J R Utopian Studios
About Us
JR Utopian Studios was founded in 2005 by John and Rich Torkington. The studio has slowly evolved from a personal home studio into a semi-pro / semi-private project studio.
Both John and Rich attended The Recording Workshop in Massieville, Ohio during the summer of 2007. This is an intense 6-week professional program we'd recommend to anyone considering it.
John Torkington is an emerging sound engineer with a very talented ear. John plays just about anything he picks up, with prowess on the bass guitar, saxophone, keyboards, and drums, and has loads of applied music experience in many genres. He has performed or recorded with the rock cover band Ratt Salade the virtual death metal collaboration Ramothecus with guitarist Gilbert Orrantia, with the 6-piece jazz combo Johnny Mac and the Gilboys, and with the 80s cover combo The Supernatural Rhythms. His primary musical interests are very wide ranging, including performance, remix projects, audio engineering for film, and audio engineering for gaming. John's electronic remix projects have received acclaim on www.ocremix.org.,
John is especially interested in audio aspects for the production of film and games. In April of 2009, John was accepted into the highly competitive film production program at Chapman University and entered as a freshmen in August 2009. His successful 60-second application video can be viewed on Youtube here.
In the 4Q-2009, John is releasing his first commercial CD entitled No Headphones Required. John cleverly uses virtual instruments, acoustic instruments, and recorded vocals into a blend of electronica, pop and dance.
Currently a sophomore at Chapman in Orange, California, John is already highly soughtafter for sound design and scoring for upperclassman and freelance film and game projects.
Rich Torkington is an entrepreneur and mechanical engineer with extensive experience in the electronics design industry, both with Motorola and with U S Monolithics LLC, (a Gilbert AZ subsidiary of Viasat, Inc.)
Rich has been involved in musical endeavors his entire life, ranging from piano solo work, choral and stage productions, school bands, jazz bands, and commercial rock bands. Rich plays keyboards, saxophone, and a fledgling guitar. His musical interests are wide ranging, including composition, audio engineering, and studio management. Rich is also an avid cyclist and scuba diver - check out his personal dive log.
Contact Information
Phone 480-375-1953
Email info@jrutopianstudios.com