Andres Levin is a Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n-American record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, band leader, film maker, recording engineer and philanthropist. Levin won a Grammy award in 2009 for his production of the In The Heights

In the Heights

In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights....

 Cast Recording. His Grammy nominated Latin fusion band Yerba Buena

Yerba Buena (band)

Yerba Buena is a Grammy-nominated fusion band based out of New York. The project was started by Venezuelan songwriter, producer and instrumentalist Andres Levin, and Singer, Composer Cucu Diamantes who brought Cuban composer Descemer Bueno to New York. All worked together during the conception...

 was founded along with Cuban-American singer Cucu Diamantes

Cucu Diamantes

Cucu Diamantes is a Grammy nominated Cuban-American singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist. Her 2009 solo debut Cuculand received a Latin Grammy Nomination for Best Alternative Song, "Mas Fuerte." Diamantes is also cofounder and lead singer of Grammy nominated New York City fusion band...

.

Levin has been called the "master-chef of urban fusion" by the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

.

Early life

Levin was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Since his father is a musician and producer as well, Levin was surrounded by music. He began playing guitar at age 10 and was soon immersed in the musical world. In 1988, Levin took advantage of a full scholarship at Berklee School of Music in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts before studying composition at Juilliard in New York City. While in New York, Levin worked at Skyline studios and was soon hired by producer Nile Rodgers

Nile Rodgers

Nile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.-Biography:...

 as a full time Synclavier programmer and arranger. With Rodgers, Levin worked with artists such as the B-52's, Diana Ross, INXS, and The Vaughan Brothers.

Yerba Buena

Together with Diamantes, Levin formed the band Yerba Buena. Before Yerba Buena, Levin had worked in several disparate genres, including R&B, soul, and Latin. Levin said that the same year the band was founded, he and "CuCu were in Nigeria, Cuba, and Bahia...[and] those influences combined to form the Yerba Buena sound." Levin has also said that even though Yerba Buena "experiments with many influences, the basis of the group is inspired by the African and Cuban diaspora, where both worlds meet. The music is a bridge between the two cultures."

Music Has No Enemies

Founded by Levin and Diamantes, Music Has No Enemies is a non-profit organization that is designed "to usher the entertainment industry in a new direction toward the widespread promotion of philanthropy." The organization has worked on several projects to promote social justice

Social justice

Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...

 and political activism:

Field of Dreams Festival

On July 24, 2010, Levin and The Bruce High Quality Foundation

Bruce High Quality Foundation

The Bruce High Quality Foundation is an arts collective in Brooklyn, New York City, the United States, which was "created to foster an alternative to everything." The collective is made up of five to eight rotating and anonymous members, most or all of whom are Cooper Union graduates...

 produced and curated Celebrate Brooklyn! Presents Field of Dreams (Un Mundo Nuevo) in Prospect Park

Prospect Park (Brooklyn)

Prospect Park is a 585-acre public park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn located between Park Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden...

 in Brooklyn, New York as a production of Music Has No Enemies. The festival showcased DIY artists and performing artists from around the world, including Luis Guzmán

Luis Guzmán

Luis Guzmán is an actor from Puerto Rico. He is known for his character work. For much of his career, he has played roles largely as sidekicks, thugs, or policemen....

, Keziah Jones

Keziah Jones

Keziah Jones is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He describes his musical style as "Blufunk", which is a fusion between raw blues elements and hard, edgy funk rhythms...

, Cucu Diamantes, Pablo Picasso, K-SISE, and Janka Nabay

Ahmed Janka Nabay

Ahmed Janka Nabay is a Sierra-Leonean musician who has been a major figure in Bubu Music, a traditionally Muslim music which is played by up to 20 musicians blowing into bamboo pipes of different sizes.. Janka Nabay recorded his album in Forensic Studios in Freetown during the Sierra Leonean Civil...

.

Podemos Con Obama

In 2008, Levin brought together many prominent Latin musicians to make a video inspired by his work on will.i.am

Will.i.am

William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...

's "Yes We Can" video in support of Barack Obama. Celebrities such as Luis Guzman

Luis Guzmán

Luis Guzmán is an actor from Puerto Rico. He is known for his character work. For much of his career, he has played roles largely as sidekicks, thugs, or policemen....

, Lin Manuel Miranda, Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba

Jessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...

, Paulina Rubio

Paulina Rubio

Paulina Susana Rubio Rue is a Mexican singer and actress. Rubio achieved international stardom with her fifth studio album, Paulina...

