​Vishal Arora’s professional skill has earned him significant cache in cinema’s most significant international centers. Working in both India’s Bollywood and California’s Hollywood, the Los Angeles-based actor has a vibrant, appealing attitude and outgoing demeanor which has led him through a series of very diverse roles and dramatic settings.​
 
From situation TV comedy to taut big screen suspense, Arora’s deft acting technique can successfully serve almost any role, and he recently explored a new career avenue, appearing as the lead character in a Punjabi pop music video by the famous singer Charanjeet Singh Sondhi.
 
“I was born in Northern India where the culture is very attracted to lively, loud pop music,” Arora said. “In Punjab, almost every kid sings and dreams of becoming a pop star. Punjabi pop style is all about being very open. It really doesn't care about having a message or anything except going with the flow and doing what you feel. Even if a song’s lyrics don't really make much sense, it's fun always and high energy.” 
 
Punjabi pop, with its infectious rhythms and exotic instrumentation, has become known worldwide, and songs like Punjabi MC’s remix of  “Mundian To Back Ke,” featuring famed rapper Jay Z, have crossed over to top the charts in multiple countries, even making the US Top 40 and has been featured on the soundtracks of numerous American films and TV shows. In India, Sondhi is one of the genre’s key proponents.
 
“It was pretty exciting how it came about,” Arora said. “I was doing a play and one night after the show, I met Sondhi, a very popular singer. He liked my acting, and said he was impressed by the feelings I expressed onstage and told me about this story for a particular music video that was coming up. Not long after, he discussed with me and played the song, ‘Kittiyan Kyun Bewafaayian,’ for me. I liked it and he finalized me for the shoot.” 


“Because I was always interested in movies or TV this was my first music video,” Arora said. “I’d never thought of even trying for one but when it came along by itself like that, I decided to go for it.” 
 
“The video is about a villager who falls in love but gets ditched by the girl,” he said. “I played the main part of the heart-broken lover, who suffers through that revelation and then sees her actually marrying the other guy.”
 
Filmed on location in the remote countryside, the job had some unexpected merits for Arora. “It was a great experience, as the shoot was in a small village with lots of very friendly people,” he said. “It's fun to go and explore the Indian countryside. And the people there give you so much affection—almost too much. There’s lots of love and lots of good food.”
 
“The director Dinesh Dubey was good, very chill to work with,” Arora said. “It took us two days to shoot the video and I liked the way he tried different things, so we’d have lot of options when it came to editing. I had to learn drive a tractor and that was a first for me. I took a few trial runs before the shoot, but there were definitely some fun moments learning that. I loved it.” 


The music video represented one more step forward in Arora’s fast-growing resume of notable achievement. “I really enjoyed the job,” Arora said. “And it is doing well, it was released by T-series, one of the best known music companies in India. It's a good song, and the people are loving it, especially out in villages where lot of guys in love get hurt just like that, and when they watch the video or listen to that song, it makes them feel better.”


Even for a role that some may have approached as a light weight gig, Arora’s involvement was typically intense. Having trained at the distinguished Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute, the actor completely inhabited the role with his own life experience.
“personally, I have been in just this kind of situation,” Arora said. “And it took a while for me to get out of the character, because I felt it so deeply. It’s tough when you use real sense memory to play a part like that. I finally came out of it—but it took a week.”
That kind of heartfelt commitment is what really sets Arora apart from many of his colleagues. Expect to hear a lot more from this young talent.

​For Australian hip hop metal artist KidCrusher it seems that out of the darkness came the light, or at least an incredibly successful career. Internationally regarded for his dark and diverse blend of rap, metal and hardcore.

Since he first began making music over a decade ago, KidCrusher has released 12 studio albums, toured extensively opening for Insane Clown Posse (ICP) and Tech N9ne, as well as headlined the release party for EB Games’ Grand Theft Auto V in South Australia. He’s even had his music featured on every ones favorite legal drama, “Law and Order.” Just like ICP has struck gold, and platinum, with the countless albums they’ve released over the years creating an unshakable empire on the basis of being “The most hated band in the world,” KidCrusher took societal ostracism and turned it into a golden throne of Horrorcore stardom. Juggalos around the world know him and they never fail to show their support.

