L-R: Brian Lapin, Mike Fratantuno, Terence Yoshiaki
By Dan Kimpel, Music Connection, April 2009
What can musicians do to stay at home? Mike Fratantuno, Terence Yoshiaki and Brian Lapin, three founding members of the Black Eyed Peas, created the Transcenders, a boutique music house specializing in film, television and commercial scoring. The Hollywood- based trio is composing for CW’s teen drama Gossip Girl. They previously created songs for Judd Apatow’s Superbad and Knocked Up, the SenArt film Bonneville, and Chris Rock’s I Think I Love My Wife. They composed the score for the Lionsgate/Element feature film College and the Universal/Beacon Pictures’ DVD feature Bring It on: All Or Nothing, and wrote additional scored music for Universal Pictures The 40 Year-Old Virgin. They are the proud recipients of BMI Composer Awards for their work as episodic composers on the NBC sitcom Joey. “It was a natural progression for us, all based on wanting to work together, thinking about where the industry was headed, and where the future was going to take us,” says Fratantuno. “More bands are figuring out it’s all about getting your music out there, whether on the internet, through TV or film, or licensed for commercials.” Yoshiaki notes that bands are now writing and recording with foresight of the potential marketplace. “They may even tailor specific songs to cover different topics they assume would be picked up for a movie. A lot of bands are creating with that whole other industry in mind. Apple does a good job with their commercials, finding bands that work in that mold. People see those commercials and think, ‘How can I make a tune that Apple would use?’” Brian Lapin says the trio recorded a number of demos the first few years in the company. “We wrote thematic songs. We did everything you can think of for that business and we did a bunch of Target spots. We also had a certain amount of stuff in our catalog that we would add to, to work into the picture.” According to Tom Seufert, creative director of Visual Music, a company that reps the three, what makes the Transcenders distinctive is that they are not only composers, but songwriters. “I call them a ‘composer collective.’ Their originality and diversity are perfect for visual mediums, they can adapt to all kinds of types of music.” Seufert, who began working with the group in January, says that while composers can often morph in many instrumental styles, it is rare for composers to translate as authentic songwriters. “The Transcenders are plugged in to this incredible talent base, so they’ll find a singer who sounds like a Sheryl Crow, or the Eagles; a craggy-voiced guy doing the blues; the Al Green guy doing the retro soul; and then turn around and do quirky alternative-folk — something like Feist — that could be on an Apple spot.” As composers for Gossip Girl, the trio works under the exacting pressures of a weekly schedule. Yoshiaki observes, “Throughout the process, some scenes will tie to each other. There are dramatic pieces of music that work across different scenes. Basically, we’re thinking in terms of the whole arc of the episode and the themes that are built within the show.” Lapin observes, “Hooks are musical themes for us. Our clients usually need it to be 40 seconds long — it’s like writing for the Ramones.” In addition to years spent touring with the Black Eyed Peas, the three members of Transcenders are significant songwriters. Lapin co-wrote the Peas’ first single “Joints & Jam.” Fratantuno cowrote the No. 1 hit “Where Is The Love” featuring Justin Timberlake. Fratantuno and Yoshiaki also co-wrote the Grammy-winning Top 10 hit single “Let’s Get It Started” with BEP, which earned them both 2004 Grammy nominations in the category of Best Rap Song. Visual Music’s Tom Seufert concludes that the Transcenders’ songs span not only genres, but eras. “It could be something that’s on the radio now, or a song that sounds like a hit from 20 years ago, five years ago, two minutes ago or two minutes from now — they’re really diverse.”
