Ramesh Kumar Kannan of Los Angeles on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Ramesh Kumar Kannan shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Ramesh Kumar, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is a normal day like for you right now?
“I am an early-to-rise and early-to bed type of person on the working weekdays. I wake up at 6 and start my day with a walk outdoors, some exercise for the body and the mind when I am back home and enjoy a cup of coffee after.

I work from 9 to 6:30 and prefer to start my days with the creative tasks : composing, sampling, arranging, programming, recording.

I take a short break for lunch at noon which is usually my first meal of the day. Then tending to my e mails, messages, work related calls before I get back and continue my work. I like to handle the technical tasks in the evening : mixing, sheet music preparation and things like that.

Evenings past 7 are a bit different depending on the day. Somedays, I get out of the house, meet, hangout with friends and colleagues, I attend events when I have an invitation, call my family and friends and somedays I just like to stay home and veg-out on my couch watching a movie or a TV show. I finish my dinner before 8 and I am in my bed at 10.”

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
“I am Ramesh Kumar Kannan and I am a music composer based in Los Angeles. You probably know me as the composer of films and documentaries such as Zzaslow K-427 (2025), Interpreters Wanted (2024), Hell’s Half Acre (2023), Nightingale: A Melody of Life (2021), or you don’t know me at all.

While I primarily work in creating music for Film and TV, I also compose and arrange music for the stage and produce records.

I’ve been fortunate to be trained in a few disciplines of music from a young age and genuinely enjoy a wide variety of genres and styles of music. I would like to believe that it has given me the opportunity and the ability to drift towards them, tap into them or blend them as needed to create music that is unique and to be able to be more versatile too.”

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
“Family.

My Father in particular, who is a physician professionally, is also a gifted musician himself. He was also one of my earliest influences in music. I am certain that he was the first person to see a musician in me and to believe that I could make a career out of it. My Mother and Sister are also talented singers who were always supportive and encouraging.”

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
“I landed in Los Angeles in 2012 to do a film scoring program at USC and decided to stay back and explore my options here. After I graduated from the program, I was getting a few opportunities here and there to score some short films and arrange some music for a few artists for their music videos and concerts which I gladly took up.

A few years later a producer who I had met through a friend reached out to me expressing interest in bringing me on-board to score his upcoming feature-length film at that time. I was really excited as it was the first time I was given such an opportunity. I read through the script that he had shared with me and started to sketch out my themes. I also met with him and the director the following week and they told me that they loved the samples on my website and were really looking forward to working with me. I called my family and a few friends and shared the news and my excitement.

A week later, the producer called me to inform me that the director was having second thoughts and that he was insisting having his brother, who was also a composer, score the film. He had said that it would be the better option as they had a stronger connection and communication as siblings and that he felt more confident that he could get the best out of that relationship. The producer also added that had was left with no choice but to side with the director on that.

Although I could understand their decision and had wished him well for this film, I was heart-broken at the time. It felt as if I had blown my one opportunity to take my career to the next level and the road ahead for me suddenly felt like a dead-end. It was still not that I wanted to give up but it somehow I did not have the motivation do go and find my next opportunity for weeks after that phone call. I had simply not enough experience at that time to realize that this was quite common in this business and that rejections are as much a part of the journey as acceptance is.”

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
“I believe so.

I am not really sure there’s a even a line that segments the two. If there is, it has to be a very thin line.

My friends are my family in Los Angeles and most of my friends are colleagues that I have worked with in the past and continue to collaborate with.”

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
“I am doing what I love doing the most and that is making music”

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