Kenneth Pattengale

Kenneth Pattengale

Kenneth Pattengale is an American songwriter, record producer and film composer based in Los Angeles, California. He is a member of The Milk Carton Kids and also works in a range of other musical and film-related roles, including songwriting for his own material, producing records for other artists and composing for short films and feature films.

Career

His work moves across styles that include swamp music, rhythm and blues, lullaby, country and western, folk song and piano ballad. Rather than following a single genre, his songs are shaped by the stories they tell. Pattengale describes his career as balancing three areas: film composition, record production and performing songwriting.

He records and produces a varied group of artists, from hardcore act From First to Last, released through Interscope, to Americana artist Matt Taylor and his Laurels, issued through his own indie imprint. Alongside these projects, he has completed countless short films, two feature films and five albums.

Influences and approach

Pattengale takes inspiration from artists such as Randy Newman, Elvis Costello and Joe Henry, and he also looks to Tom Waits, Gillian Welch, Chris Smither and Loudon Wainwright for a model of turning emotional experience into narrative. He frames his work around hard work, imagination and honesty.

Background

He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Southern California and lives in Los Angeles. He describes himself as working among books, instruments and computers.