We had the good fortune of connecting with René G. Boscio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi René G., can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a hard time adhering to other people’s schedules, especially when it comes to fixed work hours. In the entertainment industry, post-production can easily run into 12-16 hour days, 7 days a week. And while you’d think that as creatives we would be “living the dream” every single minute of the day, the truth is, burn outs are sneaky and can lead to unhealthy lifestyles. So when it came time to choose whether I wanted to find a new job working for someone else, or take the risk of going my own way, my creativity, health, and happiness all pointed towards the latter.

As an artist, developing your voice is probably one of the most important aspects that can determine the way your career unfolds. Another factor that heavily influenced my decision to carve my own path, was the drive to hone in on figuring out who I was artistically. While working for other composers definitely has its fair share of lessons and opportunities, your job is mainly to sound like them. So I felt that in order to be able to truly contribute to our filmmaking community, and support the talented filmmakers I’d get to work with, I first needed to establish my sonic identity as a composer. With those two main thoughts in mind, I dove head into one of the best adventures I’ve had so far. It’s definitely challenging, especially those first couple years, but once you lay a solid foundation, the only way to go is up.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I grew up in Puerto Rico and moved to LA when I was 25. As a composer, I had always struggled trying to figure out who I was artistically, and it wasn’t until I embraced merging my past and my present, that the path forward became clearer. I found my voice injecting my culture into my film music work. Additionally, in recent years I discovered I had an intense passion for modular and analog synthesizers, which led me down a rabbit hole that I’m now finally peeking out of. Combining those three elements – my Latino heritage, my obsession with electronics, and my duty to lift other people’s stories through film scoring – has allowed me to create art that I feel is truly my own.

When I first moved to LA, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity of contributing music to various TV shows like Riverdale, The Flash, Arrow, and others. Having those credits under my belt has definitely opened a lot of doors in my career, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in this journey, is that the more you focus on being of service to others, the more meaningful your work will become. This has been a big part of getting to where I am today professionally. I’ve made business decisions based on the needs of the filmmakers I’ve worked with, making sure they feel supported and that their stories get the best treatment possible, regardless of the budget or scope of their projects. Of course it’s not always easy, and at times I’ve found myself paying out of pocket to cover score production expenses, but the work and relationships that come as a result of those sacrifices, make it all worthwhile.
I’m always looking forward to supporting storytellers through creating music for their productions, and I’m particularly excited about the future of inclusion in the entertainment industry. Many powerful female and BIPOC voices have been ignored, disregarded, and/or minimized for too long, and I’m thrilled to finally see them rising. There is so much resilience, pain, growth, happiness, love, beauty… so many powerful stories waiting to be told, waiting to create an impact in a society that desperately needs empathy and compassion. I’m eager to be able to support their stories with my music and do everything I can to lift them up.
When it comes to how I approach musical storytelling from a creative standpoint, I’m a firm believer in the phrase “less is more”. Music should be there exclusively to support what is missing from the screen. Restraint is one of the hardest things to implement when creating music that is intentionally meant to go unnoticed, but is key to a successful score. The story will usually dictate what it needs from me, and in collaboration with the filmmaker’s vision, I seek to bring out those elements that might have otherwise been missed. That being said, I’m always excited about collaborating with filmmakers who are not afraid to play outside the box. Personally, I find that stories which call for unique and bold sounding scores are usually the most engaging. For me it’s about creating an impact in the stories we tell and providing spaces for challenging conversations to be had. This is definitely a life-long journey that I’m extremely grateful to be on.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love taking people to Grand Central Market in Downtown LA. It’s such a perfect blend of cultures through their respective foods, that you immediately get a feel for what the city is like. I would also take them to The Last Bookstore to grab some books for us to read later when we find an outdoor spot to chill. My favorite part is the artists’ shops upstairs, especially when they’re there and you get to chat about their art. To keep it downtown, after that we’d take a stroll by the L.A. Live. Hopefully it’s close to Christmas, so the ice-rink and tree are up. Then we would close off the evening at the rooftop bar on the Ace Hotel.

Some of my favorite places to have breakfast or brunch are Joan’s On Third, The Hungry Crowd (they make an amazing kimchi fried rice with an egg on top), and Bea Bea’s. Then for coffee or tea, I love Teapop in North Hollywood, and right across the street is Republic of Pie, which used to be my second home for a few years.
For activities, having worked on the lot a few times, I actually think the WB Tour is really fun. They take you around all sorts of cool parts and sets, and if you go around the Holidays they have the Stars Hollow set up and running. Very nostalgic and delightful if you’re into the Gilmore Girls as much as my wife and I are. You can’t go wrong with a visit to Griffith Park to just lay out on the grass and read a book or walk some of the trails. The Griffith Observatory is also beautiful, not just for the views, but the museum inside is really interesting as well. Speaking of museums, definitely love taking people to The Getty Center, and they often have live music events which are beautiful to take in with the city as your background. I also love The Broad, and since we’re right there, we’d probably pop into the Disney Concert Hall to catch the incomparable LA Phil. Some of the best overall dining I’ve experienced around town would have to be Spago and Scopa. Din Tai Fung has the best dumplings. The Smoke House has the best garlic bread. And of course you can’t leave LA without some In-N-Out.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost, my loving wife, Kimberly Straaberg Boscio. Without her support, my business and career would probably not be where it is today. She has been there since day one, always encouraging, offering input, and more importantly, providing the emotional support that has allowed me to take the risks needed in order for a freelance career to thrive. Additionally, I’m eternally indebted to all the wonderful filmmakers that have trusted me with their stories over the years. Getting to write music in support of their creative vision is the greatest honor I get to have, and without their trust I would not be able to grow as both an artist and a business.

Website: http://bosciomusic.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/boscio
Bandcamp: http://boscio.bandcamp.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/renegboscio
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ReneGBoscio

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