Black Iris Music

Check out Black Iris LA and Andy and Rob’s inspiration playlists on Herman Miller’s Lifework blog!

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:19:13 -0400

Check out Black Iris LA and Andy and Rob’s inspiration playlists on Herman Miller’s Lifework blog!

Black Iris teamed up with the great folks at Caviar to host the annual Unofficial Official AICP...

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:56:17 -0400

Black Iris teamed up with the great folks at Caviar to host the annual Unofficial Official AICP after party…and man, what a blast! Check out some of our favorite photos from the night while we nurse our hangovers.

photobooth fun

black iris/white iris goodies

tunes

mmm…meat…

the beautiful people

Michael Sagol, the one and only

beer + ice cream sandwiches = best meal ever

BI producer Amy Crilly, muggin’…

Black Iris wants to wish everyone a great Cinco de Mayo. Get into the spirit with us and enjoy a...

Fri, 06 May 2011 00:47:23 -0400

Black Iris wants to wish everyone a great Cinco de Mayo. Get into the spirit with us and enjoy a margarita & some guacamole whilst watching this gem from our favorite Serenading Unicorn.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, amigos!

It’s a rainy day where we are, but this Other Lives free download from RCRD LBL lifted our mood....

Thu, 05 May 2011 06:59:00 -0400

It’s a rainy day where we are, but this Other Lives free download from RCRD LBL lifted our mood. Partake, friends!

Other Lives ‘Tamer Animals’ Seriously. This record kills. If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor...

Wed, 04 May 2011 12:07:22 -0400

Other Lives ‘Tamer Animals’

Seriously. This record kills.

If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and head over to White Iris and pre-order the record. It will arrive on 180 gram vinyl, along with the CD for all your digital needs. Also, if you order now we’ll throw in a limited edition lithograph and an instant track download.

Check out ‘Tamer Animals’ now on iTunes, and, hey, here’s a special treat: download their single ‘For 12’ for free.

We’ve been playing this record…

Bright Falls Limited Edition Vinyl Give-Away

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:26:00 -0400

Hey friends! We just finished a really fantastic project with the lovely folks up at agencytwofifteen in San Francisco. Not only did we score the entire David Lynch-esque web series, but we also hooked them up with the ever-talented Best Coast. Now, we’re offering the freshly pressed, full length soundtrack to five special people! This limited edition vinyl release also features original album artwork from agencytwofifteen creative extraordinaire, Mat Bunnell. So, we want to know, what’s your fave summer jam? Let us know by leaving a “comment after the jump”. The five best answers win! The winner will be notified via email on August 6th. For a Bright Falls recap you can watch all six episodes, stream the soundtrack, and read more about the inspiration! As always, spread the word via Twitter and Facebook, it may or may not improve your chances of winning, but it will win you a place in our hearts!

Bethany (Best Coast) joined Rostam of Vampire Weekend and Kid...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:24:10 -0400

Bethany (Best Coast) joined Rostam of Vampire Weekend and Kid Cudi for this great track for Converse. Once it gets stuck in your head, you can download the track on their site.

Black Iris gets Wide Eyes with Local Natives

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:22:53 -0400

Our friends over at Pitchfork dropped the news about the remix Black Iris/Fools Gold’s Lewis Pesacov just finished for Local Natives. Head over to Pitchfork to check out the “Wide Eyes (Fools Gold Remix)” [ft. Aristotle Pop a Bottle]. It will be released as part of our singles series later this year.

Wide Eyes (Fools Gold Remix)” [ft. Aristotle Pop a Bottle]

As the temperature rises, so does the anticipation for the...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:20:02 -0400

As the temperature rises, so does the anticipation for the release of the Best Coast’s upcoming, Black Iris produced, full-length on Mexican Summer. To help cool things down, Pitchfork has another new song, Boyfriend, from the album which they’ve deemed “Best New Music” available for download. Why not take a moment to cool yourself down with a nice, refreshing new Best Coast song?

Best Coast has just announced details about their debut full...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:19:09 -0400

Best Coast has just announced details about their debut full length album, Crazy for You. Recorded at Black Iris LA Studios and produced by Lewis Pesacov, it will be released on July 27th on Mexican Summer. You can still hear one of the tracks, Our Deal, on our Bright Falls page. This should show up just in time for your mid-summer mixtapes.

