D4Disgruntled - The Composer

Music Composer at D4D Media
Music Composer, Content Creator, Editor, Music Editor and Musician

Los Angeles, California

Member Since:
April 2021

Last online:
> 2 weeks ago

Invites sent:
0

About D4Disgruntled

ME IN A NUTSHELL:
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Music Assistant / Assistant Composer To Richard Band
Ghost Writer / Library Music Contributor
Independent Music Artist

SUMMARY EXPANDED
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As mentioned above I work for the film composer Richard Band (brother of Charles Band from Empire Pictures and Full Moon Features) as both a music assistant and assistant composer. As the Music Assistant I perform administrative tasks from managing his website making updates and changes as necessary. As an Assistant Composer I get the opportunity from time to time to compose additional music for scenes Richard Band may not have time to compose due to challenging deadlines.

As a Ghost Writer, I composer music in secret, locked away from society, cranking out music that I will not get credited for (but I DO get paid and that is all I really care about as a Ghost Writer). Usually it is music I would not normally compose as its not my voice anyway so I do not mind someone else taking the credit and paying me a handsome amount of hush money to do so. LOL.

As a Library Music Contributor, I compose music tracks that are submitted and if selected and used in a production, I look forward to the royalty check / percentage payment. I am with both Exclusive and Non-Exclusive Libraries. The Exclusive ones I unfortunately cannot talk about due to the NDA I signed. It's like the rules of Fight Club, all of them entail not talking about Fight Club..

Lastly, as an Independent Music Artist, I create "Concept Soundtrack Albums" which I jokingly refer to as creating original scores to movies, shows and games that do not exist while re-scoring those that do. When it is a movie, show or game that does not exist, I am the one writing the story around which the music will be composed. I use Virtual Orchestral Instruments as well as an array of synth and sound design instruments. For the re-scores of genre films that do exist, I create a complete and alternate score to each film. None of the existing copyrighted music from the film is used. I create all new themes, motifs, soundscapes, etc. but I try to keep in in the same vain as the original score was from similar styled synths and orchestral instruments but taking a completely new approach . All of this is executed and treated seriously as though I had been the original composer hired to score the films.

THE BACKSTORY
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D4Disgruntled (aka: Matthew C. Hightshoe) writes the stories to which he then composes the music that will help to tell that story - as though the story was an existing movie, show or game. He has an ongoing album series in which he "re-scores" existing movies, shows and games with new, alternate music scores with all new thematic material - never using the existing material.

D4Disgruntled has a background in music theory, composition, chorus and performance (as a percussionist) in school orchestras. Just like Danny Elfman, he learned how to play by listening with his ears and replicating on a piano or synth what he heard.

D4Disguntled started out as a film geek growing up which led to him realizing that he was liking the music in the movies more than the movies themselves. He became a fan of film music as a teenager and always wanted to pursue it. However, he did not have the resources at that time that would allow him to grow and advance into this career filed.

The dream was put on hold for many years.

D4Disgruntled's y love of film music led him to learn as much about the art of film composing and the industry itself. He became quite the aficionado of the film music world over the past 25 years. His favorite composers who have been influential on him were and still are Jerry Goldsmith, Christopher Young, James Horner, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Elliot Goldenthal, John Carpenter, Patrick Doyle, and Richard Band.

In 2017, D4Digruntled acquired all the essential beginning resources to pursue composing in today’s age. He has met many composers through local LA signings and conventions. He has been doing assistant work off and on for famed horror film composer Richard Band (brother to Charles Band of Full Moon Features / Empire Films) which entails managing his website, researching instruments for possible use in his composing assignments, helping with shipping items purchased off his website, and organizing his written scores while being mentored as well.

Now for the burning questions - why the name D4Disgruntled?

Well, it's a conversation starter, secondly, it's a joke on the artist community regarding all artists and creative people being disgruntled, and lastly, he liked the movie "V" for Vendetta and came up with a clever name based on that. Much like Junkie XL, D4Disgruntled is building a name for himself as an independent artist. If he can garner a larger following that way then among the fan base being built will at some point be content creators (filmmakers, show makers, game makers) that will want to hire him. IF he is hired, great, if not, no worries, he still has his independence as a indie composer.

Unique traits: Storyteller with Music.

