| Youssef Guezoum | |
| Alias: | JOE |
| Birth Name: | Youssef Guezoum |
| Birth Date: | 1975 7, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Marrakesh, Morocco |
Youssef Guezoum (born July 31, 1975) is a Los Angeles–based Moroccan-American-Belgian film music composer, orchestrator, and sound designer.
Guezoum was born in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 1975. After completing high school, he moved to Canada, where he studied sound engineering at the Vancouver Film School. In 1996, he relocated to Brussels, where he studied classical music for four years and received his academic degree from the Académie de Musique in Bruxelles. He moved to Los Angeles in 2013.[1]
Guezoum started playing guitar at the age of 10. He pursued his master's degree with the American composer, Hummie Mann. He is known for his music which draws from elements of middle eastern music, gnawa music and folk music.[2] He had many musical influences, including the folk music of the Atlas Mountains, African music, and Andalusian music.
His credits include the Power Rangers, Saban Entertainment (with Noam Kaniel), and Frenchy, directed by Jean-Claude Van Damme. The productions included Paramount Pictures, Universal Music,, Secret & Lies, Hell's Kitchen, PGA Tour, and Ultimate Justice. He is also a member of Oticons.[3]
Guezoum graduated from the Academy of Music in Brussels, Belgium, on piano. Subsequently, he flew to Canada and worked at Creative Future.
In 2009, he collaborated with Noureddine Zerrad, a Belgian director, and produced music for his short film Tension.[4] He also produced music for the Van Damme and Claudia Bassols-starrer movie Soldiers in 2010.[5] In 2012, he collaborated with Guillaume Didier for another Arabic film, War Game.[6] He composed music for Full Love, directed by Jean-Claude Van Damme in 2014.[7] He has also produced music for the Mark Dacascos-starrer Ultimate Justice which is slated to release in 2016.[8]