, Alejandro Sanz

Alejandro Sanz

Alejandro Sanz , is a Spanish singer-songwriter and musician. For his work, Sanz has won a total of fifteen Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. He has won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times, more than any other artist...

, John Leguizamo

John Leguizamo

Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...

, Don Omar

Don Omar

Don Omar, also known as El Rey Don Omar, also known as El Rey Don Omar, also known as El Rey (born William Omar Landrón Rivera; February 10, 1978, is a Puerto Rican Reggaetón singer and actor.-Early life:...

 and many others participated. The video currently has more than 350,000 views on YouTube.

The Price of Silence

In 2008, Music Has No Enemies produced Amnesty International's "The Price of Silence", a commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many international artists and activists such as Stephen Marley

Stephen Marley (musician)

Stephen Robert Nesta "Raggamuffin" Marley is a Jamaican American musician and the son of reggae legend Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley. He is a five-time Grammy award winner as an artist, producer, and member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.-Life and career:Marley was born in Wilmington,...

, Aterciopelados, Natalie Merchant, Yerba Buena and Hugh Masekala filmed a video of their collaborative song set in the UN.

Advertising

Levin has been involved in the music for advertising industry since 1995. In the fall of 2009 he launched Pirata (with Canadian partner Pirate) to provide sonic branding and audio post production for all aspects of broadcast audio, such as original music and licensing, sound design, full service radio production and 5.1 mixing. Since its creation, Pirata has provided work for Dr. Pepper, Verizon, Miller

Miller

A miller usually refers to a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a cereal crop to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents in other languages around the world...

, Heineken

Heineken

Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...

, Cablevision, Kraft

Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...

, Ritz

Ritz Crackers

Ritz Crackers are a brand of snack cracker introduced by Nabisco in 1934. Outside of the United States, the Ritz Cracker brand is made by a subsidiary of Kraft Foods. They are circular in shape, salted lightly on one side, and have a small scalloped edge...

, and Kohls.

