Jacques Brautbar

Sundance Institute fellow and ASCAP scholarship winner Jacques Brautbar’s got this wild way of smashing old-school orchestral sounds together with electronic, dreamy textures—kind of like if Debussy discovered synthesizers. Born and bred in LA, Jacques dove headfirst into the music world at just fifteen, kicking off his career as one of the original members of Phantom Planet. Yeah, that’s the band behind “California,” the song that basically soundtracked every teen drama fan’s life thanks to The O.C. He wasn’t just strumming in the background either—he was a founder, guitarist, arranger, and songwriter, pulling the strings on hits like “Lonely Day” and “Big Brat.” Ten years rocking with Phantom Planet, and then Jacques jumped to Sony/ATV, cranking out hundreds of tracks that zigzagged from pop to hip-hop to rock. Somewhere in that whirlwind, he caught the bug for composing music that tells stories on screen. Suddenly, it wasn’t just about the next radio hit—it was about scoring films, TV, and even interactive media, crafting soundscapes that dig under your skin and stick with you. His background? It's this wild mashup—he totally gets the pop world, but he’s also soaked in classical training, letting him come at composing from a sideways angle most traditional composers wouldn’t even think about. This blend is his secret sauce, letting him create music that’s both lush and modern, dramatic and fresh, always chasing that emotional hit that makes a scene land just right.