LEO
BIRENBERG
Biography
Emmy-winning composer Leo Birenberg has catapulted to the forefront of television and film music, becoming one of the industry’s most exciting and sought-after artists. Most recently, Leo earned a Primetime Emmy Award win with his frequent collaborator Zach Robinson for their work on Roku’s WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, starring Daniel Radcliffe and directed by Eric Appel. The soundtrack album also garnered the pair a Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Album alongside “Weird Al” Yankovic himself. An artist who loves to explore different genres, his recent projects span Peacock’s Twisted Metal, Netflix’s Obliterated and Florida Man, and MGM’s smash-hit Bottoms, directed by Emma Seligman, which he composed with pop sensation Charli XCX.
Leo and Zach are especially celebrated globally for their hit Netflix series Cobra Kai, starring Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Martin Kove, and Xolo Maridueña, where their gargantuan score takes center stage to tell the epic struggle of karate supremacy in the San Fernando Valley. Other recent series credits include Bumper in Berlin, based on the Pitch Perfect film franchise, The Boys: Diabolical, and Die Hart, starring Kevin Hart and John Travolta. Leo has scored Hulu’s PEN15, created by and starring Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, as well as two shows in the Jurassic Park franchise, continuing the legacy of John Williams and Michael Giacchino: Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and the upcoming Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.
In addition, Leo and Zach have a knack for showmanship, and have performed several concerts of their Cobra Kai score at historic venues in Los Angeles. They have twice been invited to the MOSMA Film Music Festival in Málaga, Spain to perform alongside composers Marc Shaiman, John Debney, Daniel Pemberton, Harold Faltermeyer, and Roque Baños. Guitar World, Variety, Keraang!, and a number of other publications, have all done extensive features about their work. They have also been recently recognized for their achievements with nominations from the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA), Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMAs) and the ASCAP Composer’s Choice Award.
His diverse credits also include Adult Swim fantasy epic Tigtone, Epix the true crime thriller Helter Skelter: An American Myth, and Fox hybrid-animation family comedy Son of Zorn. On the film side, Leo scored the indie smash-hit Plus One, which won the Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award, Billy Porter’s directorial debut Anything’s Possible, Disney+ superhero adventure film Secret Society of Second Born Royals and Impractical Jokers: The Movie. He has also scored critically acclaimed documentaries Red Army, In Search of Greatness, and Red Penguins, and the film Unplugging, starring Matt Walsh and Eva Longoria, and recent eco-noir frontier epic, Butcher’s Crossing, starring Nicolas Cage.
Leo is also a talented song producer. For Cobra Kai, he and Zach collaborated with superstar recording artist Carrie Underwood on a cover of the 1980s classic ‘The Moment of Truth.’ They produced an EP for the songwriting duo Samsel/Anderson for their new hit Broadway show “Between the Lines.” Leo and Zach produced all of the music for the series Sing It!, working with the vocal talents of Diana DeGarmo, Ace Young, and Diamond White. They have written original songs for a number of their projects, including the J-Pop bop ‘Kimokawaii’ for The Boys: Diabolical. Leo and Zach also recently collaborated with legendary songwriter and singer Paul Anka on a new version of his classic, ‘My Way’ and with world-renowned DJ Benny Benassi on the original ‘Party Bus.’ In addition, Leo has arranged and produced songs for Apple’s musical series Central Park working with a multi-award winning cast that included Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Kristen Bell, and Titus Burgess. He also arranged and produced the song “You’ll Never Know” for the 2017 Academy Award for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water.
Songs
