“Since people didn’t know what ethnicity I was, I had a unique experience in the way that I related with others and could move pretty fluidly between different groups, but it also created a lot of confusion in my identity because I never knew where I fit in.”

What Inspired you to become a film composer?
”In my teens, I had aspirations of being a film director. I would make short films with my camcorder and edit in some of my favorite soundtracks like: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Jon Brion), Road to Perdition (Thomas Newman), and The Lake House (Rachel Portman). During this period of film exploration and experimentation, I realized the emotional impact and storytelling power of a film score which would ultimately set me down the path to be a film composer.”

“Earlier this month, the Institute launched a new Intensive, Music for Animated Shorts. Four composers were paired with animated shorts filmmakers, chosen in collaboration with Mike Plante, who runs the Sundance Shorts Program. Creative Advisors were Christophe Beck, Germaine Franco, Phil Lord, Julia Pott and Arturo Rodriguez.”

“The Prolific film, TV, and game composer shares a set of exclusive TR-909 Grooves in her feature article with ROLAND CLOUD.”

Tangelene, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
”Composing music is something that has always been a part of me. I was a dreamer as a kid and always had a large imagination. My Fisher-Price tape recorder was always in my hand, held like a briefcase, as I would run through the yard, swing from a pole or roll through the grass. Any time I would have a thought, idea, tune, I would record it onto the tape player.”

“I’ve been playing the piano since I was two years old and became extremely fascinated in filmmaking during my teens. The two merged and I then trained at the Berklee College of Music where I received my Bachelor of Music Degree in Film Scoring. After graduating, I immediately made the move to Los Angeles and started interning at Hans Zimmer’s studio, Remote Control Productions. I eventually ended up getting hired there and now I work as a freelance composer for film and TV and music producer.”

“Disney returns to the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 14th with three new shorts as part of Short Circuit, the studio’s experimental program launched in 2016.”