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Jan Pomerans

Jan Pomerans was born in the English countryside, where there was an upright piano in a converted stable (fortunately at some distance from the house). He became obsessed with this instrument from an early age, and started teaching himself how to play. At the age of six, he started learning the violin, and transferred to the viola at the age of nine. He began playing in the West Suffolk youth orchestra at eleven, and also played in several string quartets, including the Lavenham Sinfonietta. He then began studying piano under Charles Spinks, a noted harpsichordist, and also studied music theory, gaining a GCE ‘O’-level in music. However, he began tiring of the stuffiness and rigidity of the classical music world, and while at Sussex University began playing keyboards and experimenting with electronics, eventually moving to San Francisco for three months to join a band that his friends had formed there. Upon returning to the UK, he played with several bands before forming his own, called GIANT, which was signed to Gee Street records, also home to the Stereo MCs. GIANT eventually morphed into Funtopia, which released one of the first ‘acid house’ tracks in the UK, ‘Beautiful People’, featuring several samples from the movie ‘Barbarella’. Concurrently, Jan began composing music for Channel 4 Television, including the theme to the show ‘Right to Reply’, and the score to a short film, ‘Les – A Day in the Life’. This led to a commission to compose a full album for Bruton Music, ‘Firecracker’, which in turn led to a deal with Jive Records under the name K-ROC, and a single, ‘Turn It Up’. Jan then moved to Los Angeles, where he began writing for Capitol Production Music, eventually composing over ten albums for that company. After touring the US playing keyboards for a British band signed to Warners, The Psych-o Rangers, he formed a band called BOOOM, which morphed into the Zen Cowboys, who, after winning Musician magazine’s best unsigned band competition, sparked a bidding war among L.A. record companies, eventually signing with Moonshine and releasing an eclectic and critically acclaimed album, ‘Electric Mistress’. When the Cowboys disbanded, he continued writing for television, and also worked with other artists as a session keyboardist/programmer. This period included a stint working for noted songwriter Rick Nowels, and a collaboration with Dave Navarro on both his solo album and his remix of Jamiroquai’s ‘Alright’. After composing several pieces for ‘E’ Entertainment Television and Bravo, he began writing music for many commercials, firstly through tomandandy, and then through Face the Music. He then went back to the UK for a year, where he worked as a programmer for renowned producer Nellee Hooper (Massive Attack, Bjork, Madonna, Gwen Stefani), working on the film ‘Mad Cows’, and Furslide, the first signing to Hooper’s own label. Upon returning to the US, after signing with Popcorn Music, a hip-hop label, for a one-year production deal, working with various acts including Apostle and Kronicflo, he began his reconciliation with classical music, composing the classical/hip-hop score for ‘Blue Hill Avenue’ (Artisan Entertainment), directed by Craig Ross. This led to a second movie by the same director, ‘Motives’ (Sony Pictures). After a stint in Cape Town writing music for the movie ‘Blast’ (IWP/Gemini), he then co-wrote the title theme to Tony Scott’s ‘Domino’ (New Line), collaborating with Domino Harvey, upon whose life the film was based. There followed the score for another Craig Ross film, ‘The Mannsfield 12’, music for the J. Mendel show, New York Fashion Week, fall 2007, and for the Peter Lindbergh-lensed commercials for Kate Hudson’s “Wildaid” product line. In 2010, he entered the world of film trailers, including pieces for Marvel’s ‘Thor’, starring Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman, and ‘Fast Five’, the latest in the ‘Fast and the Furious’ series. In 2011, he set up a new recording studio in Suffolk, England, and scored a 15-part series, ‘Evil Up Close’, for FirstLook TV/AETN. Jan continues to live between Los Angeles, London and Suffolk.