And so the producers of the film teamed up with us to conduct a Song Search, hoping to find the perfect artist (or artists) for the soundtrack.

ROUND 1 of the Song Search generated a ton of great submissions and presented the producers with a lot of inspiration for how to move forward. Of the many submissions, six were chosen for ROUND 2, in which the songwriters are asked to write and record a rough demo of an original song specifically for The Storyteller. The six are now hard at work and we’re pleased to introduce them all, one by one.

And so, please meet Frank Cogliano.

Frank Cogliano is an Emmy nominated composer and multi instrumentalist based in Brooklyn, New York. He has produced songs and composed scores for in dozens of TV shows and films, and also produces pop music with up and coming vocalists. He also regularly performs as a guitarist with internationally touring live acts.

We’re excited to hear what Frank will be writing for us for ROUND 2 of the Song Search!

And it was not an easy task. Even though film is a visual medium, sound (and music in particular) plays an important part in conveying emotion, setting mood, pacing, character development and so on and so forth. With a story like The Storyteller the music plays an even more integral part, as it serves as the glue that brings all of the main characters together. The story follows several people who have lost or repressed parts of themselves, and explores how they find their way back into authentic relationships with themselves and each other through music. The music in the film parallels the journey of the characters, and as such it builds and grows along with the relationships. Needless to say, choosing the right composer or songwriter for a project like this, is not a task to be taken lightly.

And so with that said, here’s who the producers have selected for ROUND 2. These six artists will now write and record a rough demo of an original song, specifically for The Storyteller:

Billy Bouchard

Frank Cogliano

Quinn D’Andrea

Anielle Reid - read her Artist Spotlight and watch the video for her song, Morality.

Rachel VanSlyke

Jesse Walton

These were all chosen based on their strengths in the use of strong and (for lack of a better word) complex guitar parts, haunting and unusual arrangements, emotional melody lines and powerful lyrics. These are the qualities the producers would like to hear on the original songs for the film.

To give you a better sense of the selection process, we will – with permission of the artists – post their submissions in subsequent posts. Links will be added to the artists’ names above, as the songs are posted. Please enjoy – and support the artists in whichever way you can. Follow the production of The Storyteller here.