My first film score, The Dam Keeper, earned an Academy Award nomination, marking the beginning of my collaboration with Bay Area animation studio Tonko House, founded by former Pixar art directors Dice Tsutsumi and Robert Kondo. Since then, I have composed the scores for all of their films, including the Netflix animated miniseries Oni: Thunder God’s Tale (Annie Award nominee for Best Music, 2023), the Emmy-nominated short film Namoo, the Annecy-winning Hulu Japan series Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems, and Bottle George, which was Oscar-shortlisted and won 'Best Music' at the 2024 Sapporo Film Festival.

Beyond composing music for film and TV, Matteo and I have also been commissioned to create soundtracks for commercials, podcasts, iPhone games, and apps. Our clients include Reuters, Macy’s, Overstock, Bed Bath & Beyond, and the Calm app.

I was a founding member of Phox, a six-piece indie pop band from Baraboo, Wisconsin, once described as 'Feist meets Monty Python.' In addition to performing, I shot, directed, and edited all of our video content, including our breakout film Confetti. We signed with Partisan Records and toured extensively across Europe, North America, and Australia, with notable performances at Coachella, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, NPR’s Tiny Desk, and Lollapalooza. Our music was also featured in Amazon Prime’s Transparent, NBC’s Parenthood, and PBS’s Becoming Human.

Phox - Wikipedia

Sonntag serves as an outlet for my personal songwriting practice, blending genres such as chamber pop, folk, country, dance, lo-fi, and experimental music. While the project explores diverse styles, it remains fundamentally driven by lyrics and melody. I have also produced several music videos and lyric videos to accompany my work. An original song of mine was featured in the Cartoon Network / HBOMAX series “Summer Camp Island.”

Zach Johnston is a newly established moniker marking the launch of a music project dedicated to avant-garde, classical, ambient, and industrial compositions. This project explores both standalone recordings and film accompaniment, beginning with the ambient album Air, released in January 19th, 2025.