Last year KidCrusher’s most recent album “Metal Murder 3D” took home Metal Album of the Year at the Faygoluvers Music Awards. For the award, which is determined by public vote, KidCrusher was up against other international heavy weights in the metal genre including Mushroomhead, Cannibal Corpse and Hed PE, but KidCrusher’s fans spoke the loudest.

Earlier on in his career KidCrusher’s song ‘F**ked Up’ was featured on the Tunnel Runners compilation released by Psychopathic Records, one of ICP’s labels, which debuted on the Billboard Rap Charts at #21.

In addition to writing and performing all of his own material, KidCrusher creates the majority of the beats and plays most of the instruments heard on his tracks; and he continues to come up with new and innovative material. Anyone who has seen some of the music videos that he has released to date, whether they are fans of metal or not, will agree hands down that KidCrusher has a unique talent for creating videos that powerfully support his music. From videos like “Meet The Monstors” and “Alice In Zombieland” it’s easy to see that he knows how to effectively deliver intense visual stories that often make viewers feel as though they are watching a horror film.

His impressive skill in that regard has definitely not gone unnoticed in the film industry either. Over the last few years KidCrusher has been tapped to lend his musical genius to films like the 2015 post-apocalyptic Australian flick “From Parts Unknown: Fight Like A Girl,” for which he composed an intense and original metal score in addition to handling the film’s sound design. He also did the sound design and composed the score for the upcoming film “Sheborg Massacre.

To find out more about KidCrusher make sure to check out our interview below!

You can also check out his music and find out about upcoming releases through his website: http://kidcrusher.com/

And follow him on social media at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kidcrusher666
Instagram: @KidCrusher666
Twitter: @AustralianAlien



Where are you from? What was it like growing up there?

KC: I was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. I grew up in a suburban town with my mother and two siblings, sadly my father passed away when I was only 6 months old. Throughout my childhood and high school years I was labeled as an outcast therefor I spent a lot of time on my own. I’ve always loved Adelaide though, can’t seem to stay away longer than a week without getting home sick.

How and when did you get into music?

KC: With so much free time on my hands, I fell into creativity and entertainment with movies and music. I was attracted to creating music at a very young age inspired by hardcore hip hop as it was so restricted for me to listen to, that did nothing but power my urge to want it even more. I started my first rap group at the age of 12 and released 2 albums on cassette tape (around 1998), when I reached high school I was introduced to metal music and assembled my own cover band but everything kept falling apart due to the lack of commitment from other members. At this time I wanted to go solo when I discovered a breed of darker hip hop that was mixed with death metal, two genres I was fascinated with. When I released my first single, the music video went viral and it really gave me the drive to do it professionally. Not long after that I gained a massive following internationally online and that was back in 2005.

How many instruments do you play and how long have you been playing each?

KC: I’ve played guitar, bass, programmed drums, piano and vocals for all about the same amount of time since, pretty much since I started back in 1998, but I am more focused on vocals, guitar and sound engineering. I do a lot of production work on my albums, along with the help of various other producers on some occasions. I have recorded all of my albums since 2007 in a home studio I call “The kCave.” I studied music and sound engineering at Tafe SA and worked under two different recording studios before building my own.

What does music do for you?

KC: I still remember the first time I recorded a track to mp3 and burnt it onto a CD and listened to it on my sound system, it was almost like giving birth to a child and it became so addicting and exciting. I became my own biggest fan in a way, I wasn’t concerned about having fans or playing shows, I just wanted to make music for my own entertainment and then I shot my own music videos to begin with in my backyard. I honestly never thought it would go any further than that. Music is and was my way of ventilation. That’s how I feel a lot of my fans have connected in some ways more than others, because I let out a lot of personal feelings as well as fictional entertainment for those who want some fun.

Why are you passionate about playing music?