Track Listing

01. Boyfriend
02. Crazy for you
03. The End
04. Goodbye
05. Summer Mood
06. Our Deal
07. I Want To
08. When The Sun Don’t Shine
09. Bratty B
10. Honey
11. Happy
12. Each and Everyday

Bonus Track: “When I’m With You” (via LA Weekly)

If we could get literary with you all for one second, we wanted...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:18:21 -0400

If we could get literary with you all for one second, we wanted to take a moment to highlight a novel from Black Iris friend/family member Jenny Hollowell. Today marks the official release date of Jenny’s debut novel, “Everything Lovely, Effortless, Safe”, which you can find at booksellers nationwide and online. If you’re in NY, LA or Richmond, you can also catch Jenny reading in person tomorrow, June 9th at Word in Brooklyn, NY, Monday June 14th at 1708 Gallery (presented by Chop Suey Books), and Monday June 21st at Skylight Books in Los Angeles.

Fresh Off Toyota’s Viral Smash “Swagger...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:17:16 -0400

Fresh Off Toyota’s Viral Smash “Swagger Wagon”, We take a ride with Composer Justin Bailey, Saatchi & Saatchi Creative Team, Donnell Johnson and Stephan Baik, and Director Jody Hill, To Talk Rap and Minivans

-Where did the idea for a rap video come from?

Dojo and Steph (Saatchi): The idea came from product itself. We thought it was time the minivan stopped being looked at as a badge of shame. To us, the new Sienna(s) represented the awesomeness of parenthood today and years to come. Like the minivan, families are constantly evolving. They’re getting more stylish, cooler and more fun. Modern parents are more like the Huxtables or Griswolds than the Cleavers. We wanted this to be an anthem celebrating that notion.
We used videos like Snoop’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and Jay-Z’s “On To The Next One” as references. Each featured aspirational cars and we thought the Black & White look would make the SE even more stellar.

-What’s everyone’s favorite rap song/ video of all time?

Dojo and Steph: We’re both 80’s/90s hip-hop fans. Wu-Tang’s Protect Yo Neck, PE’s Fight The Power. KRS-1. RUN-DMC. Eric B & Rakim, Snoop. Dre. Biggie. ‘Pac… The list is endless.
Justin (Black Iris): This one’s a tough call because I’m a huge fan of Golden Era hip hop and could probably talk shop all day about it. Tribe, EPMD, Gang Starr, Main Source, Pharcyde, everything you mentioned, I just love it. If I had to pick a favorite song, though, it would be anything off of Tribe’s “The Low End Theory” or Organized Konfusion’s “Roosevelt Franklin” or “Releasing Hypnotical Gasses”. That first record was different than anything else when it came out. Unfortunately, I grew up without MTV so I never saw any videos.
Jody (Caviar): Easy. Favorite Rap Song = Wu-Tang Clan “Ain’t Nuthin ta Fuck Wit’. Favorite Rap Video = Jay-Z “99 Problems”

-How did you come to work with BI? What was that experience like?

Dojo and Steph: Like with Jody (Foot Fist Way, Eastbound & Down) we chose Black Iris for the style of work they’ve done outside the ad world and the experience was great! We said, “Uh, here are rough lyrics and random thoughts…please help.” They crushed it. So much so in fact, if there’s ever a follow-up video we even have tracks for that.
Justin: It was great feeling like everyone shared a brain when it came to a sense of humor and selecting the content of the lyrics. That relieved any pressure from it. Caitlin Orrison (co-writer) and I would spend hours just firing off lines back and forth, and we came up with some pretty raw stuff that we never even submitted. But we were happy to explore until we came up with the best we could, and I think the end result reflects that.
Dojo and Steph: Well, [Jody]’s SUPER collaborative and willing to try 1,001 things you want. But, that said, we also knew to get out his way and let him do his thing. Working with Justin we tried to do the same; Give him space, and like Jody, when we did give him awful feedback and terrible suggestions he’d spit out gold.
Justin: When we first saw what you had done with Jody and the cast we were bowled over by how it turned out. I’ve seen the video so many times now and- even though I know the next line- the visuals still make me laugh.

- Justin, was there anything you wish would have stayed in the final version of the song?

Justin: I’m happy with what ended up in the song. There are so many good lines! I can only think of two rhymes I really like that didn’t make the cut. “I change a dirty diaper like it ain’t no thing, carpool punctuality brings me neighborhood fame.” Caitlin’s favorite omission is “Don’t like my tie? Well, my kid picked it out for me. You can’t front ‘cause at 2 he knew his ABC’s.”

