Picture of Stargate duo Tor Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen

Stargate MusiC

LAAMP is co-founded by production duo Stargate, the Grammy winning, 10xBillboard #1, ASCAP Songwriters of the Year. Why did they create LAAMP?

"We wanted to create an environment where young, talented and driven music creators can meet and take their music to the next level. A safe environment where you can find your true voice without judgement or the pressure of grades or degrees. Where the work itself and the process of making it is the focus.

Over our 20 year career we have seen so many people make their dreams come true though music. Music is truly a language that breaks down barriers and brings people together."

4 Time Grammy Award Winner — 
4 Time Grammy Award Winner
10 Time Billboard Hot 100 #1—
10 Time Billboard Hot 100 #1

Ne-Yo

Ne-yo is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. He rose to notoriety in 2004 with writing credits on Mario’s song “Let Me Love You” which led to him meeting the label head at Def Jam and being signed shortly thereafter. He reached number one on Billboard 200 in the US in 2006 with “In My Own Words” and followed this up with “So Sick” topping Billboard Hot 100. His 2006 and 2007 albums garnered international attention and went platinum. He won his first Grammy in 2008, ultimately reaching a total of twelve Grammy nominations and three wins. His music career spans eight studio albums and hundreds of collaborations with notorious artists and producers including Rihanna, Celine Dion, Ciara, Whitney Houston, Stargate, and others. In addition to music, he is also an actor, dancer, and television judge.

Ne-Yo

Diplo

International superstar DJ and music producer, Diplo has garnered critical acclaim working with luminaries such as Gwen Stefani, Ellie Goulding, Madonna, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Usher, Bad Bunny, M.I.A., and countless others. Six time Grammy nominee, Diplo remains a powerhouse in the music scene, rising to the level of an icon to other producers and electronic artists. His numerous collaborations propelled him into working with higher profile artists such as Skrillex, eventually leading to several side projects and special releases.

Diplo

Jozzy Dope By Accident

Jozzy is a Grammy Award winning songwriter and artist, signed to Columbia and co-managed by Roc Nation, she has worked with some of the top artists in the industry including Lil Nas X on his record “Old Town Road” (2019), Lil Wayne, Coldplay, and Pharrell Williams, among others. She had her big break after moving to Miami to work with Timbaland and Missy Elliot. Other notable records include “Lemonade” in 2018 and “Feels So Good” in 2019. More recently, Jozzy has steered her focus towards her own music, dropping and EP titled Soul Therapy: Apartment 215 back in 2020.

Jozzy Dope By Accident

Justin Tranter

Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, Kesha, Imagine Dragons, Fifth Harmony, 5 Seconds of Summer, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Bea Miller, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, and Fall Out Boy. From 2004 to 2014, Tranter was the lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons, a rock band based in New York. Since February 2017, they have been a board member of GLAAD, an organization that promotes LGBT acceptance in the entertainment and news industries.

Justin Tranter

Emily Warren

Emily Warren Schwartz is a Grammy nominated singer/songwriter responsible for global hits for artists such as The Chainsmokers , Dua Lipa, Shawn Mendes and Sean Paul. She has found incredible success in the music industry and is largely known for her unique and innovating songwriting, working with high profile artists and producers alike. During her time at NYU, Warren signed with Dr Luke and began writing for Prescription Inc. Notable co-writes include creatives such as Caroline Ailin, and Music producer, Ian Kirkpatrick. The trio are responsible for making two of Dua Lipa’s hit records, “New Rules” (2017), and “Don’t Start Now” (2019). Throughout her career, Warren has worked on records from Jessie J’s,“Masterpiece” and has worked along side Scott Harris making The Chainsmokers, “Don’t Let Me Down”. Beyond her work as a songwriter, she has made significant efforts in advocating for songwriters rights.

Emily Warren

Benny Blanco

Benny Blanco is one of the most successful producers and songwriters in contemporary music as well as a Record Executive.  Blanco co-produced and co-wrote a multitude of hit singles in the late 2000s and thereafter. He has contributed to the sale of over 500 million albums worldwide through his work with artists including Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Halsey, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Kesha, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Sia, The Weekend, Avicii, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Charlie Puth, Keith Urban, Tory Lanez, Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West, J Balvin, and many more.

Blanco released his debut single as a lead artist, Eastside, a collaboration with singer-songwriters Halsey and Khalid. The song peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100,marking Blanco's first top ten song credited as an artist and his 27th top ten song as a writer, a sum that includes seven number ones. 

Benny Blanco

Cirkut

Cirkut is a prolific Canadian record producer known for his work with Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, The Weekend, Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and many other top 40 artists. He has been nominated four times for the Grammy award, winning in 2018 for the Weekend’s Starboy. His credits are expansive and serve as a testament to his impeccable technique and unmistakable sound. Though he maintains a low profile, his contributions to popular music within the past decade have left a lasting impact on the industry.

