magazine . January 27, 2020.
  2. Web site: E43: The World of Media Music with Daniel Rojas – The Authenticity Show . Authenticity . January 27, 2020.
  3. Web site: Crew " . Restoring the Light (Film website) . January 27, 2020.
  4. Web site: Tell me about your work: Daniel Rojas – Division of Jazz Studies . jazz.unt.edu . January 27, 2020.
  5. Web site: Hans-Zimmer.com – Daniel Rojas . hans-zimmer.com . January 27, 2020.
  6. Web site: Daniel Rojas Wang: Un tico que suena en Hollywood. es-ES . April 13, 2016 . El Financiero.
  7. Web site: Daniel Rojas: el joven compositor de Costa Rica que se abrió paso en Hollywood . La Nación, Grupo Nación . es-LA . January 27, 2020.
  8. Web site: How This Oscar Nom Edited Downsizing While Directing His First Feature . December 22, 2017 . The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat . January 27, 2020.
  9. The Music of True Nightmares . October 13, 2015.
  10. Web site: Interview with Daniel Rojas Composer on Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts . January 24, 2020 . What's on Netflix . January 27, 2020.
  11. Web site: Daniel Rojas Scoring DreamWorks Animation's Netflix Series 'Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts' . December 19, 2019 . Film Music Reporter . January 26, 2020.
  12. Web site: Listen to Two Exclusive Cuts from the 'Kipo' S1 Soundtrack . Milligan . Mercedes . January 9, 2020 . . January 27, 2020.
  13. Web site: 'Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts' Soundtrack Album Released . January 13, 2020 . Film Music Reporter. January 26, 2020.