Studio albums

Year	Album	Role	Notes
2010	Natalie Merchant Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:... , Leave Your Sleep Leave Your Sleep -Inspiration:The sleeve notes credit inspiration for the songs of this album as follows:* Adventures of Isabel - Ogden Nash* Autumn Lullaby - Anonymous* Bleezer's Ice-Cream - Jack Prelutsky* Calico Pie - Edward Lear...	Co-producer
2010	Aleks Syntek Aleks Syntek Raúl Alejandro Escajadillo Peña , better known as Aleks Syntek, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and producer. He is married to Karen Coronado, sister of talkshow host Ingrid Coronado.-Biography:... , Metodos De Placer Instantaneo Métodos de Placer Instantáneo Métodos de Placer Instantáneo is the 4th studio album recorded by Mexican singer Aleks Syntek. The first single "Loca" was the opening theme of the telenovela Los Exitosos Perez. The album received a Latin Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Album.-Track listing:- Special edition:-...	Co-producer
2009	In The Heights In the Heights In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights....  Cast Album	Producer	Winner of 2009 Grammy: Best Cast Album
2009	Cucu Diamantes Cucu Diamantes Cucu Diamantes is a Grammy nominated Cuban-American singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist. Her 2009 solo debut Cuculand received a Latin Grammy Nomination for Best Alternative Song, "Mas Fuerte." Diamantes is also cofounder and lead singer of Grammy nominated New York City fusion band... , Cuculand	Producer	Produced one song, Amanecí Sin Ti
2009	Paulina Rubio, Gran City Pop Gran City Pop Gran City Pop is the ninth studio album by Mexican singer Paulina Rubio released by Universal Music Group on June 23, 2009 . The album's first single "Causa y Efecto" became Rubio's first number one single on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs since Ni Una Sola Palabra in 2006...	Producer
2007	Miguel Bosé Miguel Bosé Miguel Dominguín Bosé is a Latin Grammy-winning Spanish/Italian musician and actor.-Early life:Bosé was born in San Fernando Hospital in Panama City, Panama, the son of the famous Italian actress Lucia Bosé and the legendary bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín. He is also a cousin of Carmen... , Papito Papito (album) Papito is an album released by Spanish pop singer Miguel Bosé to celebrate his 30 years in the Music industry. The album includes 14 tracks of previously known hit songs by the artist, in reworked versions in collaboration with many artists including Juanes, Shakira, Amaia Montero, Ricky Martin,...	Co-producer	Nominated for 2007 Latin Grammy
2007	Yerba Buena Yerba Buena Yerba buena is a rambling aromatic herb of western and northwestern North America, ranging from maritime Alaska southwards to Baja California Sur... , Follow Me	Producer/ Writer
2007	Orishas Orishas (band) Orishas was a Cuban hip hop group The group was first called "Amenaza", "threat" or "menace" in Spanish, and appealed to the Cuban youth who were hungry for African-American culture consisting of hip hop and rap. Orishas delved into a realm of music that created a black identity to which some... , Antiodiotico	Producer	Produced five songs; three 2007 Latin Grammy Nominations
2006	Marisa Monte Marisa Monte Marisa de Azevedo Monte is a Brazilian popular singer. As of 2011, she has sold 10 million albums worldwide.- Biography :... , Universo Ao Meu Redor	Producer
2006	Eliane Elias Eliane Elias Eliane Elias is a Brazilian jazz pianist, arranger, vocalist and songwriter.-Biography:... , Around The City	Producer/ Writer
2005	Yerba Buena, Island Life	Producer/ Writer
2005	Orishas, El Kilo	Producer	Nominated for 2005 and 2006 Latin Grammy: Best Latin Alternative Album
2004	Ana Torroja Ana Torroja Ana Torroja is a Grammy Award-nominated Spaniard singer. She is the lead singer of the pop trio Mecano, considered one of the most popular pop bands from Spain during the 1980s and 1990s. Mecano split in 1998 and she embarked on a solo career.-Biography:Ana Torroja met José María Cano while... , Essential	Producer/ Writer	Produced and wrote four songs
2004	Paulina Rubio Paulina Rubio Paulina Susana Rubio Rue is a Mexican singer and actress. Rubio achieved international stardom with her fifth studio album, Paulina... , Pau-Latino	Writer	Wrote one song, "My Friend, My Amigo"
2003	Yerba Buena, President Alien	Producer/ Writer	Nominated for 2003 Grammy: Best Latin Alternative Album
2002	Lenine Lenine Lenine may refer to:*Lenine , Brazilian singer-songwriter*Lenine, Crimea, a town in the Kerch Peninsula*Lenine Raion, one of the 25 regions of Crimea... , Falange Canibal	Writer	Wrote one song, "Dolores." Won 2002 Latin Grammy
2002	Red Hot and Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti Red Hot + Riot is the fourteenth in a series of music compilation projects produced by Paul Heck of the Red Hot Organization to be used as a fundraising tool for AIDS awareness efforts...	Co-producer	Produced nine songs
2001	Bilal, First Born Second	Producer	Produced one song
2000	Daniela Mercury Daniela Mercury Daniela Mercury , is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Brazilian axé, samba-reggae and MPB singer, songwriter and record producer. Since her breakthrough, Mercury has become one of the best known Brazilian female singers, selling over 20 million albums worldwide... , Sol Da Liberdade	Producer
2000	Ana Torroja Ana Torroja Ana Torroja is a Grammy Award-nominated Spaniard singer. She is the lead singer of the pop trio Mecano, considered one of the most popular pop bands from Spain during the 1980s and 1990s. Mecano split in 1998 and she embarked on a solo career.-Biography:Ana Torroja met José María Cano while... , Pasajes de un Sueño	Producer/ Writer
1999	Ana Torroja Ana Torroja Ana Torroja is a Grammy Award-nominated Spaniard singer. She is the lead singer of the pop trio Mecano, considered one of the most popular pop bands from Spain during the 1980s and 1990s. Mecano split in 1998 and she embarked on a solo career.-Biography:Ana Torroja met José María Cano while... , Pasajes de un Sueño	Producer/ Writer
1996-1999	Arto Lindsay Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He is a 1974 graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.... , The Prize, Mundo Civilizado, Noon Chill, Hypercivilizado, Invoke	Producer/ Writer
1998	Aterciopelados Aterciopelados Aterciopelados , also referred to as los Aterciopelados on some albums and other promotional materials, are a rock band from Colombia. Led by Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago, they have been one of the first rock bands from Colombia to gain international notice and is among the country's top... , Caribe Atomico	Producer	Nominated for 1998 Grammy: Best Latin Rock
1998	Los Amigos Invisibles Los Amigos Invisibles Los Amigos Invisibles is a multiple-Grammy nominated and Latin Grammy winning Venezuelan band that plays a blend of disco, acid jazz and funk mixed with Latin rhythms... , The New Sound of the Venezuelan Gozadera	Producer
1998	El Gran Silencio El Gran Silencio El Gran Silencio is a rock en español band from Monterrey, Mexico that blends a variety of rock, reggae, dancehall, and dub influences with traditional Latin American musical forms such as cumbia, vallenato and banda as part of the musical movement known as Avanzada Regia... , Libres y Locos	Producer
1998	Carlinhos Brown Carlinhos Brown Carlinhos Brown is a Brazilian musician from Salvador, Bahia. He was born in Candeal Pequeno, a small neighbourhood in the Brotas area of Salvador de Bahia... , Omelette Man	Producer
1997	David Byrne David Byrne David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer... , Feelings	Producer	Produced two songs, "Finite=Alright" and "The Civil Wars"
1996	David Byrne and Marisa Monte, Red Hot and Rio	Producer	Produced one song, "Waters of March"
1995	Chaka Khan Chaka Khan Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career... , The Woman I Am The Woman I Am The Woman I Am is the eighth studio album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1992. It was Khan's first studio album since 1988's CK and due to artistic differences between Khan and Warner Bros. Records it was also to be her final full-length release for the...	Writer
1995	Doro Doro (musician) Dorothee Pesch , popularly known as Doro Pesch or Doro, is a female rock vocalist, formerly of the German heavy metal band Warlock .... , Machine II Machine Machine II Machine Machine II Machine is the fifth album of the German female hard rock singer Doro Pesch. The album was released in March 1995 and mixed by Kevin Shirley and Greg Smith...	Producer/ Writer/ Musician	Co-produced and co-wrote four songs
1994	Cece Penniston, Thought 'Ya Knew	Producer/Writer	One song, "Through Those Doors"
1991	Mica Paris Mica Paris Mica Paris is an English soul singer, radio and television presenter, and occasional actress. Her forename is pronounced Misha.-Beginnings:Paris' roots are in soul and gospel music... , Contribution	Writer