Cirkut

Jenna Andrews

Jenna Andrews is a Canadian singer/songwriter, and producer. After releasing her song “Adore”  on Myspace, Andrews signed to Island Def Jams and began her career as an artist. More recently,  Andrews has shifted her focus to artist development under Records Label as an A&R Consultant,  signing major artist such as Lennon Stella, Noah Cyrus, and Zhavia Ward. Andrews has received  co-writing and production credits on hit records like “Butter” by BTS. Other significant  contributions include co-writes for “The Heartbreak Anthem” by Lil mix and “Supalonely” with  artist Stella Rose Bennet.  

Jenna Andrews

John Cunningham

John Cunningham is a L.A based producer and songwriter. He began writing and producing during his high school years and later went on to study at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. During that time, he landed major label placements that proved invaluable to his career. Recognizing the importance that publishing played in the music industry, Cunningham found a passion for A&R, and eventually signed to Unrestricted, a music publishing and management company. A few notable records that John has produced include Halsey’s song “I Am Not a Woman, I’m a God”, “Dream” by Miley Cyrus, and XXXtentacion’s massively successful album “?”. John was the third most successful producer on the Billboard Hot100 in 2018.

John Cunningham

Kosine

Marcos Palacios, professionally known as Kosine, is a 9x Grammy nominated Multi-Platinum American music producer, songwriter, and notable actor from Chicago. Kosine started his career as a member of Da Internz - a production duo. In 2009, Da Internz had their first break producing for the rapper Mims’ single “Move (If You Wanna)”. As a member of Da Internz, the L.A based producer is largely known for producing hit songs like Big Sean's “Dance”, Rihanna's "Birthday Cake", and Nicki Minaj's “Anaconda”. Aside from music production, Kosine has also worked as a talkshow host on BET’s Mancave and Kingz with Kosine. He has starred in the FOX series Star  and worked as a soundtrack producer for the FOX television series Empire. In 2014, Kosine launched his solo career releasing his first single “Out Here” which was later performed by Luke James on the Fox television series Star.

Kosine

Jimmy Napes

Jimmy Napes, is an English songwriter and record producer. He has won a number of awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, 3 Grammy Awards, and 2 Ivor Novello Awards. Napes is best known for his work with Sam Smith ("Stay with Me", "Writing's on the Wall", "Lay Me Down", "Too Good at Goodbyes", "Dancing with a Stranger"), Disclosure ("Latch", "You & Me", "White Noise", "Magnets"), Clean Bandit ("Rather Be")‚ Stormzy ("Crown") and Taylor Swift ("Christmas Tree Farm"). Napes also has songwriting and producer credits with artists including Alicia Keys, Jess Glynne, Khalid, Normani, Kano, Dave, Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding, Mary J. Blige, Madonna, James Bay and more.

Jimmy Napes

Our Team

Danny Sanchez

Director of Operations and Online

Formerly of Relativity School's Electronic Music Production program and Beatlab Academy, Danny has been working in a variety of artistic and directorial capacities for over a decade. From touring musician to music director to project manager to educator to consultant, he has a diverse background in the music industry. He studied music at UC San Diego and pursued graduate studies at UC Irvine securing a Master of Fine Arts in Music. He has years of experience running ensembles and collaborating with local musicians and worked as an educator for many years.

Danny Sanchez

Sarah Keys

Head of Booking and Student Liaison

Sarah is a native to sunny Los Angeles. She began her career as a Michelin starred Chef post graduating from Le Cordon Bleu. She continued her career as a Hospitality Manager which was a perfect transition into running Stellar House, Stargate’s private studio. She has been their Artist Relations/Product Manager and has overseen numerous sessions, camps, and projects over the years. She is now the Head of Booking and Student Liaison at LAAMP.

Sarah Keys

Toft Willingham

Production supervisor

Toft Willingham is a music producer, composer, songwriter, singer, screenwriter and  videographer in the Los Angeles area. He is the lead singer and songwriter of nationally touring  Rock-Reggae band Spiritual Rez. Amassing millions of streams, Spiritual Rez has been awarded  two Boston Music Awards and achieved #2 on the iTunes reggae charts with their last two  album releases. Rez has performed over one thousand concerts in 45 states, 3 countries and the  U.S. Virgin Islands alongside acts such as: George Clinton and P-Funk, Jimmy Buffett, Steel  Pulse, Buju Bantan, Toots and the Maytals, Gregory Isaacs, SOJA, Culture and many more.  

Over the last 5 years, Toft has produced and engineered over 30 albums including the Reggae  Billboard #1 album, Living Free, by Roots of Creation. Toft has collaborated with members of  Awolnation, Eve 6, The Dirty Heads, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, Hirie and countless other  national artists. He has co-written with prominent composer Taisei Iwasaki for the hit Japanese  Anime show Blood Blockade Battlefront and scored a Disney animated short film Elephant in  the Room. In August 2019, Elephant in the Room had a successful two-week run at El Capitan  Theater in Hollywood, CA and is now available on the Disney + streaming service as Episode  13. of the Short Circuit series. The film features both scoring and an original song by  Willingham. Toft also scored two indie features in 2019 and his original song "Sober," was  placed in the title credits of the feature film Racing Colt (in select theaters now and available  on Amazon Prime.)