-Is it possible to be cool driving a minivan?

Jody: If you smoke weed while you’re doing it. (Laughs).
Dojo and Steph: Hellz yes. Driving a Sienna means you have family. It means you’re proud and comfortable with yourself and the life you have now. That’s cool. That’s swagger, mutha-father.
Jody: Just Kidding, you can be cool if you own it and that’s what the message here is. Cool is in the eye of the beholder.
Justin: [Yeah] I also used to drive a minivan years ago when I played in a band. We packed it like a game of Tetris and toured all over.

-Only a week after its release the video had well over a million hits, and is now almost at three. Did you anticipate it being this successful?

Dojo and Steph: No. You can only hope a video goes ‘viral.’ We thought people would like the song and the message behind it. Getting over a million hits is great but our favorite part is hearing/reading folks say they’re proud to rock their minivans or wish they had a Sienna, cause that was the [goal].

The Silver Lake Chorus rehearses the MacGruber theme in the...

Fri, 21 May 2010 12:40:22 -0400

The Silver Lake Chorus rehearses the MacGruber theme in the Black Iris LA Studio.

We’ve had to keep this one under-wraps for a while now, but are stoked that we can finally spill the freakin’ beans. One of our primary composers, Matthew “Cornbread” Compton, has been barricaded at an undisclosed location for much of this year working on the score for the MacGruber movie.

To celebrate the film blowin’ up in theaters across the country today, and the soundtrack now available, we wanted to share this tidbit of behind the scenes footage with you. Fans of Black Iris will want to pay particular attention to Cornbread’s handiwork on the “MacGruber Theme”, also featuring a raging sax solo by Fool’s Gold’s Brad Caulkins, and the tracks “MacGruber’s Suite” and “The Perfect Number” featuring Kristen Wiig.

If you caught the most recent episode of The Cleveland Show, you...

Fri, 07 May 2010 15:40:00 -0400

If you caught the most recent episode of The Cleveland Show, you witnessed Kanye West’s appearance as a hilarious parody of himself named Kenny West. What you may not have noticed was that the track Kenny and Cleveland Jr. rhymed over was written and produced by one of our talented collective members. Can YOU sing like a robot?

Mexico Via Pacifico (And Black Iris)!

Fri, 07 May 2010 15:39:25 -0400

Pacifico relaunched their great destination website just in time for summer called Mexico Via Pacifico, and asked The Black Iris Collective to provide the music for their short films. We invite you to get in the spirit and explore Mexico with Pacifico. Make sure you check out the Cinema de Pacifico to hear our tracks and be transported to a Mexican adventure with us, just in time for Cinco De Mayo!

Since the release of the trailer late last month, Bright Falls,...

