Keith Kenniff has many aliases. There's his electronic project, Helios. Mint Juliep is the band he and his wife formed -- that's a more drums with distorted guitars affair. Then there's Goldmund, where he plays delicate, sparse piano and adds subtle sound flourishes.
None of these bands or monikers, however, hold a candle to the audiences Kenniff reaches in his other bands... or I should say brands. Facebook, Apple, Google, Starbucks, Coke, HBO, NBC, ABC, CBS. The list is MUCH longer. You've probably heard a piece that Kenniff has written on one of your various screens.
If you've ever been sucked into a commercial with heart-warming visuals and a compelling story of someone beating the odds or bearing their soul, there's a good chance that Keith Kenniff wrote the music. He seems to be the go-to guy for inspirational music.
The 2015 Goldmund album Sometimes is full of subdued meditations. It has the calm sense of someone looking inward and, not necessarily being sad, but being okay with sadness. A great example is on the track "Getting Lighter." Kenniff recalls writing it on a whim, after working on another "rush job" piece of music for an advertisement. He had a little time to kill and, being a composer, decided to improvise on the piano.
To hear (and see) more of Keith Kenniff's work, including that time Barack Obama used some of his music in the introduction video to his 2016 DNC speech, check out Keith's website: Unseen-Music.com.
Music is Music is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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