ILLICIT SOUND

Steph and Josh are fellow composers who met in 2014 and discovered a shared passion for composing music for moving image. Beginning with a home studio set up in the West Midlands, the duo joined forces and are now working with a plethora of clients. Steph and Josh specialise in different genres and enjoy working both independently and collaboratively.

Favouring Craig Armstrong and Trent Reznor over her friends’ favourite artists, Steph aspired to be a film composer from the age of 11. She went on to study BA Music at University of Leeds before pursuing film music at University of Sussex with a Master's degree. Since graduating in 2017, Steph has written scores for shadow puppet company Shadowflix, created the soundworld of game company Cerberus Studios, and is currently working on an animated short. Steph specialises in writing music that works both synced to a moving image as well as independently, and is particularly influenced by the fusion of ‘90s lofi trip hop, electronica, alt rock and cinematic elements.

Josh Pillinger

After discovering sound for moving image at University, Josh was quickly engrossed in the subject, especially after discovering the works of Hans Zimmer, Ennio Morricone, Vangelis, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Gustavo Santaolalla, to name a few. Achieving a Bachelor’s Degree in Sound Production and a Master’s Degree in Music and Sonic Media, Josh has dedicated his focus on writing and producing music for moving image. Josh has experience writing music for films of a variety of genres but has most recently been working on a project of the Wild West genre, subtly influenced by Bill Elm and Woody Jackson’s work on Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption soundtrack.