Check Out Ramiro Rodriguez Zamarripa’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ramiro Rodriguez Zamarripa.

Hi Ramiro, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started playing guitar at an early age. I slowly started to fall in love with music and began to take it more seriously. I played in bands with friends but also decided to study jazz guitar. Studying jazz introduced me to the complex world of music theory, music notation, and harmony. I then began taking piano lessons with my grandmother, a retired music teacher.

After high school, I decided I wanted to study Music Composition and Music Production and enrolled at UCA (Universidad Catolica Argentina). Once I graduated, I started off my career composing music for commercials working as a composer for Ona Sounds, a music and sound design production studio for clients such as Netflix, National Geographic, and ESPN.

My love for different kinds of music genres and my diverse background and influences made film scoring the perfect profession for me to explore. My passion for film music led me to move to Los Angeles to attend the Film Scoring Program at UCLA. During this time, I interned with Tim Davies (La La Land, Frozen, Ant-Man, and the Wasp) where I contributed to the soundtrack for DreamWorks’ Trollhunters, created by Academy Award Winner Guillermo del Toro. A personal recommendation from Tim Davies led me to join Attitude City Music, a company led by acclaimed composer Leo Birenberg.

Working across a variety of genres and platforms, I’ve contributed music for Netflix’s hit show, Cobra Kai, Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda, and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Hulu’s multiple Emmy nominee series PEN15, Epix’s docu-series Helter Skelter: An American Myth, from award-winning filmmaker and documentarian Lesley Chilcott, collaborating with award-winning composer Christophe Beck (Frozen, The Hangover, Edge of Tomorrow).

I’ve also written music for Apple TV’s animated musical comedy Central Park, created by Josh Gad, featuring Kirsten Bell and Stanley Tucci, among others. I’ve also had the pleasure to work on Quibi’s mini-series comedy Die Hart, starring Kevin Hart, John Travolta, and Josh Hartnett.

I’ve worked on several movies such as TruTV’s Impractical Joker’s movie Staten Island Social Club, Disney+’s Second Born Royals, and indie smash-hit Plus One, which won the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award.

When not working for Attitude City Music, I focus on my own projects such as the feature documentary Iron Family, which premiered at the Wisconsin film festival and Come Into Your Own, which premiered at the NFMLA film festival.

I’ve also recently collaborated with Emmy nominee composer Jonathan Hartman (Superstition, Dark/Web) contributing music for Interrogator, a Games Workshop project. I still collaborate with Ona Sounds as a composer and orchestrator for multiple films and documentaries such as Ruin and Rose by acclaimed filmmaker Ben Sturgulewski and Netflix’s documentary The River Runner.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Moving to another country was definitely not an easy move. Leaving your family and friends is always tough. It’s a bit of a challenge to get used to a new city, different culture, and language. At moments, especially at the beginning, it is not unusual to feel a bit lonely. It takes time to develop new meaningful friendships and relationships in a new country. Luckily, I was able to meet amazing people from all around the world and develop amazing friendships. As far as work is concerned, it’s not easy to find a job in this city. LA is full of talented people trying to do the exact same thing as you. That said, I was very lucky to have great mentors along the way who helped me carve my own way.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a composer for film and TV. I’ve always loved different kinds of music and writing music for films allows me to compose music in all sorts of genres. A film or television series may demand a big classical orchestra, an industrial electronic approach, an avant-garde jazz influence, or a heavy rock sound. I rely on my classical academic education, synth programming skills, early rock years as a lead guitarist of local rock bands, and jazz jam session experience to deliver a bespoke score that contributes to the realization of the producers’ and director’s vision. I believe this eclecticism is something that sets me apart from others. These days, being able to deliver a solid score no matter what genre it belongs to is an invaluable asset.

I’m always hungry for knowledge, I try to stay on top of my game, reading and studying what’s new and what’s coming. In this business, you have to have this mindset if you want to stay active and relevant. You’ve got to be continually looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve. Fortunately, I love this approach to what I do!

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I’ve always been curious while growing up. I’ve always liked different things, different types of music, different kinds of sports, and TV shows. I remember being a huge fan of documentaries. I would spend hours watching National Geographic documentaries about the deadliest animals on the planet. I also remember spending endless nights watching classics such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Back To The Future, movies that have definitely influenced me as a composer and film lover. As a kid, I was also into sports. I used to play tennis, basketball, and soccer every week. My love for sports and outdoor activities is something that I still carry with me. Ending up living in LA was great for me since this city offers so much to do and the weather is perfect for outdoor activities.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: koncr3te
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10032960/