Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Riccio.
Hi Kyle, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Everything started with my fascination with music and sound early in life. I had a secure path in pharmaceuticals laid out for me at the University of Rhode Island, but I couldn’t bring myself to study something I wasn’t interested in. This led me to switch my major to Film, where I specialized in sound design.
After college, I took a part-time job and spent my free time creating electronic music in my small apartment in Providence, Rhode Island, under the alias OVC.
In late 2015, I started freelancing as a sound designer. I got my first gig by cold-calling nearly every music and film studio in Rhode Island until Animus Studios decided to give me a chance. I had the opportunity to design the soundscape and music for a handful of promotional animations with their team. With my first taste of this fulfilling line of work, I was left hungry for more and decided to study the craft further at the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Gilbert, Arizona.
While formal education helped me understand the fundamentals, I found that the best way for me to learn was by teaching myself through free online resources and tinkering with audio software in my spare time. However, the connections I built at CRAS turned out to be instrumental later in my journey.
Through sheer luck and determination, I landed an entry-level job at Margarita Mix Hollywood in LA, where I began racking up credits on larger projects. I learned the ins and outs of the audio post-production industry and absorbed their standard templates and workflows. Margarita Mix attracted high-profile animation clients like Rick and Morty, Big Mouth, and BoJack Horseman, giving me the chance to study the sound design and re-recording mixing practices of Konrad Piñon and Hunter Curra.
Three years into the job, like most others, I faced COVID as my first major career hurdle. I was laid off and spent another year locked in my apartment making music and planning my next step.
During the lockdown, my good friend and talented re-recording mixer from CRAS, Chris Wilson, reached out and helped me land a staff position with Superjacket Productions on the show Ridiculousness. I was primarily redesigning the soundscapes of clips within the show, as well as creating custom sound effects for graphics and title sequences. Working with this team allowed me to rapidly grow my sound design skills and acquire the sound libraries and tools I still use today. I was also fortunate enough to pick up some work from Bunim/Murray Productions on various reality shows during my downtime from Superjacket.
In mid-2024, I faced yet another abrupt layoff on the heels of the WGA strikes. Thrill One Sports & Entertainment, Superjacket’s parent company, had been acquired by U.S. private equity firms Fiume Capital and Juggernaut Capital Partners in 2022. This sudden restructure led to the termination of nearly half of the audio team with less than a week’s notice, in what felt like a corporate raid.
Part of me wanted to see this as the final blow—to read the writing on the wall for the entertainment industry and retreat to a more stable career path. But the resilience I’d built over the course of my ever-fluctuating millennial timeline pushed me to keep going.
I made the leap to full-time freelancing in April 2024. Stepping away from the structure of corporate entertainment has been liberating. I’m now focused on growing my freelance clientele—primarily independent films and shorts—while steadily building my skillset in video game audio. Most recently, I’ve been working as a freelance mixer for Netflix’s PAVS Studio Post on a range of promotional projects for social media.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Some of the challenges I mentioned earlier—like COVID and corporate restructuring—were completely out of my control. But the greatest challenge I can control is an internal one. In LA, you’re often surrounded by incredibly talented and fortunate individuals, which is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s motivating, inspiring, and can open doors. On the other, it can be discouraging—and easy to fall into a disruptive comparison mindset.
What’s helped me is practicing gratitude for where I am and what I’ve achieved, no matter how big or small. That mindset keeps me grounded and helps ward off feelings of inadequacy.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’d consider myself an all-around audio post-production professional, with a specialization in sound design and re-recording mixing. Lately, the projects I’m most proud of are the independent, passion-driven films I’ve had the privilege to work on—like Thump by Alexah Acuña, That Old Black Magic by Alan Trinca, and The Pickup Artist by Alvaro Orlando. These directors trusted me to bring their creative visions to life—and even welcomed some of my own creative input along the way.
With so much shifting in the entertainment industry, my goal is to offer creatives—working in any form of visual media—access to affordable, story-driven sound that enhances their work without requiring massive dub stages or expensive studio overhead.
Some of my earliest musical influences, like Flume and Skrillex, showed the world that Grammy-winning music can be created in a bedroom studio. I want to prove that cinematic, immersive sound can be achieved in the same way—from a small apartment setup. It may sound ambitious, but with the way audiences are shifting toward streaming and YouTube, and with the growing accessibility of professional tools, it’s becoming increasingly possible.
There will always be a place for big-screen titles and massive studio productions. But I believe we’re entering a time when independent creators and freelancers can truly shine. A project doesn’t need a perfect polish to tell an impactful story.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Oddly enough, I enjoy the chaos and grit of LA—especially in Koreatown. Maybe I’m only saying this because I’m still relatively young, but the constant motion and activity make me feel alive. One day I’ll probably return to the quieter roots I came from in Rhode Island—but for now, the unpredictable nature of this city makes the adventure more exciting. It feels like I’m leveling up an RPG character in an endgame zone.
I think what I like least about this city is how business-oriented everyone tends to be. It’s often hard to meet people for who they are, rather than the angle at which you might be useful to them. Luckily, I’ve made a handful of core friends here and have even been fortunate enough to have good friends from Rhode Island move out here or visit often.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kylericcio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fre333dom/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylericcio/
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ovcmusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5RDiodwA95rXt8x8HgvMZd?si=0whFqhxmSg-BHCCc5rqiuA
Image Credits
The pictures with me with microphones were taken by: Mario Garciduenas