Fri, 07 May 2010 15:38:54 -0400

Since the release of the trailer late last month, Bright Falls, which was directed by Phil Van of Little Minx, has been getting buzz all over the place. For those who aren’t aware, Bright Falls is a live action web series created by agencytwofifteen as a prequel to the Xbox game, Alan Wake. Black Iris Music scored all six episodes and placed some existing band music that the directors just had to have. ACD’s Mat Bunnell and Nate Able, discuss their Black Iris experience.
The very eager fans of the series will be glad to know that episode 3 is out today and can be viewed at Brightfalls.com/
1.The Bright Falls series is so specific visually and does an amazing job of capturing the feeling of the game. Did you have an idea of what your music direction was initially? Or, did it evolve with the project?
MB/NA: We had a good sense of the overall tone we were looking to establish and we knew from the start that music would play a big part in that. We always find temp stuff to give rough cuts a more finished feel and provide a starting point for the music. Luckily Black Iris understood what we were going for right off the bat and we were able to run with it.
2. Did you have a musical inspiration?
MB/NA: We had a starting point in terms of inspiration with some of the wonderful stuff that was composed by Remedy for the game but we wanted to give the series a unique feel. This series is obviously drenched in David Lynch-ian touches and the guys and girls at Black Iris told us right off the bat they were huge fans of this kind of genre. So it was fun for all of us to start listing directions to dive into. You start with stuff like Ennio Morricone, Michael Andrews, Penderecki and all the Lynch bits and go from there.
3. Describe your process when it comes to musical direction.
MB/NA: We’re not musicians by any stretch, but at the point in a job when a composer or music house comes in we know the story we’re trying to tell better than anyone. At first it’s usually a question of conveying what we’re looking for in words that the composers can translate into something. Hopefully it’s a translation that makes sense when it’s played back to us and you just finesse with the composer to make sure it’s hitting all the story points at the right time and in the right way.
4. What drew you to working with Black Iris? What specifically about Black Iris made them right for the job? Had you heard of them before?
MB/NA: Our producer Joyce Chen recommended them after having worked with them before. She gave them a quick description of the project and they came back to us with a bunch of references and styles that they thought were the zone we were looking for. They were spot on and it was really obvious that they got the vibe we were trying to create. And it’s always nice when people are psyched about a project. They were psyched.
5. What was it like to work with Black Iris?
MB/NA: Great experience all around. Super talented. Super friendly. And super patient when it came to listening to us occasionally talk in circles and go back and forth on details. We could tell they were excited and super responsive and it made all of us that much more excited ourselves. We fed off each other and I think that shines through in the end result.
6. The project covers a large range of musical applications (ie. scoring to picture, background music and real band tracks). How did Black Iris help with those different directions? What’s the advantage to working with one company for all of these things?
MB/NA: The huge advantage to one company in this case was that they had such a good grasp of the series overall that, whether it was score, tracks or things verging on sound design, they were always right in line with the overall tone. By the later episodes we would sometimes get only one or two pieces of music for a section but it would be so on-point that we wouldn’t even need to hear a bunch of options. A little finessing and it was good to go.
7. How did the Best Coast track “Our Deal” end up in the series? What drew you to that track?
MB/NA: It was sent as an example of Black Iris’ real band tracks and we all loved it after one listen. It matched the overall mood for our series in such a perfect way that we immediately tried to find a spot to put it in. At one point we thought we might not be able to get it due to it not being ready for our schedule but thankfully it worked out. It was a good day when we found out it was a go.
8. Do you feel that working with Black Iris was different from working with a typical music house? Why or why not?
MB/NA: For this project in particular the combination of great composers and connections to bands paid off huge. It just doubled the resources we had to throw at the series and really helped to give it a bigger feel.
9. In your mind, what makes a project like this successful? What role does the music play?
MB/NA: Music is one of those things that when it’s done right you’re not even always aware of it. It takes the emotion of a scene or spot and amplifies it and brings it to such a fine point that the viewer can’t help but feel what we want them to feel. The best music does this without the viewer feeling manipulated or pushed there artificially. Any successes this series finds is absolutely related to music. Audio and visual are so connected to create the mood that if the music isn’t working for us, the end result suffers catastrophically.

Toyota just “dropped” the video for their Sienna...

Fri, 07 May 2010 15:38:00 -0400

Toyota just “dropped” the video for their Sienna Minivan, aka The Swagger Wagon and we’re stoked that the world will now feel the lyrical stylings of Black Iris. It was awesome to collaborate with Saatchi & Saatchi on this track, and we’re “hyped” to see what director Jody Hill and actors Rachael Drummond and Brian Huskey did with it. Check it out on YouTube.

New Best Coast Track C/O Bright Falls

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:16:00 -0400

Last week we posted the trailer for the Bright Falls webseries, which introduces the XBox game Alan Wake. The first two episodes launched today and we’re so excited that everyone else finally gets to see them. Those with crystal ears may have picked out Best Coast at the beginning of Episode 2 - Time Flies. Rather than make you wait, we figured we’d go ahead and stream the full song. This track, Our Deal, will appear on Best Coast’s upcoming full length that was recorded and produced at Black Iris LA. For now, the only place you can hear it is here on our site.

SHOOT Online Profiles Black Iris Collaborator Todd Porter

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:46:00 -0400

SHOOT Online recently profiled Todd Porter of Goodby, and gave an interesting glimpse into the world of music supervision when asked about his recent favorite projects,“The currently running Comcast’s “Town” where I connected our producer Ashley Sferro with music house Black Iris. The remixing project I did with some fairly well known DJs on the work by the band Electric Six on the “Milkquarious” rock opera [for the California Milk Processor Board].”.
Todd knows what’s up and we’re proud to be one of the few music houses he mentions.

Remember in February when we gave you a sneak peak at the making...

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:13:37 -0400

Remember in February when we gave you a sneak peak at the making of Fool’s Gold’s newest video, “Nadine”? We told you it was directed by Adria Petty, and filmed at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It’s finally seen the light of day, and it’s a ghastly good-time. Thanks to Stereogum and Spinner.