Toft Willingham

Reggie Theus Jr

Studio Assistant

Reggie Theus is currently a music producer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California who was hired by LAAMP to take on the role of Studio Assistant. His experience in music and as a high level D1 basketball player helps him bring drive, passion, positivity, problem solving, winning, and a team-oriented mindset to any table in front of him. He received a full ride athletic scholarship to the University of South Carolina out of Fairfax High School. After transferring to finish his basketball career at Cal State Northridge, he graduated with a degree in Recreation and Tourism Management, while also focusing on Sports Management and Psychology. Teaching himself music production and beginning his songwriting journey at age 12, Reggie has always had a deep love for art and creation and is thankful to be working with likeminded individuals at LAAMP.

Reggie Theus Jr

Alyse Farrar

Studio Assistant

Alyse Farrar is a multi-talented creative from Malibu. Aftergraduating Pepperdine University with a degree in Media Production, she quicklylanded her first job as an assistant engineer at Skrillex’s label OWSLA. Hereshe learned the ropes of music production while developing her own style andsound. From there, she joined LAAMP’s class of 2022, working with artists, andlanding spots on Spotify Playlists such as Fresh Finds Pop and Created byWomen, as well as becoming the first producer out of LAAMP to have a songreleased with Stargate. Alyse has been hired by LAAMP to take on the role ofstudio assistant and in-house producer, and is looking forward to meeting allthe new talent!

Alyse Farrar

Rowan Carnihan

Head of Admissions

Holding leading roles across youth orientated organizations within the music and creative industries such as the Amy Winehouse Foundation, Fully Focused Productions and Action for Diversity & Development, and currently as Director of Operations at LIMPI, LAAMP’s sister school in Norway. Rowan has dedicated her career to helping young people fulfill their potential, while striving for increased equality and inclusivity in the creative sectors.

Rowan Carnihan

Chris Anokute

Artist Development Workshops

Chris Anokute is an A&R executive and Founder of the entertainment company, Young Forever Inc.He was born from Nigerian parents, grew up in New Jersey, and currently resides in Los Angeles, California. His first stint in A&R was when he was hired at Virgin/Capitol Records in 2006 as their Senior Director of A&R at the age of 23 years old. While at Virgin/Capitol Records, Chris oversaw the A&R for Katy Perry and Joss Stone. He later held senior vice-president of A&R roles at Universal Motown Records, Island Def Jam MusicGroup and Epic Records between the years of 2011 and 2018. In 2022 he began doing workshops at LAAMP for Artist Development.

Chris Anokute

Keith Yokomoto

Head of Technology

Keith Yokomoto is a technology and entertainment executive with experience producing live events, movies, and digital media. He is currently incubating a tech company, MyUniverse that features a cutting-edge mobile platform. Previously, Keith partnered with Shaun White, serving as COO of Shaun White Enterprises and Air+Style. He was also a partner at Radar Pictures, an independent movie company that produced such movies as The Last Samurai, The Chronicles of Riddick, and The Heartbreak Kid. Mr. Yokomoto co-founded ARTIST direct with Marc Geiger and Rick Rubin, which represented Pearl Jam, Beck, Foo Fighters, and the Beastie Boys and helped build the online operations for the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Incubus, and many other artists.

Keith Yokomoto

Bethany Warner

Head Online Mentor, Artist/Writer/Producer

Pioneering what she calls “poetic pop,” Bethany Warner (aka Deza) is a triple threat: artist, songwriter, and producer. While attending LAAMP's sister school, LIMPI, her talent and drive caught the eye of hit-songwriter, Emily Warren. Now, Deza is Emily's first and only signee, published by Under Warranty and RX Songs. Drawing comparisons to Jon Bellion, Imogen Heap, and Bon Iver, Deza weaves unique sound design, honest storytelling, and captivating vocal performances to deliver something truly distinctive to the pop realm, and has cuts with ELIO, MOTI, Rachel Bochner, Slush Puppy, and Devon Again.

Bethany Warner

Sara Snyder

Online Mentor, Artist/Writer

Sara Snyder (aka SARAS) has been building a strong reputation since her time at LIMPI, LAAMP’s sister school. Her melodies weave through the genres and her precision of language delivers thoughtful storytelling. Being an artist herself while continuing to write for others has kept her moving between Los Angeles and London frequently since graduation. Her vocal productions and harmony arrangements can be heard on many of her songwriter cuts, including songs with Huey Mack, Starling, and Mike Taveira. 

Sara Snyder

Will Scharnberg

Online Mentor, Producer

Will Scharnberg (aka ‘hideouthill’) is an LA based music producer originally from Connecticut. After being 1 of 15 producers accepted into the first year of LAAMP on-site, Will was mentored by Stargate and found himself in an incredible pool of talent to collaborate with. Will produced ‘Big Plans’ for Kyla Imani his first week at LAAMP, which has amassed almost 2 million views on YouTube and 100k+ streams on Spotify. Since graduating, Will continues to produce records for up-and-coming artists, work on songs for pitch, and make beats at a high level in his studio in the LMNL building in Santa Monica. 

Will Scharnberg