Draft:Liam Phan

Liam Phan (born 17 January 2000) is a Swiss multi-instrumentalist, film composer and record producer from Geneva, Switzerland. He got his start in the music world through his soundtrack projects and piano compositions. His creative approach resonates with styles he has been influenced by since childhood, such as classical, neoclassical, jazz, and electronic.

Always open to a wide range of sounds allowed by analog and digital instruments, Liam explores harmonies and rhythms in the service of films and commercials. What If (2021) became his first notable film project, followed by Watchers (2022), Paloma and Firemen (2023). He also scored the Summer 2022 campaign of EYNIE, Doves In The Garden.

In 2023, Liam released his first debut solo album Entropy (2023), a neoclassical work inspired by the physic concept of entropy.

2011-2018: Early life
Liam discovered his passion for the piano and film music at the age of 7 when he watched the movie August Rush. He began learning on his own before taking private classical piano lessons at the age of 11, encouraged by his parents and grandparents. His learning repertoire included composers such as Chopin, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff. Alongside the piano, Liam also enjoyed hard rock and metal music and played electric guitar in a local Geneva band called Red Eyes Fever.

In 2015, he started secondary school at Calvin College, choosing music complementary option alongside economics and law as fundamental subject. Over the course of four years, he learned the art of improvisation and jazz under the guidance of his teachers, Moncef Genoud (Swiss jazz pianist) and Tanjia Muller (Swiss flutist, cellist and accordionist ). In 2018, As part of an extracurricular activity during his second semester, he attended classes for two months at the Geneva University of Music (HEM) as a free auditor. There, he studied orchestration (with Charles Victor Manuel Cordero), composition (with Jean-Pascal Chaigne), and piano performance (with Jean Jacques Balet).

By the end of 2018, he completed his Matura work with his first album, Equilibrium. This research work aimed to explore the blending of symphony orchestra and electronic instruments, inspired by the way film music utilises a diverse range of instruments to enhance the audiovisual experience. He obtained his Matura diploma the year later.

2019-Present
He continued his studies with a bachelor's degree in economics and management at the Geneva School of Economics (GSEM). After graduating in 2021, he enrolled in the Master's program in Business Analytics at the University of Geneva, which was founded by Professor Diego Kuonen. Over the course of two years, he specialised in data science, studying subjects such as applied statistics, programming languages, machine learning, and consulting.

During his years of study, Liam simultaneously composed his first student short film, See (2019), a dystopian film directed and written by Loïc Viatte. This initial collaboration led to new projects such as What If (2022), Paloma (2023), and Echovalescence (upcoming in 2024). He also collaborated with ArtFx Montpellier, a special effects school in France, on two short films, Watchers (2022) and Firemen (2023), where he received his first awards for Best Soundtrack at the ONIROS FILM AWARDS® New York.

Alongside his film projects, Liam released his first solo compositions. First, with his single Kernel (2022), accompanied by his debut music video. In early 2023, he released the single Near (Piano Rework), a reinterpretation of the song Near from the film Paloma (2023), which launched his career on streaming platforms and garnered over 3 million listens. In the same year, he produced his inaugural studio album, Entropy (2023), which was released as three singles: Inertia, Grains, and Particles. He also released his first behind-the-score feature, for Firemen (2023), shot partly in the Moroccan desert.

Awards

 * ONIROS FILM AWARDS® New York - Best Soundtrack(Firemen) | January 2024 Edition

Nominations

 * GOLDEN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL - Best Soundtrack (What If) | 1st Quarter 2021/2022
 * LONDON SHORTS - Best Score (What If) | 2021 Edition
 * PARIS FILM FESTIVAL - Best Original Score (What If) | 2021 Edition

Honorable mentions

 * SWISS ALPENGLOW INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - Best Soundtrack (Firemen) | 2024 Edition

Albums

 * Entropy (2023)

Singles

 * Kernel (2022)
 * Near (Piano Rework) (2023)
 * Inertia (2023)
 * Grains (2023)
 * Particles (2023)

Soundtracks

 * See (2019) - Short-film
 * Doves In The Garden (2021) - Fashion Commercial
 * What If (2021) - Short-film
 * Watchers (2022) - Short-film
 * Paloma (2023) - Film
 * Firemen (2023) - Short-film