Kiner Music (formerly known as Kiner Brothers) is a composing sibling duo consisted of Deana and Sean Kiner.^[1] Their father is Kevin Kiner, a composer mainly known for his work in the Star Wars franchise.^[2] The pair often collaborates with him.

Career

Deana and Sean grew up with music their whole lives, as their father has been in the industry for around four decades and mainly works in the Star Wars universe. The siblings were fans of Star Wars before their father began to score for its different films and shows. They were able to watch and listen to their father's work on his Star Wars creations. The family went to midnight showings to see it when it came out in movie theaters. Because of their father's career as an established composer, they had access to technology early on.^[3]

Both siblings have a background in music aside from their father's work. Professionally, they began working with their father by taking on small roles. For Sean, he began assisting his father with music editing when Kevin was diagnosed with cancer. Sean also said his father recognized his talent for recognizing music cues.^[4]

Deana attended Berklee College of Music, majoring in film score and then changing her major to songwriting. Kevin began giving Deana tasks related to his work when she was in college. One of these projects ended up being the score for the Netflix series Making a Murderer. By taking on these roles, both siblings began to realize they wanted this to be a full-fledged career. Deana quit her job at Starbucks to join her father full-time.^[5]

They frequently collaborate with their father on different projects. The three of them share a studio, allowing them to work individually in their own spaces but to also collaborate and draw inspiration from one another.^[6] This was especially helpful as they continued to score projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kevin Kiner described the set-up as three separate recording studios connected to one house.^[7]

The duo's first dive into the Star Wars universe was working on the score for Star Wars Rebels. The Kiners continued making musical contributions in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch, but have more recently assisted with full compositions in Ahsoka: The TV series.^[8]

The duo has spoken about Dave Filoni and how he has allowed them to develop their own voice within the Star Wars universe. Notably, Sean is given credit for creating the theme for Grand Admiral Thrawn.^[9] However, there are moments where they need to pull from the iconic motifs and themes created by John Williams. This came into play when C-3PO made an appearance in the Ahsoka show. They balanced their own work with some of the most iconic pieces from the movies, such as the main Star Wars fanfare and the more gentle Leia's Theme. The duo, along with their father Kevin, build upon the influences that inspired John Williams and his work.^[10]

They do not shy away from incorporating music from different cultures. Before composing anything in Ahsoka, the siblings and their father put together a playlist with music from people like Joe Hisaishi to get inspiration for the score.^[11] Building off of that, they then took influence from Japanese and Chinese culture. They used a guzheng as a main instrument for the character. Deana also learned to play the flute while scoring Ahsoka.^[12] The pair had access to a live orchestra as they scored the episodes. Deana also incorporated her friend Sarah Tudzin into the score as they felt they needed punk, rebellious energy in the music.^[13]

Apart from Star Wars properties, they have composed the scores for several popular TV shows, including Titans, Single Parents, Trese, Narcos: Mexico, Transformers, Peacemaker and Doom Patrol.^[14][15]

Personal Life

Sean and Deana are half Filipino. Their mother, who is from the Philippines, never taught them Tagalog because she wanted them to fully assimilate into American culture. They have expressed the struggle they face with their mixed-race heritage, but feel excited during opportunities to work on Filipino stories, such as scoring the Netflix show Trese, a show about Filipino myths and creatures.

Deana is also part of the transgender community. She came out the night of the BMI Awards, which was the same night the family earned multiple accolades for their work.^[16] Deana has said that both Lucasfilm and The Bad Batch fans were supportive after she came out. Deana is married to her wife, Alex.^[17]

References