Film

Year	Album	Role	Notes
2007	Ladron Que Roba Ladron Ladrón que Roba a Ladrón (To Rob a Thief) To Rob a Thief is a 2007 Spanish-language film in which two thieves reunite to rob a television mogul.-Cast:Fernando Colunga as Alejandro ToledoMiguel Varoni as Emilio Lopez...	Composer
2007	Borderland Borderland (film) Borderland is a 2007 horror film written and directed by Zev Berman. It is released as one of the 8 Films to Die For at Horrorfest 2007. It is very loosely based on the true story of Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo, the leader of a religious cult that practiced human sacrifice...	Composer
2004	Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights # "Dance Like This" - Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz # "Dirty Dancing" - The Black Eyed Peas# "Guajira " - Yerba Buena# "Can I Walk By" - Jazze Pha featuring Monica# "Satellite " - Santana featuring Jorge Moreno...	Composer	Three songs used
2003	Cheaper by the Dozen Cheaper by the Dozen (2003 film) Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2003 American comedy film about a family with 12 children . The film takes its title from the 1948 biography of the same name of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth and their 12 children, but other than the title and the concept of a family with 12 children,...	Composer	"Guajira (I Love U 2 Much)" used
2003	Honey Honey (2003 film) Honey is a 2003 motion picture released by Universal Pictures. Featuring music produced by Rodney Jerkins, the film stars Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, Lil' Romeo, Joy Bryant, David Moscow and features performances by Tweet, Jadakiss and Ginuwine. It also features a cameo by Missy Elliott...	Composer	"Guajira (I Love U 2 Much)" used
2003	Chasing Papi Chasing Papi Chasing Papi is a 2003 Latino comedy film starring Roselyn Sánchez, Sofía Vergara, Jaci Velasquez, and Eduardo Verástegui. The women discover that their boyfriend has been dating all three of them at the same time—a discovery that leads them on an adventure throughout Los Angeles,...	Composer	"Electric Boogaloo" used
1999	Red Hot and Lisbon Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon is the eleventh entry in the Red Hot Benefit Series of compilation albums. The album and related television special were both created by the Red Hot Organization , an international organization whose objective in this project is to raise AIDS awareness in the...	Producer	Produced five songs

Television

Year	Album	Role	Notes
2008	Heroes Original Soundtrack Heroes (TV series) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...	Composer	One song, "Maya's Theme"
2006	South BEach South Beach (2006 TV series) South Beach is a primetime television drama that ran from January 4, 2006 until February 22, 2006 on UPN. Created by Matt Cirulnick, one of its executive producers was singer/actress Jennifer Lopez. The program was panned by critics and shunned by viewers, finishing 152nd in the Nielsen TV ratings...	Composer	Wrote Theme Song
2004	Entourage Entourage (TV series) Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...	Composer
2003	ER ER (TV series) ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...	Composer