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Leveled-Up Audio for Worlds Real & Imagined

We’re an external development (ExDev) team focused on delivering uncommonly creative, highly polished, powerful, and precise music.

We have vast flexibility and scalability for game dev studios and productions of all sizes.

Because of our team stack and external resources, we can easily meet production timelines of any kind, we may even be able to shorten overall stretches.

Limitless Genre Capabilities: we have unparalleled genre fluency that enables our team the abilities to not only musically profile characters, emotions, narratives, and worlds, but also create the most effective and thought-provoking music that devs need to complete their productions. Cultural Respect & Trust: Ash & Aether members have decades of producing, writing, performing, engineering, and touring (internationally & domestically) in the music industry, which opens circles to broad talent pools for collaborations and features.


Credits: Riot Games (League of Legends, 2XKO), Marvel, Sleep Token, DC, Loathe, RWBY, Rooster Teeth, Naruto Symphony, Critical Role, AFK Journey, Delta Force, Ice Nine Kills, Materia Music, Fate Trigger, Intervals, Monuments, Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Roblox, and more.

What We Do

  • Full Soundtracks

    • Scene Composition

    • Generative & Real-Time Adaptations

    • Procedural Loops

  • Themes

    • Linear Character Themes

    • Main Themes

  • Promotional Music

    • Singles - we make hit music for production announcements, adding passion-value to your big releases

    • Trailers - break the formula, get people talking with music that matches the quality of your production

    • Events & Ceremonies - awards, eSports, and festivals needing level-up music made by your favorite producer’s favorite producers

Meet the Team

(in no particular order)

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Jesse Zuretti

Co-Founder & Director |
Composer, Producer

  • I’m Jesse Zuretti, independent hybrid composer working on Riot Games 2XKO, but most notably working with Marvel from 2018 and on. 

    The AAA game world shares parallels with the comic book/film world, allowing me to provide a wide-array of styles for beloved characters, cinematics, gameplay, stages, themes, and more. 

    For over 20+ years my mission has remained the same: connect with the musical empathy and reach for uncommon creativity. 

    Whether it’s dark fantasy, fever dream horror, high intensity action, thought-provoking sci-fi, or wistful drama, I believe the music should always help you feel, remember, think, and want more of the story.

    I’ve produced/composed synths for bands like Intervals and Aaron Marshall on their Juno Award-Winning album “memory palace”, Brand of Sacrifice for the track “Purge”, Monuments on the track “Nefarious” for GodSlap & YouTuber penguinz0 (aka MoistCr1TiKaL) with George Lever (Sleep Token, Loathe), Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend), and many more.

    I’ve been obsessed with music and film since I was a kid. Exploring the unknown, researching influences of influences, learning the deepest depths of music knowledge, watching more movies than The Pirate Bay has ever illegally uploaded.

    It’s not enough to be passionate; you have to be able to communicate ideas into something audible and tangible, that serves a meaningful purpose.

    I believe I’ve found a way to make characters, emotions, settings, and themes into musical accompaniments that sonically paint a picture.

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Sydney Kjerstad

Co-Founder & Controller |
Arranger, Orchestrator

  • Hey! I’m an arranger, pianist, educator, and composer whose love of video game music has been a guiding force in my career. 

    I love creating accessible arrangements for students, especially video game fans. 

    I love coming up with fun and new ideas that make a company stand out. 

    I love innovating the way we practice music. 

    I love writing music that’s fun, cute, and catchy. 

    Music has been a part of my life from a young age, but I didn’t see it as a path I wanted to follow until I was 14 years old playing Final Fantasy X. The game opened with its iconic piano solo “To Zanarkand”

    My career has gone down several paths. My longest relationship has been with Smart Game Piano; an online piano educational resource I helped found in 2015 that focuses on video game and anime music. 

    This has led me to a partnership with MusicNotes.com, where I have published the 600+ of Smart Game Piano’s sheets that I have personally arranged. 

    It has also led me to work with Materia Music in arranging their Dust: An Elysian Tail Piano Selections book and their DELTARUNE Chapter 2 Piano Score.

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George Lever

Producer

  • George Lever is a UK-based record producer, engineer, and mixer renowned for shaping the sound of modern progressive and alternative metal. Operating from Wells, Somerset, he has been active in the industry since around 2010, running his own production outfit and earning a reputation for crafting immersive, emotive sonic landscapes.

    A key creative force behind the provocative sound of bands like Sleep Token, Loathe, Holding Absence, and Thornhill, Lever produced Sleep Token’s debut Sundowning and their sophomore album This Place Will Become Your Tomb, both recorded at his studio in Somerset. His approach blends technical precision—ranging from multi-send reverbs to psychedelic vocal layering—and creative problem-solving techniques to deliver clarity and impactful emotion in heavy music.

    Lever has openly discussed his influence in sculpting Sleep Token’s cinematic atmosphere, citing inspirations like Health, Purity Ring, and prog acts such as Porcupine Tree and Karnivool. He favors vintage-style reverbs and analog-style distortion to create dynamic textures, yet emphasizes serving the artist’s vision above his own ego. Nominated for accolades like the Heavy Music Awards, George Lever continues to push genre boundaries with compelling, emotionally resonant production across heavy and experimental music scenes.

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Joe Ford

Producer, Sound Designer

  • Hailing from Harrogate UK, Joe Ford appeared at the forefront of a new wave of producers who took the scene by storm, setting himself apart with an outrageously accomplished studio skill set and trademark hi-tech drum & bass sound tinged with rock, funk and everything in between.

