About
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 independently as well as collaboratively.
Steph Williams
Favouring Craig Armstrong and Trent Reznor over her friends’ favourite artists, Steph aspired to be a composer from an early age. She maintained her love by studying BA Music at University of Leeds and then pursued film music at University of Sussex with a Master's degree. Now with a number of clients on the go, Steph is excited to have teamed up with Josh Pillinger as co-founder of ILLICIT SOUND to bounce off ideas and collaborate. Steph specialises in writing music that works synced to a moving image as well as independently, creating a cinematic, powerful atmosphere no matter the context. In particular, Steph thrives off fusing sweet classical sounds with raucous distorted guitars, gritty synths and unique world instruments.
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.