Hector De Marchena, a 2013 graduate of SAE Institute Miami’s Audio Technology Program, licensed the track “The Theory of Fudu (Diego Iglesias Remix)” by producer John Axiom for usage in Ridley Scott’s 2013 hit thriller “The Counselor”, starring Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz. “The Theory of Fudu” is distributed and co-owned by one of De Marchena’s independent electronic music label Liquid Grooves.
“The track was part of a three-release collaboration between Liquid Grooves and David Granha and John Axiom’s Aegyptia brand,” says De Marchena, who also runs Liquid Media, a company that he founded in 2008 with multiple creative divisions. “Our business relationship helped him to learn the process of managing a brand and how to develop releases from start to finish, and the results were successful for both of us.”
De Marchena is a native of Aruba. After relocating to Florida as a teen, he graduated from The Bolles School in 1996, a high school in Jacksonville, FL, and went on to earn a degree in Business Administration and Management from Florida Tech in Melbourne, FL in 2000. Moving back to Aruba, he began organizing underground electronic music events, and eventually decided that he wanted to build a career in the creative media arts and music industry. He then made an official return to Florida in 2008, settling in Miami.
“While running Liquid Media, I decided to also enroll in an audio engineering school, and after taking a close look at my options, I chose SAE,” says De Marchena. “I was well aware of SAE’s reputation from friends who attended SAE Rotterdam in Holland, as well as other SAE schools in Europe. SAE’s Miami campus, faculty, and curriculum were the best fit for my needs. It was really a no brainer.”
After his graduation, SAE Miami’s career services team helped to arrange a 12-week internship for De Marchena in a Miami-area recording studio as an apprentice engineer. Once the internship was complete, De Marchena applied his SAE education and studio knowledge to his entrepreneurial ventures.
“A big lesson that I learned at SAE was to always troubleshoot efficiently, and to recognize, react to, and adapt to challenging situations before they become real problems – which is applicable to both the recording studio and life in general,” says De Marchena. “Also, I discovered the value in not being afraid to fail. Failing with flair and bouncing back from mistakes taught me most important and long-lasting lessons that I could have learned.”
Along with running his diverse creative media businesses, De Marchena also finds time to create his own original music productions for release through his label and other distribution outlets. He works under the alias Grumpy (LQD), and creates tracks in the electronic genres of deep house, tech house, techno, minimal, microhouse, and house.
“For SAE grads who are interested in being music business entrepreneurs, they should be committed, resilient, and most importantly, creative,” says De Marchena. “Even though your SAE education and experience will prepare you to strike out on your own, it will take a lot of patience and dedication to find, develop, and grow your brand as well as react and adapt to opportunities. Hitting plateaus is normal, and things may be slow going at the beginning. But if you focus on providing superb customer service and being professional, you’ll have a long and successful career. “
