echo
Velvet
Velvet Echo is the production duo of Mike McClellan and Stephen Newman. Longtime friends and collaborators, they formed their own studio while finishing college. They played and performed with multiple bands, all the while honing their skills as producers and engineers. Their friends would ask them to record and produce them, which would lead to meeting new musicians meeting talent they wanted to work with. During this time their love and appreciation for multiple styles of music deepened, which encourage them to branch out in their own writing. This created a snowball effect which lead to them moving away from running a recording studio and focusing on producing. Mike and Steve enjoy talking about music, movies, and spending time playing old video games.
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Velvet Echo has produced music for ESPN, The NBA, MTV, the Today Show, as well as created promotional music for Major League Baseball, the NFL, The Olympic Games, Amazon.com. They produced releases for Amy Whitcomb of NBC's "The Voice" and "The Sing Off."
selecta
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Josh began his musical career as a singer/songwriter at the age of fifteen, being heavily influenced by the Beatles and David Bowie. First learning to play bass, he quickly moved on to guitar, drums, piano, and singing in lead positions for various musical acts during the early years of high school. Eventually, Josh expanded his interests deeper into all genres of music, including electronic-based artists and classical composers. Combining these passions with his infatuation for technology, Josh used his experience with electronics to build a computer by age 17 through which he could record/compose music without the aid of other band members.
Soon after, he learned the art of production and sound editing. He became proficient at recording and producing, doing work for local acts of all styles in addition to his own music. As demand grew, Josh began flying to studios across the country at the request of multiple music groups to assist with writing and producing. This lead to collaborations in styles ranging from pop, rock, hip-hop, electro, ambient, and the creation of small movie scores. All the while, he maintained playing instruments in local bands and creating his own music.
In 2009, Josh began work at a video game production company as a sound designer and composer. This afforded him the musical freedom to start the electro-pop-funk duo "Muscle Hawk" as singer/songwriter. Quickly gaining popularity as the top dance act in Salt Lake City, other festivals around the country began flying them out to perform both original content and to DJ. Muscle Hawk was soon discovered by Warner Bros, and came on board to compose various Warner projects.
Josh’s compositions have gained placement in BMW and Ford commercials, numerous television/radio spots, and an array of companies utilize his music on Youtube and other social platforms. Josh has done remixes for a number of artists, including Kimbra, The Crystal Method, Zedd, Boys Noize, and N.A.S.A.
Branching off into many diverse styles, Josh releases music under several different monikers: SELECTA, UltraBear, DSCO///MNSTR, and Turbo & Ozone. He is currently releasing music/remixes on numerous record labels both local and international, including Mähtrasher Records, KillPop Records, DAMN SON!, Warner Bros, and Strange Music Inc.. Josh still currently composes for Warner/Chappell Productions, and is working on a cinematic/orchestral album with the intent of branching out into scoring motion pictures and movie trailers.