Kyle Townsend

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Kyle Townsend
Birth name Kyle Dwayne Townsend
Born (1978-09-21) September 21, 1978
Origin Seattle, Washington, United States
Genres Rock, Pop, Classical, Folk, R&B, Jazz, hip hop
Occupations Record producer, musician, composer, songwriter
Years active 2002–present
Associated acts Celine Dion, Jessie J, Diane Warren, Keyshia Cole, Jessica Mauboy, Snoop Dogg, Tulisa Contostavlos
Website www.kyletownsend.com

Kyle Townsend (born September 21, 1978) is an American record producer, musician and composer. He has produced songs for such acclaimed recording artists as 5-time GRAMMY Award winner Celine Dion[1] and 6-time Academy Award nominated songwriter Diane Warren,[2] as well as Jessie J[3] and Snoop Dogg among others. He has written music for hundreds of television shows and events including MTV Movie Awards,[4] American Idol,[4] X Factor,[4] and NBA Basketball[4] among others.

Early life

Kyle Townsend was born in Valdosta, Georgia and raised in the Central District neighborhood of Seattle Washington. This neighborhood was also once home to musicians Quincy Jones[5] and Jimi Hendrix. He was introduced to music by his mother who was a minister, and also served as choir director at the church his family attended. He began piano by ear at age 6, and was installed as organist at his church at age 7. He was mentored by other church musicians from the greater Seattle area, and at the early age of 11 he performed with GRAMMY Award winning gospel recording artist, Reverend Timothy Wright.[6] He was frequently hired to play at events in and around the city, all before he had entered his teens. Later, his focus would turn to production during a chance encounter at a local instrument store near Seattle, as he watched a customer making a track on a keyboard workstation. Inspired, he says "Even though I had been a musician all my life, that was the moment I decided to be a producer. It happened in an instant." Within a year, he would be in Los Angeles pursuing a career in music.[7]

Music career

Townsend would make his first major label album appearance playing keyboards on the 2002 Def Jam release "Ghetto Heisman" by WC. The album debuted at #7 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. He would go on to produce records for Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Diane Warren, Jessie J, Melanie Fiona, Elle Varner, Karmin, Rome Ramirez, Jagged Edge, Ray J, Keyshia Cole, The Saturdays, Frankie J, Sean Kingston, WC, Diana Vickers, Eliza Doolittle, Jessica Mauboy, Keri Hilson, Eva Simons, Rumer[8]

In 2005 Townsend wrote music that was featured in promotional trailers for the films "Guess Who" starring Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac and "xXx: State of the Union" starring Ice Cube.

Along with GRAMMY Award winning producer Rodney Jerkins, Kyle Townsend produced the song "Silver Lining (Crazy Bout You)" performed by Jessie J. for the soundtrack to the film "Silver Linings Playbook". The film stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker, and is directed by David O. Russell. The film was one of the biggest films of 2012 grossing $236 million world wide, and received 8 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, and earned one win for Jennifer Lawrence (Best Actress). The song earned a GRAMMY Nomination for Best Song Written For Visual Media[9]Townsend also composed music within the film as well.

Townsend produced Celine Dion on the song "Unfinished Song", which served as the title track for the film "Song for Marion" starring Gemma Arterton and Vanessa Redgrave. The song was written by Diane Warren, and the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2012.[10]

Townsend worked again with Diane Warren with Snoop Dogg, then "Snoop Lion" for his journey into reggae on his album "Reincarnated". He produced the single "The Good Good" with Terrace Martin, which was released with a video in conjunction with a campaign with Overstock.com. Reincarnated went on to earn a GRAMMY nomination for best Reggae Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in January of 2014.

Musical Style

Townsend cites musicians including Quincy Jones, Kurt Kobain, Phil Spector, John P. Kee, Michael Jackson, Kirk Franklin, Raphael Saadiq, Rodney Jerkins, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Jerry Wexler, Prince, Rick Rubin, Diane Warren, and David Foster with having considerable impact on his evolution as a musician and producer. Although he had been a musician since the age of 6, he says he first realized music as being art as a teen when he saw the broadcast of Nirvana's appearance on MTV Unplugged in New York. "It really showed me the world of possibilities that exists in music. It opened my eyes, it was a real breakthrough for me." [7]

References

  1. ↑ "Grammy.com" Past Winners, November 25, 2012
  2. ↑ "imdb.com" Bio for Kyle Townsend, November 24, 2012
  3. ↑ "Allmusic.com" Silver Linings Playbook Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, November 24, 2012
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "imdb.com" Filmography for Kyle Townsend, November 24, 2012
  5. ↑ Obama Awards Quincy Jones Medal, "Central District News" November 24, 2012.
  6. ↑ "IMDB" Bio for Kyle Townsend, November 24, 2012
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Townsend, Kyle (August 5, 2012). The Making of a Hit Song (Speech). Independent Entertainment Summit. North Hollywood, CA.
  8. ↑ "Music180.com" Bio for Kyle Townsend, November 24, 2012
  9. ↑ ", "Grammy.com" January 28, 2014.
  10. ↑ Celine Dion Debuts Unfinished Songs in Toronto International Film Festival's "Song For Marion", "PR Newswire" November 24, 2012.

External links


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