Film, TV & Media

Phil Kieran’s recording studio is based in the Strand in Belfast, the oldest cinema in Northern Ireland. The studio walls are lined with analogue synths and audio gear; some nearly as old as their Art Deco surroundings. Whether it’s the influence of the cinema building; or pure serendipity, Phil has been successfully forging a path into creating music for film and storytelling media since he moved there.

Phil is well known as a dance music producer and DJ but he is also a composer for film; a multi-instrumentalist, who learnt piano and guitar from a young age. His versatility can be attributed to his skills as a field recordist, a collector of curious instruments and found sounds, an engineer, programmer, mixer, and producer. He’s an electronic music ambassador for the Ulster Orchestra (UO), who also play on many of his compositions.

‘I’ve always felt that classical music and electronica have more in common than what sets them apart, Beethoven knew how to hammer home a phrase. His music's power and ability to release emotion probably made it the techno of its day’

Phil regularly licenses his own music for synchronisation via his own Phil Kieran Recordings label - which owns a lot of his back catalogue, but in 2019 during the COVID-19 lockdowns, he found space to truly focus on his passion for composing originally for film.

‘Its a natural transition, I mean, I’ve been making music and DJ’ing in clubs for 20 years. What is a DJ’s role? if not to give shape and a voice to a night, to create continuum and momentum. The best DJs bring people on a journey, they give shape or an arc to a night out. We curate emotions. Sometimes, we use music’s power to create something hypnotic, subliminal, a sense of transcendance, other times its chaotic, energetic,euphoric. That’s why I love playing longer sets, they have room for a narrative to play out; for build-ups, anticipation, in -the -moments, peaks and aftermaths. I produce music hoping it can be used by other DJs but also by filmmakers or any person wanting to enhance their story.