who we are
Jake and Joey met while studying music at the University of Michigan and quickly began collaborating as producers, musicians, and performers. During their senior year, they formed HLWA, “pronounced hallway”, and have continued writing, producing, releasing, and performing together ever since. Their music has earned millions of streams, been synced accross in film and tv, and they have performed sold-out shows in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Ann Arbor, and beyond.
After graduating and moving to Los Angeles, they built The Sound Lagoon as the next chapter of their creative partnership: a space designed for artists, producers, and DJs to create, experiment, and develop their work with professional tools and hands-on support.
Our Team
Joey Karz
Joey is a composer, producer, pianist, and performing artist whose work draws from contemporary classical music, free jazz, film scoring, and electronic dance music. He studied classical composition at the University of Michigan.
His concert music has been performed by ensembles and musicians including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the University of Michigan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lyris Quartet, the Cerus Quartet, and string players from the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has also composed music for dozens of film and media projects and received a Top Shorts Film Festival award for his score to Cohousing.
Jake Wallace
Jake grew up playing in bands and began producing music in eighth grade, making beats in his bedroom. He continued writing, producing, recording, and DJing throughout high school and college, developing a style influenced by 1970s soft rock, house, disco, and pop. He earned a degree in Music Technology and Sound Engineering from the University of Michigan.
As a DJ, Jake has supported artists including Disco Lines, Mau P, Noizu, and Sean Kingston. In addition to being one half of HLWA, he releases music under Wally. He has built an audience through his reworks of classic records by artists including Steely Dan, the Bee Gees, and Prince.