KC: Music has always been like my best friend forever, I connect so well with it that to me, music is my life, career, and the past, present and future of me. Every time I finish an album I say to myself “I’ll take a mini-break and relax for a bit” and it never happens, it pulls me back in. I feel so separated without it. I don’t know if it’s boredom or the drive for that amazing feeling of creating a masterpiece. Ever since I gained a following, I feel like I owe them everything for everything they’ve done for me, I still feel like I haven’t given back enough, even with 12 albums under my belt, they always ask me for more and I feel guilty it takes so long to release albums in the present time of my career, because I always look at my last album and want to do better than that because I know I can and I’ll refuse to rush an album for the sake of releasing an album these days. Overall I’d say my music is an artwork, a symbol, a decade of my life and one of the most amazing rides I feel so privileged to be a part of. It will always be somewhere that feels like home to me.

Who are some of your music influences, and how have they influenced you?

KC: SPICE1 was the first rapper that brought me into the dark side of rap, it was when I heard the “Tales from the Hood” soundtrack in primary school. Prior to that Slipknot, Korn, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit for their emotional and personal connection with music as well as the rap-metal influence. System of a Down, Mudvayne, Fear Factory and Marilyn Manson are some more metal influences, as well as a strong inspiration from the Australian industrial grind group The Berzerker for motivation of getting music done with or without anybody, and of course for their extreme brutality and character. I would have to say Insane Clown Posse and Twiztid are probably my biggest influences for pursuing my dream and creating KidCrusher as I never felt so connected with any other music, it made me want to represent their following and become a part of their world.

How would you describe your personal music style?

KC: It’s hard to put my entire catalogue into one genre, as I love to venture out into several styles. So my album can go from straight hip hop, to metal rap, to death metal, to Dubstep, to industrial, to comedy skits. Overall people would consider me apart of the Horrorcore genre and a Juggalo rapper.

Have you played on or written any songs used for film, television or commercial projects— if so, can you tell me which songs and which projects they have been used in?

KC: My song “A Dirty Fuckin Murder” alongside the music video was featured on TV’s “Law and Order” in the episode “Steel-eyed Death,” which I made headlines in magazines such as the New York Times for. The episode was based on the Farmville murders killer “Sam McCroskey” who was a fan of my music in real life.

I created an original musical score and did the sound design for two Australian films by Strongman Pictures entitled “From Parts Unknown: Fight Like A Girl” and the upcoming release “Sheborg Massacre.” They also produced several of my music videos including “Back To The KidCrusher” and “Alice In Zombieland.”

Alice In Zombieland was a short film for a KidCrusher song with the same name, which screened in cinemas around Australia during the Monster Fest Trasharama.

Can you tell us about some of the music videos you’ve released so far

KC: ‘A Dirty Fuckin Murder’ was the first music video I ever shot for my band, KidCrusher, and the song is featured on the album “Light to Dark and Life to Death.”

‘Meet The Monstors’ was the first professional KidCrusher music video I did and it was produced by Strongman Pictures. The video came together after I requested to produce a song for the soundtrack of a film they were developing. It was shot inside Aradale Mental Asylum in the outback of Melbourne, Australia. The theme of the video/song was that of the script of the movie (Love, Lobotomy and Zombies). Fangoria Magazine also covered the production. The song is featured on the album “Cannibal Clown.”

​
​‘The Naughty List’ is the second KidCrusher music video produced by Strongman Pictures; with my spin-off side Christmas project based on the movie “Dr. Suess’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas” with Jim Carrey. The video brings in more of a serial killer tone than the original; the song alone is about killing evil people in my home town on Christmas eve.

​‘Heavily Medicated’ was another video for my band that was produced by Strongman Pictures. We shot the video in an abandoned building and the song is about my struggle with depression over not being able to perform for my fans in the United States and being treated like an animal and drowning in the past. The song was released as a single and given away free online.

​

For the music video for the KidCrusher song ‘Alice In Zombieland’ Strongman Pictures came to me with an idea about shooting a short film/music video inside a role playing zombie factory based on Alice in Wonderland. The song for the movie was also featured on my album “Metal Murder 3D” and the video also screened in cinemas for Monster Fest / Trasharama.
The music video for ‘Back To The KidCrusher,’ produced by Strongman Pictures, was created to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of starting my career as KidCrusher. It also happened to synchronize with “Back To The Future Day” October 21, 2015. Back to the Future is my all-time favorite movie so I wanted to theme a music video towards the film and time travelling back to “2005” when I started KidCrusher to remix my first single “A Dirty Fuckin Murder”. We also had a DeLorean in the video and special effects. After the music video features a 30 minute documentary entitled “Ten Years Of KidCrusher” which highlights the albums and moments in my career.

