Lalela Music receives two Mark Award nominations

Lalela Music has received two nominations for the upcoming Mark Awards – presented by the Production Music Association in the US – for excellence in production music for film, television and other visual media.

Themba Mkhize’s track, African Gospel, was nominated for Best World Music track, and Jeff Russo’s track, Fingerprints, was nominated for Best Ambient track.
The awards will be presented at the Directors’ Guild of America in Los Angeles on 9 September, following the Production Music Conference.

The award panel was comprised of top Hollywood music supervisors and executives from studios and networks Disney, ABC and CBS.

“Production music is the sonic lifeblood of many audiovisual productions, from television programmes to promotional campaigns to major theatrical releases. With its proliferation across the gamut of media productions and distribution channels, companies responsible for its contribution to the creative process are worthy of recognition,” says the Production Music Association of the USA.

Nominee Afro-Jazz maestro Themba Mkhize is a composer, musician, performer and producer with multiple South African Music Awards on his mantelpiece. He has worked with luminaries like Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, and toured internationally. He has released three solo albums, following his stint as keyboard player in South African bands Sakhile and Bayete.

Nominee Jeff Russo is a founding member, lead guitarist and co-songwriter of the rock band Tonic. Jeff’s abilities translate to film and television composition. He was recently nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his work on Fargo. His credits include CSI:Cyber, My Generation, Necessary Roughness, Crossing Jordan, The Returned, Battle Creek, Complications, Extant and mini-series Tut.

In addition to film and television Jeff has composed music for the New York ballet company Cedarlake Ensemble.