The most ambitious film I’ve worked on was “PURE”, directed by Jim Donovan. As composer, music supervisor, and music editor, I re-created the world of after-hours electronic clubs and the trippy, hypnotic journey a DJ takes you on. The music wasn’t just background — it was a character in the film.
I licensed 27 tracks from marquee artists like Ian Pooley, Chromeo, Misstress Barbara, Max Graham, Chris Brann and LSG. As well as from emerging Montreal talent. For the film’s climax, I remixed a track by UK world-beat pioneers Suns of Arqa. We enlisted Moment Factory artist Johnny Ranger to make us a music video. The success of which led to me joining the band, performing with them at festivals like Glastonbury and collaborating on six of their albums!
We filmed inside iconic Montréal venues including the after-hours club ARIA and the Rialto Theater. I also appeared on screen as a DJ, alongside Montréal legends Laflèche, Maus, and Miguel Graca.
For the premiere, we threw a wild launch party at Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, where I performed live with VJs from Moment Factory. I released the official soundtrack on my label Finite Records. We did the album launch at the film festival Le Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois.
In 2001 I founded Finite Music, a studio and record label that specialized in music for Film & TV. We were a team of composers, music supervisors, engineers and music editors. For our first feature film “Danny in the Sky” we received a nomination for the 2002 Jutra Award for Best Original Score.
For “3 Saisons”, I collaborated agaion with director Jim Donovan. The film starred popular Québecois actors like Caroline Néron and Romano Orzari and it won many awards internationally.
The film “La Ferme Des Humains” needed two reggae songs so I hired music producer Quicksound to compose them, pairing him with keyboard player Mark Hoeppner and Juno Award winning dancehall reggae vocalist Mikey Dangerous.
For the award winning documentary “The Eye in the Son” by Moment Factory, I incorporated into the musical score the sound of footsteps on snow, wind and heavy breathing to re-create the environment of Mont Everest.
In television, my work has focused primarily on Music Supervision and Rights Clearance. I’ve negotiated over 500 music licensing contracts. Although some of my finest work as a compser was the music for the horror series “Urban Myth Chillers” by Universal that featured the iconic actor Omar Sharif! This was the first project I did with director jim Donovan.
The comedy series “The Business” on IFC featured Hollywood actress Kathleen Robertson. The music I licensed was primarlily Klezmer. I worked on documentaries for National Geographic & Discovery Channel, as well as scripted series such as “Jack of Diamonds” for Showtime and “21 Thunder” for Netflix & CBC.
My biggest television project was Family Biz, a 26-episode series for YTV. The production schedule was extremely tight, leaving no room for delays caused by prolonged music-rights negotiations. To streamline the process, I leveraged my licensing network of composers, record labels, publishers, and bands to assemble a large library of pre-cleared music, organized by mood and musical style. Fees were agreed upon and contracts signed in advance, so every track’s cost was known upfront.
This system allowed editors and directors to instantly find the right music to cut to. No time was wasted editing to uncleared temp music, saving the production significant money while ensuring all broadcast deadlines were met.
For “Le Clan” on Radio-Canada, I conceived of a distinctive musical style we called Shediac Gothic — a blend of acoustic Americana folk, the sensual melancholy vibes of trip hop beats and the atmospheric synth-driven tension of industrial music. I curated a playlist for the entire crew to set the tone during pre-production, influencing casting, wardrobe, location scouting, cinematography, and more.
Over two seasons, I guided the show’s musical direction, working with longtime collaborator Tim Rideout, who composed the score and expertly brought this new genre to life. As Music Supervisor, I’m especially proud of licensing a track by one of my musical heroes, grunge icon Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, QOTSA), alongside notable Canadian artists Lisa LeBlanc, Radio Radio, Les Trois Accords, and GrimSkunk.