I also released the music video ‘Ka Boom Boom’ with my band KcaveMen featuring Todd Hansen the drummer of The Berzerker, a band which I always looked up to. ‘Rectal Birth’ is another music video I released with my other side project, Penetration off the album “The Nothing”; and I play all the instruments in this industrial metal band. The album and video were based on the storm from the movie “The Neverending Story” and they focused on depression, destruction and betrayal. The clip was shot entirely on green screen as me as every member of the band, and I have future releases from this project coming into the mix in 2017.

What do you think separates you from other musicians? What makes you good at what you do?

KC: Not to be completely cocky about it, but I believe I’m one of the hardest working, and most successful independent underground musicians in Australia. What other artist has done 12 studio albums in 10 years, and produced movie grade music videos and scores for films? Has toured with major artists and did it all without management, a label, or basically buying their way on stage or into promotions. I’ve done everything with nobody but me, my music and my fans to get me there and I’ve done all of it from bottom of The Underground of the Industry. I’ve never had commercial radio play or major promotion, I’ve written recorded and released and distributed everything from my own CDs, DVDs, MP3s and a clothing line all myself and have the determination to take it even further. 

America has had hype building for me since 2008, I feel like I’m that animal in a cage, waiting for be given my chance to be with my fans and really give the world what I have got. Just in Australia I’ve played by request for Insane Clown Posse, Tech N9ne, Hed(pe), Mushroomhead, Hopsin and more. I’m the outcast of hip hop and metal, I’m the underdog that succeeded by being rejected by the world and taken to an underworld of music. In the tunnels we run and you will find me, under the ground. 

How do you feel when you’re playing on stage? Was it something you had to get used to, or were you immediately comfortable in front of the crowd?

KC: I still have stage fright from time to time, it’s kind of like, you snap out of character and start to think, and that’s the point I slow down - the normal stage you just flow with the music and you’re on pure adrenaline, that’s what I love. It’s definitely something I had to prepare for physically as well, as I’m not very fit, as I was never planning on performing live when I first started so to this day, I need a few months to prepare for a tour. Most of my songs are too difficult to perform live as well so there is only a small list that works. The more I’ve performed over the years, I’ve definitely progressed and I feel more powerful than ever up there today. It’s something that’s become an addiction like the production of my albums.

Aside from playing music in the bands you play with, do you write any of the music or lyrics—if so please tell me about some of the songs where you had the biggest role in that aspect/ where you got your inspiration/ what the collaboration process was like?

KC: I write all of my music, usually the beats as well. Inspiration comes from various things in most cases when I first started KidCrusher, I studied a lot of serial killers and cannibals through documentaries and online. Not because I love or support it in anyway, but because of the shock factor in entertainment. I wanted to produce a horror movie on stage / or / in your mind. My albums are designed the way a movie soundtrack is put together, there’s sounds you’d usually hear from movie scores, intros intermissions outros, as well as the amount of skits and samples I use. Other inspirations come from real life situations or movies which I twist into an original tale.

What do you hope to achieve in your career as a musician?

KC: Continue to have a die-hard fan base and of course touring the world and making music full time. I have conquered a few of my goals already, which was to share the stage with a few of my influences; Insane Clown Posse, Tech N9ne and The Berzerker..

You could say that everything film editor Marta Bonet de Gispert touches turns to gold.  In fact, piecing together all the awards and accolades that make up Marta’s credits over the last decade would be a full-time job even for her.

Hands down, Bonet de Gispert is one of the most outstanding editors internationally.  Her brilliant work on Temporada 92-93, one of her earliest pieces, received over 50 collective awards and nominations—again, far too many to mention each.  But among them were awards for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Director at respected international film festivals, and you can bet a nomination for Best Editing was amongst them.

An award-winning success, to say the least, the film's comedic portrayal of Spain’s passion for its beloved soccer quickly made the film a fan favorite.  As an editor, the film is only the tip of the iceberg when considering Bonet de Gispert's vast range of successful projects.

