About Castaños
Carmichael B. Castaños is an award-winning Filipino composer and music producer, renowned for his collaborative contributions to music for film. Born in the Philippines and based in Los Angeles, he is a versatile musical multi-hyphenate whose works are driven by emotional storytelling, balanced in simplicity and complexity alike, while bringing richly textured and detailed musical palettes.
His recent work includes co-composing, music-producing, and songwriting for the original scores of the short films Party Starts at 5 and Awit Ng Puso (Howling Gale Entertainment). Awit Ng Puso artfully bridges tradition and modernity, featuring the kundiman-inspired “Tiwala Sa Sarili” alongside the contemporary pop-folk piece “Girl In The Mirror,” both performed by Emmy®-winning actress and acclaimed singer-songwriter Aaliyah Magcasi. The film received the Audience Award at the 2024 FILAM Creative Film Festival and Best Score at the 2025 Las Vegas Filipino Short Film Festival. Earlier, his music co-scored with Rasec Marc for the debut feature Tahanan (Home), earned the Best Music Score – Feature Film award at the 2023 Marina Del Rey Film Festival. In 2026, his work on Kaya IV was honored as an official selection at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival.
In 2023, Castaños garnered widespread recognition for his songwriting and production on “I Won’t Complain," a John Lennon Songwriting Competition-winner by R&B artist and soul singer-songwriter KIA. That in 2023 also made a notable impact on the U.S. Top 40 R&B charts. The track continued its acclaim with a nomination at the 2024 Hollywood Independent Music Awards (HIMA), where it was also considered to open the ceremony. The following year, KIA’s album Retrospect received a HIMA nomination in the Album category. Through these works, Castaños continues to shape contemporary music, drawing from timeless influences while continually exploring new and evolving creative paths.
His expanding body of film work includes contributions to the soundtrack and original song “Ain’t In A Rush” for the 2026 StudioCanal feature Woodwalkers 2, a classic pop-infused country track featuring KIA. Their ongoing collaborations span a diverse range of projects, including Jagged Edge Productions’ holiday feature Christmas With The Pups 2: Pups Alone (“Tomorrow It’s Christmas”), which blends the warmth of traditional Christmas pop with a vibrant pop-rock sensibility. In ITN Productions’ Piglet’s Return (“Face To Face”), he explores darker tonalities, merging electronic and dark pop elements with soulful vocal textures, while EMRJ Entertainment’s BAIT (“Night of Day”) presents a more atmospheric soundscape interweaving classical piano, crooner-inspired vocals, and subtle, haunting dissonance.
In addition to his film work, Castaños has collaborated closely with Mark Yaeger on a range of high-profile projects, including United States Senator Mark Kelly’s 2022 campaign advertisements, Alter Ego | Photography As Meditation for National Geographic and Dell featuring Kevin Love and Kris Graves, Jon Wagner’s Cabin Girl for Tubi, and numerous commercial campaigns. He has also worked alongside composer Kristen Personius on Sobini Films’ Cinderella’s Revenge.
Along with his successes, Carmichael has served as part of the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) team as a Los Angeles administrator since 2023, contributing to the broader creative community and supporting initiatives that foster collaboration, mentorship, and the advancement of film and media music professionals.