Anthony Marinelli, one of the music world’s most lauded composers, is back to spot work after writing the soon to be Broadway musical Bollydoll. Marinelli is probably best known for his creative collaborations and music for some of the ad industry’s most iconic spots (Apple, Shell, Portland Gas, Mercedes, along with PSAs for the California Department of Health Services and the “This Is Your Brain on Drugs” campaign by the Partnership for a Drug Free America). In addition to spot work, Marinelli has composed music for over 70 features films, in addition to musical collaborations with such iconic talents as Herb Alpert, Lionel Richie, Chuck D and Michael Jackson.
The Making Of Bollydoll
Marinelli has spent most of the last 2 1/2 years writing Bollydoll, a Broadway musical, animated film and dance spectacle. Created by Amrita Sen and Marinelli, Bollydoll incorporates immersive visual worlds, dancing and singing to infectious vocal hooks that channel funky East Indian, African and R&B influences. The show, featuring forty songs, thirteen dancers, and projected animation, opened with Sia for Deepak Chopra’s Sages and Scientists Symposium, and was first presented in a geodesic dome at Vortex Immersion/LA Center Studios. “What really sets Bollydoll apart is how it deliberately and seamlessly integrates original story, characters, music choreography, artwork, animation, fashion and education into a unified experience for the audience,” says Marinelli.
Jaguar Campaign/Extended Songs For Social Media
Marinelli’s pre-Bollydoll spot work included an ongoing campaign for Jaguar. The composer was tapped by the Spark44 agency creative team to come between picture and music in a unique way. The resulting spots, “Jaguar at Play”, “A Little Less Conversation”, “Heritage”, “Machines/How Alive Are You?,” “More Alive” and “It Plays Well/No Mere Machine/Everyday/Too Much” owe their musical inspiration to composing on the fly. “We went mobile,” says Marinelli. “We set up a recording studio at editorial so that ideas could quickly flow in either direction between all creatives as picture was being put together.” Working with an orchestra, analog synthesizers, soloists and vocalists, Marinelli crafted 15, 30 and 60 compositions, plus some extended “song” versions (“El Remedio” and “Machines”) for social media, based on the musical hooks and messages in the ads.”
Artist Collaboration
For part of the campaign Marinelli collaborated with neo soul rock band “The Heavy” and three time Grammy winner Asdru Sierra from Ozomatli. The campaign “Jaguar at Play” features a mix of flamenco guitars, Afro Cuban percussion and Asdru Sierra’s take on Tuvan throat singing. “Little Less Conversation” is a cover of the famous song written by Mac Davis and Bill Strange, made iconic by Elvis Presley. “Heritage is an emotional anthem composed of South American guitars, electric and acoustic guitar, live drums and bass, all performed to electronic pulses. ”It Plays Well/No Mere Machine/Everyday/Too Much” features stunning vocal performances by Amrita Sen and Sierra over driving flamenco guitar rhythms and Cuban percussion. “Machines” features industrial music and sound design created with analog synthesizers and drum machines with vocals by Heather Bradley. “More Alive” was recorded with a real 60-piece orchestra.
“I loved working with the Spark44 (creative director Bruce Dundore, managing director Miland Ravel, producer Kris Roberts, copywriter Ryan Moore, art director Jim Kowalski and director Vic Huber),” says Marinelli. “Advertising offers creative people a unique opportunity to communicate through music, sound and picture, all at a very high level. This campaign was a great opportunity to cultivate new relationships that exist outside the ad world.”
Score Catalog
Anthony Marinelli has compiled a special catalog of scores for agency creatives to access. “This is not a music library,” says Marinelli. “This is my personal catalog of “real” film scores, that have been vetted to the standards of the most demanding film directors and producers. I have written music for orchestras, small ensembles and live performances by hit-making musicians. These are not demos. There are fresh, emotion rich, long-form ready scores, perfect for ad and social media campaigns. Score catalog offers clients the advantage of one stop licensing (to avoid negotiations and unpredictable outcomes from multiple rights holders). It also allows creatives to take advantage of music that has not been overused or exhausted.” Spot credits utilizing the Score Catalog include work for Washington Lottery, Adidas, DHL, Lipitor, Ortho, IBM and Habitat For Humanity.
Sound Design/Palette Building
In addition to superior music work, Marinelli continues to work on sound design and its application to spot work. “When I first got to Hollywood, music and sound effects came together only at the end on the mixing stage,” says Marinelli. “I saw no reason for this separation. Analog and computer synthesizers took music and sound to a whole new place. I continued this pattern of marrying sound design and music, first with “This is your Brain on Drugs” campaign early on in my career, but most recently for Jaguar ‘Machines.’ I often build a palette of sound design effects or pulses to incorporate into my traditional orchestral scores. I enjoy working with all the sounds life has to offer.”
About Anthony Marinelli/Music Forever
You’ve heard Anthony’s work in hundreds of iconic spots for Apple, the memorable “This is Your Brain on Drugs” spot, Super bowl ads for Budweiser and Accenture, work for Shell, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, Fancy Feast, Boeing, and more. He’s composed classic Disney jingles, logos for Paramount and Morgan Creek, along with original music for over 70 feature films including Young Guns, 2 Days in the Valley, Planes Trains and Automobiles and Leaving Las Vegas. He’s arranged and performed for the Olympic opening ceremonies, the FIFA World Cup and Super Bowl XXVII's halftime show. He’s played keyboards on records with James Brown, Lionel Richie, Chuck D, Afrika Bambaataa, and Michael Jackson’s mega hit album “Thriller.” For the past several years, Anthony and Amrita Sen have co-created an entertainment venture called BollyDoll Entertainment that expands an existing retail brand through their original songs, live dance shows, and animation.
Anthony Marinelli is all about music, with a unequaled talent for creating tracks that everyone loves and remembers. Along with his Music Forever team, Marinelli has the right contacts and a love for collaboration, combined with the ability to solve problems and a relentless drive to find for his client that musical “needle in a haystack.” From effortlessly hip collaborations with some of today’s great artists to award-winning music/sound design for movies, spots and theatrical productions, Anthony Marinelli continues to excel. To have him work on your special project go to www.anthonymarinelli.com.