After working on director Alejandro Marzoa's film Temporada 92-93, Bonet de Gispert was tapped to edit yet another of Marzoa's films, Padre Modelo a.k.a Role Model Father. Proving the strength of their collaboration Padre Modelo was a resounding success at film festivals around the world as well.

Switching gears from the comedic story of Temporada 92-93, the film Padre Modelo erects a dramatic and heart wrenching story that revolves around a young bullied boy who resists his father's love and attention when he comes to pick him up from school due to his fear of the other kids making fun of him.

The film won an award at the prestigious Festival de Cans, 2nd Prize at the Festival De Cortos “Villa De Errenteria," the Best Actor Award at the International Competition of Cerdanya for Miguel de Lira's performance, the Audience Award at the XIX Muestra de Cine Internacional de Palencia, the Audience Award at the International Audiovisual Event Lyceum Casino Vilagarcía, as well as several others.

While some work hard for years and years in hopes of building up a portfolio like the one Marta Bonet de Gispert has accrued, she seems to have done so from the start.

Perhaps it is because the Barcelonan comes from a family of lawyers, a career path she decided to forgo at the last minute whilst in law school, giving up a place amongst them to pursue her passion in filmmaking. Bonet de Gispert’s instincts were right on cue, as her editing continues to reflects the necessary timing and purpose needed to drive each story.

While she has reached international acclaim as an editor for film, and was even chosen as an editing consultant on Oscar Award winner Martin Scorsese's film The Key to Reserva, she has also doted her skills upon the world of television with the series Latino Dub and Califorma. But her talents do not stop there. In 2009 she proved her capacity as an editor in the world of music videos with the highly successful videos for OBK's "Sin Rencor," and again with Aritz Villodas' "No me pidas que te bese porqué te besaré."

She not only earned a bachelor’s degree in Film and a master’s in Motion Picture and Television, but she also went on to earn a specialized post-graduate degree in Screenwriting for Comedy.  This degree led to one of Bonet de Gispert’s proudest honors, she says, being asked in 2008 to act as a judge of her peers in the SNC Film competition during its very first year, which focused on depression and anxiety.

SNC Film, which translates in Spanish as the Central Nervous System, began the film competition to use the art of filmmaking to combat the stigma that surrounds mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s Disease, and others.  Each year focuses on one decided area.

About judging the SNC film competition Bonet de Gispert recalls, "It was a great experience, in which I had to keep an open mind to not only judge based on my personal likes. It was also challenging the fact that  I was judging the quality of the project, but also the values in them, which was an essential part of the project."

Bonet de Gispert’s secret talent is her ability to present the serious along with loving light-heartedness.  Of course, this doesn't always happen in the same film as the mark of good editor means doing what is right for each particular story, her talent for bringing in comedic elements in the midst of the darkest tales is definitely a feature that sets her apart.

She recently worked as the editor of an amazing documentary that just opened here in the US at the Tribeca Film Festival and is receiving national attention, both for its story and its subject matter.

Titled Gored, the film follows Antonio Barrera, Spain’s most “gored” matador. The battered bullfighter has his last chance with a bull.  With his wife and daughter watching on, will he survive one more dance with fate?

Switching from, say, her editing in Temporada 92-93, a fun soccer tribute, to such a monumental story of Spain’s most gruesome and infamous sport, bullfighting, the success of both films have proven Bonet de Gispert's adaptability as an editor across genres.

“The challenge in Gored was to adapt to a documentary format,” she says.  “In documentaries you have a different working method, where you create your narrative structure completely in the editing room.  It is a very much longer process than in fiction, but definitely very interesting.”

Personally, Marta says her favorite project recently was the intense psychological thriller Devil May Call, which was filmed in Los Angeles and debuted at the 2013 Marches du Film event in Cannes.  

Not one to shy away from a challenge, Bonet de Gispert continues to take on a diverse of range of work, crossing over international boundaries with ease.  Speaking French, Spanish, Catalan and English, the phenom also crossed over into writing and directing with her upcoming project, El Otro Lado (The Other Side).

About the film, Bonet de Gispert says, "El Otro Lado is a an action thriller short film about a well-mannered lawyer that finds himself going over the edge and switching the world of laws to that of violence after laundering money for the cartels."