Gender:
Male

Height:
5' 9"

Weight:
170

Body type:
Athletic

Hair:
Bald

Hair color:
Other

Eyes:
Green

Ethnicity:
Caucasian

Badges

Photos

Videos

"Time Trap" Clip 2 || 2023 Indie Film Music Contest Entry 2 of 2

"Time Trap" Clip 1 || 2023 Indie Film Music Contest Entry 1 of 2

"The Blizzard Chase" || Ryan Leach January 2023 Composing Contest

Sneak Peak at Horror Re-Scored 3: Main Titles / Opening Sequence

Credits

"The Brotherin" Concept Soundtrack Album (2022)
Music by D4D Media (Action, Horror, Mystery and Thriller) Composer STORY CONEPT: Concept Soundtrack album that tells the tale of a grisly series of murders in which all the victims all appear to be the result of vicious animal attacks. Before long it is discovered that there is a link between the victims and a new sex drug called "The Brotherin" they used. A big pharma company who produces "The Brotherin" has been trying to bring back the long supressed and dorment genes in humans that create Werewolves. The CEO of the company is himself an ancestor of the believed extinct race of Werewolves called The Brotherin and has been working to re-activate the genes hidden in some humans. His goal is to start a new race of Werewolves to conquer the world. However, is this all simply paranoid delusion in the mind of the main character - the murder suspect who is addicted to "The Brotherin" drug? Or is there really a plot to bring back Werewolves? ABOUT THE MUSIC: While the story can be set in modern day, I wanted to explore the sensibilities of John Carpenter and Dark Synth Wave similar to Stranger Things while not copying Carpenter or Stranger Things, I listened to these styles and then let my imagination run wild and create something that is inspired, original and not derivitive. There is a narrative structure to the music, using themes and motifs and developing them throughout the album as the story unfolds. I utilize many synth sounds heard in 80s film scores to horror films including electronic drums, synth pads and strings, stingers, organs, glittery sounds and bells and an array of creepy sound effects. Surprisingly, not many 80s horror films sounded like Stranger Things. They were either full orchestras with synths or used nothing but synths while trying to make it sound like an orchestra. I did not want to do that. I selected a large ensemble of synth sounds to use and used them according to their limitations. I let the synths be synths. I did perform some post mixing effects but mostly to give it more reverb and depth at times. So sit back and go on this dark and creepy adventure both musically and narratively. Enjoy!
"The Erehwon" ALBUM in Producton (2022)
Music by D4D Media (Action, Horror, Sci-Fi and Music) Composer Sci-Fi Concept Soundtrack Album • Working on my next Concept Soundtrack Album. • Merged cosmic sci-fi horror music styles with techno rhythms to tell the story of a space exploration crew's journeys, explorations and near extinction moments.
"Horror Re-Scored: Vol. 3" in Production (2022)
Music by D4D Media (Horror, Mystery and Music) Composer "Horror Re-Scored: Vol. 3" • Currently working on my next Re-Score Concept Album. • The project consists of composing an original, complete and alternate score to a horror movie.
"Shadow Warriors" Official Soundtrack (2021)
Music by George (Strange Nocturnal) Hayton (Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror and 1 More) Composer An ancient legend is uncovered in the deep mountains of Asia. An archeologist and retired martial artist are brought together to combat a dark entity that has been prphesized would return to take revenge on humanity. This was an independent film made by Geroge Hayton (aka: Strange Nocturnal) who resides in the UK. D4Disgruntled was promoting an ablum of his through PromoteHorror.com and was put in contact with the filmmaker (who is also a musician and composer but did not have time for such dutires). Being in Los Angeles and unable to travel across the pond, D4disgruntled performed all composing duties remotely from his studio via telecommuting. Everythingwas done with virtual instruments and post-production manipulations. The initial ask was to create 4 large music suites that could be edited and temp-tracked throughout the film. Afte creating around 30 minutes of music, D4Disgruntled wanted to expand the musical iseas and create an actual 60+ minute score based on the story outlines and scene breakdowns. Not having seen any fdootage, D4Disgruntled composed cues to what he imagined the film looked likea nd what the scenes entailed. Once done, the music could stiull be used however the filmmaker saw fit. Surprisingly, the finished film used most of the music cues in their entirety and as intended by the composer. Such a rarity these days.action
"Societal Chaos" Album Release (2020)
