Ken Sarmiento
Ken Sarmiento is a musician, producer, and music teacher from Houston, Texas.
Sarmiento was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Newbury, Ohio. He attended the University of Houston where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1996.
While an undergraduate at the university, Sarmiento formed a band called Phuz with siblings Edward and Edwin Casapao. Phuz achieved national exposure in 2001 when the group opened for Sade's Lovers Rock Tour. They also served as the opening act for Indie.Arie. Phuz released an album, Water, in 2001 and an EP, Forgiveness, in 2007. The band was nominated in the Best New Act and Best Funk/R&B categories of the Houston Press Music Awards.
In the mid-2000s, Sarmiento shifted into music production and worked with Julin, an actress and singer, on her debut album, Transitions. Transitions was released in 2007, three years after Julin unsuccessfully auditioned for Phuz. Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle hailed the album, stating that "the MusicAL chemistry is apparent throughout the disc." In 2011, Sarmiento was a Houston Press Music Awards nominee for Best Producer.
Sarmiento came up with the concept for his current band, Channel K, in 2010. According to him, the name is a play on the Fairchild Channel F home video game console. The group released a three-song EP titled Human Beings in 2012, and following their official launch in 2013, began performing at various venues in Houston, including the House of Blues and Warehouse Live. Channel K performed at showcases at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas in 2016 and 2017. They are set to release a new EP titled Super Queen.
A fine arts educator, he donates his time every spring semester to offer students an opportunity to join a guitar club.
Discography
Studio albums
with Phuz
- Water (2001)
- Forgiveness EP (2007)
with Channel K
- Human Beings EP (2012)
- Super Queen EP (2017)