While she enjoys the awards and praise that came so quickly in her career and have continued for nearly a decade, Marta is one talent who truly doesn’t work or strive towards that.  She says she’s happy “to just keep on working on interesting projects that make a difference for audiences.”   

She adds, “Everything else is secondary.”

Like a great film, Gianni Vancini has a soundtrack that seems to accompany his life. When he was a boy, the sound of his father playing the piano filled his childhood home. At six years old, he too began to practice the piano, a gateway instrument that would soon catapult him from playing tunes from a small town in Northern Italy, to making music that would ring out in homes all over the world. While his love for the piano is what initially sparked his affair with music, Gianni Vancini developed a passion and talent for speaking through many different instruments including the drums, the clarinet, the flute, and what he is most widely known for throughout the world today, the saxophone.

Performing both as a solo artist, a well as with various bands, Vancini has toured every country in Western Europe, and almost every country in Eastern Europe. Additionally, he has been received with renown in Australia, Canada, the United States, Turkey, and Romania, to name a few.

For the past 12 years, Vancini has accompanied acclaimed singer Umberto Tozzi on the saxophone. Aside from releasing several hit singles including “Tu”, “Gloria” and “Te Amo”, which topped charts around the world, Tozzi’s music has been included on several soundtracks for film and television shows like The Wolf of Wall Street, Gloria, Glee, Will & Grace, Heroes, The Lather Effect, Saturday Night Life, and countless others. Together, Tozzi and Vancini have performed over 100 live performances. The duo also had the honor of being asked to perform at Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti’s wedding last year, where they played alongside other notable performers including Bono from U2 and Andrea Bocelli.

Over the past two decades, Vancini has continually demonstrated his signature style and ingenious technique, which the world has received with open ears. In addition to his repertoire of international live performances, Vancini has produced and composed several studio albums. While his full discography is too considerable to discuss at length, several of his singles have achieved notable acclaim in the United States, including “Grapes” from the album entitled Souls United, and “Get Your Groove On,” from the album Get Your Groove On.

Vancini is currently filming a music video for his song entitled “Live”, which is set to be released later this year. In between touring, composing, and recording, he finds the time to teach the next generation of musicians, who aspire to one day reach the prominence that they see – and hear – in their teacher.

The driving force behind a successful print campaign depends on the images’ unique ability to command the attention of viewers. As an audience we are often bombarded by advertisement after advertisement making the vast majority of images easily ignorable in our everyday life. Because of this, photographers must exhaust all avenues in order to make sure their creative vision shines through in the mainstream, a task that Los Angeles-based photographer Adina Doria tackles with ease.

Whether the work is fashion related, focused on branding or aimed at hyping the release of a new music video, Doria’s ability to find chemistry with the models in which she is working with is what keeps companies coming back season after season.

A perfect example of some of this photographer’s extraordinary work can be found in a collection of images she shot for innovative clothing company Bohemian Society. Doria beautifully captured models Mikhail Misha Shpilev & Aaron Mann, who are represented by Envy Model Management in Los Angeles, in a way that is not only visually striking, but serves as a wonderful exemplification of the brand’s raw and edgy vibe.

“This specific shoot with Bohemian Society was for the Los Angeles Times. Since the name of this collection by Victor Wilde was "Nothing" my inspiration for the shoot was to create an open concept of two models chasing reflections,” said photographer Adina Doria. “They both have their own characters and are trapped in this timeless feel. Mirrors are very powerful. They reflect what we want to see.”

Renowned for her work across multiple subject matters, Doria has fulfilled many professional capacities in her job as a photographer. As the set photographer on the music video for comedian Jesse Wellen’s “Cookie Dance,” Doria was responsible for capturing the kind of imagery that would make viewers stop what they’re doing and rush to watch the video.

Referred to by the Huffington Post as ‘Easily The Best Rap Video About Cookies You'll Ever See,’ when audiences browse the Internet for the Prank vs. Prank star’s video “Cookie Dance,” most, if not all, of the stills were captured by Ms. Doria. The video, which has been a huge success worldwide, currently has over Six Million views on Youtube and, like Doria, shows no signs of stopping.