    Truly unique, Joe's brand of intricate, powerful, and cutting-edge bass music became some of the most breathtaking on the circuit from the moment he burst onto the scene in the early 2010's.  With a flurry of activity around early releases on Bad Taste, Med School, a Beatport dubstep chart no.1 with the Mission EP on Caliber Music and huge support on UKF, Joe Ford quickly emerged as a talent brimming with potential. Picked up by Friction and K-Tee, Joe went on to sit as an exclusive Shogun Audio artist alongside one of the most prestigious rosters in the game.

    After his stint as a support act for Noisia’s I Am Legion tour, his debut Shogun track 'Stride', from the Way Of The Warrior 2 compilation album, marked his arrival in style. Continuing throughout 2014 with his downright dangerous ‘The Moment’ ft Tasha Baxter b/w the effervescent ‘Neon’ release and a remix for one of the biggest USA EDM’ers in the game, Datsik, he sealed the year with ‘Off Centre’ and knocked us all for six. In fact his rework of ‘Hold It Down’ forced Datsik to exclaim “Joe Ford is the future!” in a recent interview…and who are we to argue.

    2015 was a huge year for Joe as he gained even more notoriety with his very own radio show on the legendary Kiss Fresh / FM whilst releasing his heavily hammered 5-track ‘All Of Us’ EP on Shogun. 

    His debut album 'Colours In Sound' dropped in early 2018 much to critical acclaim. With stand out tracks such as 'Care For Me' with fellow label heads Document One and lead liquid single 'Where Is The Sun', he presented a body of work suitable for all D&B fans, showcasing every shade of our evolving genre.

Martin Gonzalez

Composer, Producer

  • Hi there! I’m a Colombian-born, US-based composer and guitarist with a deep love for storytelling through music—especially when it comes to anime and video games. You might know my work from titles like RWBY, Arknights, TDX (Roblox), and Delta Force. I’ve also had the joy of performing live for Naruto: The Symphonic Experience and The Demon Slayer Symphony, along with a bunch of other fun projects and collaborations.

    As you’ve probably guessed by now, I’m a proud nerd at heart. Music has always been my purpose, my passion, and the way I connect most deeply with the world. My mission? To build entire worlds in people’s heads—to craft sounds that stick with you, echo in your bones, and make your imagination take flight. I gravitate toward music that’s bold, fun, and unapologetically creative.

    I’m also part of Ash & Aether, an X-Dev music production team made up of some seriously amazing composers and sound designers. Together, we push boundaries, experiment wildly, and create sonic experiences we hope you'll never forget.

    Let’s keep making noise worth remembering!

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Colm McGuinness

Composer, Lyricist, Topliner, Vocalist

  • Born with one foot in a fiddle circle and the other in a gaming chair, I'm Colm McGuinness—Irish composer, vocalist, and proud musical nerd. I cut my teeth on traditional Irish tunes, sea shanties, and power ballads, which now swirl into the fantasy-infused, emotionally cinematic style I bring to the projects I score. Whether I’m crafting ethereal soundscapes for Critical Role, orchestrating sweeping melodies for AFK Journey, or building tension in the world of League of Legends, my goal is always the same: create music you feel in your bones.

    Beyond the studio, I’ve built a bit of an online crew. My YouTube channel has racked up over 27 million views with epic covers (yes, “Hoist the Colours” lives rent-free in a lot of heads), and I’ve found a wild, wonderful audience across TikTok and Spotify with my original work. I’ve also hit the road, touring across the U.S., blending live vocals with a cinematic concert experience. Now based in Los Angeles—but always sounding like I just walked out of a foggy Dublin pub—I make music that tells stories, moves characters, and turns your headphones into a portal.

    My academic chops include a Master’s in Music Composition and ongoing PhD work in interactive-media scoring.

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Ricky Armellino

Lyricist, Topliner, Vocalist

  • Ricky Armellino is a powerhouse topliner and vocal producer whose guitar riffs and soaring backing vocals have become synonymous with modern horror-tinged metal. Since joining Ice Nine Kills in 2015, he’s been a key creative force, co-writing and lending his signature voice and rhythm guitar to the band’s blockbuster albums The Silver Scream and The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood—the latter debuting at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and marking a milestone lineup expansion including Ricky himself. Now shredding across arenas while touring with legends like Metallica and Limp Bizkit, he brings both precision instrumentation and emotive vocal layers that elevate every live performance.

    Offstage, Ricky’s dual role as producer and vocalist truly shines. Grounded in Lancaster, PA but forged in the East Coast hardcore scene of Long Island, he honed his craft from his teenage years through stints in bands like This or the Apocalypse.

    Today, he’s equally at home behind the console—producing, mixing, engineering, and shaping vocals in his own studio for clients from Fearless to Sumerian Records. As he admits, singing didn’t come naturally until his 30s, but now it’s his passion; he believes his voice must stay sharp by working daily, even as production keeps his career alive.

    In just a few years, Ricky Armellino has gone from genre-savvy guitarist to complete vocal architect—blending storytelling toplines, intricate arrangements, and performance grit. As Ice Nine Kills scales bigger stages with chart-topping success and relentless touring, Ricky remains the behind-the-scenes vocal strategist and onstage anchor, proving that great metal isn’t just loud—it’s emotionally orchestrated.

Ask us anything

Pretend like our contact form is Reddit and this is an AMA. Feel free to ask us anything via email, or simply fill out our contact form. We’re here to chat about your project you’d like us to be a part of!

team@ashandaethermusic.com