Music by D4D Media (Action, Sci-Fi, War and Music) Composer • Created a 4th Concept Soundtrack Album to establish myself as an independent composer for media content. • The events observed in the early Spring of 2020 when the pandemic shut everything down and societal structure, mentalities and behaviors shifted into insanity were used as the narrative structure for this album.
"Horror Re-Scored: Vol. 2" ALBUM Release (2019)
Music by D4D Media (Horror, Mystery, Thriller and Music) Composer • Created my 3rd Concept Soundtrack Album to establish myself as an independent composer for media content. • The project consisted of composing an original, complete and alternate score to a horror movie.
Tubular Bells Re-Imagined (The 2020 Hell Mix) (2019)
Music by D4D Media (Horror and Music) Composer D4Disgruntled created a bonus track to his "Horror Re-Scored: Vol. 2" project and is presenting it as a "Single". This track features a newly “re-imagine” rendition of “Tubular Bells” in the same style and tone of the score. It is much darker and evil sounding, almost like a demonic tribal celebration heard straight from Hell. It is going to appear on the upcoming Special Collector’s Edition CD featuring the complete score D4Disgruntled composed to "Horror Re-Scored: Vol. 2". MECHANICAL LICENSE: LICENSE NO.: 1454490490 | LICENSE RENEWAL DATE: Sep 02, 2020 SONG CODE: T74010 | TITLE: TUBULAR BELLS | WRITERS: MIKE OLDFIELD
"Horror Movies and Beyond" YouTube Series (2019)
Music by D4D Media (Documentary, Horror, History and Music) Composer • Commissioned to create a brief music cues to be used in the opening title sequence of a YouTube horror movie review series and as title bumpers on longer videos with chapter titles. • Collaborated with the YouTuber one-on-one to establish the tone and artistic direction of the music.
"TCC Music Library" (2017 - 2018)
Music by The Creative Cortex, LLC (Comedy, Documentary, Horror, Music and 1 More) Composer • Composed music for The Creative Cortex (a videography and video editing service provider based in Los Angeles, CA) and several of their clients. • Projects were mostly for their social media content and promos. • My role as a composer is on a project by project basis since 2017. • Collaborated with TCC director one-on-one to establish the tone and artistic direction of the music.
"Homage To Halloween" EP Release (2018)
Music by D4D Media (Horror and Music) Composer • Created my first EP to establish myself as an independent composer for media content. • The project consisted of music paying homage to the film scores of the Halloween movie franchise. • Learned about music licensing as the music composed was incorporating variations on the original copyrighted music from John Carpenter and Alan Howarth. Mechanical License SONG CODE: M56343 TITLE: MAIN THEME FROM HALLOWEEN II WRITERS: JOHN CARPENTER LICENSE NO.: 1454490488 LICENSE DATE: Sep 02, 2020 SONG CODE: LVB17V TITLE: LAURIE THEME WRITERS: JOHN CARPENTER LICENSE NO.: 1454490489 LICENSE DATE: Sep 02, 2020
"Horror Re-Scored: Vol. 1" ALBUM Release (2018)
Music by D4D Media (Horror and Music) Composer • Created my first Concept Soundtrack Album to establish myself as an independent composer for media content. • The project consisted of composing an original, complete and alternate score to a horror movie. • Spotted & composed additional music for scenes that did not originally have music while also composing music over scenes with existing music.
LaCie Video Editing Challenge (2018)
Music by The Creative Cortex, LLC (Drama and Music) Composer • Commissioned to create a an underscore for a scene edited by and submitted by The Creative Cortex to an online video editing challenge sponsored by LaCie. • Collaborated with TCC director one-on-one to establish the tone and artistic direction of the music.
"Sykosis" ALBUM Release (2018)
Music by D4D Media (Action, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi and 1 More) Composer • Created a 2nd Concept Soundtrack Album to establish myself as an independent composer for media content. • The project consisted of composing an original work that told a story I wrote and was not composed to any visual mediums.
"Black Friday Thursday" (2018)
Music by The Creative Cortex, LLC (Comedy, Music and Short) Composer • Commissioned to underscore a short "Tik-Tok" styled video as part of their original content series. • Collaborated with TCC director one-on-one to establish the tone and artistic direction of the music.
The Man Bat (2018)
Music by D4D Media (Comedy, Documentary, Family, Music and 1 More) Composer • Commissioned to create a brief 20-second cue to be used in the opening title sequence of a YouTube docu-series about the 1960 Batman series. • Collaborated with the director one-on-one to establish the tone and artistic direction of the music. • Composed 2 different styles - one in the original 1960s style and the other a more adventurous 1990s heroic feel.
"The Ceremony" (2018)
by D4D Media (Fantasy, Mystery and Music) Composer • Collaborated with another musician off of Instagram to compose a piece of music. • Communicated remotely as the other composer as they were based in Pennsylvania.