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This is a continuation of showcasing the increasing number of film composers that are getting their own OFFICIAL WEBSITES, which appears to be a great source for getting info on them and the film music industry in general. So once a week I'll try to list one or a few that I've come across. Sometimes they may big names, and others will be folk that you probably never even knew about. Either way, it's my way of sharing and keeping other's informed.
This week, and just by chance to coincide with Hans Zimmer's birthday (He's 49 today - 9/12/06), I thought that I'd bring attention to the new generation of composers that are continuing to pave the way of that, more popular than ever, "Zimmer Sound." They are great composers and designers in their own right, and some break the mold and some continue it. But in many ways they're more a collective than a single entity, and I simply call them "Team Zimmer!"
Enjoy!
~ Scorehead
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- COMPOSERS SITES OF THE WEEK: 9/12/06 - "Zimmer 'R' Us!!!"
~ ALL RATINGS ARE OUT OF 4 Stars ~
• Mark Mancina - http://www.markmancina.com/
The first Zimmer protege to break away from the farm and, somewhat, from the packaged sound of his mentor. A somewhat mundane site with few exciting features. It has the obligatory bio, current news, some photos so you know what he looks like (sounds like Zimmer, But surprisingly doesn't look anything like him, at all), and a somewhat confusing filmography/discography. But what is totally disappointing is the total lack of any sound bites. Meaning; nothing, nada, zilch... look else wheres!!! I do like the opening page that shows the image of his "Farmhouse" studio located in the Southern California hills. (Lacks much imagination - NO SOUND BITES!!! - For having a site - 1 star)
• Blake Neely - http://blakeneely.com/biography/
Quickly becoming one of the more noticeable composers on the block, Blake's website is informative, stylish and fun. Over all it's a great site - nice design (by his brother), pictures of his studio and carved steer's head on the wall, and it also features plenty of audio samples (though, it would be nice if they were in a more complete form.) He even has a contact feature so that fans or prospective clients can message him. (Fun & Informative - 3 1/4 stars)
• James Michael Dooley - http://www.jamesmichaeldooley.com/
Like Blake Neely, composer Dooley is cutting a fine path to becoming a very independent composer away from the House of Zimmer. Updated all the time, his site is refreshing, featuring a plethora of info on the composer, his growing discography and a sumptuous amount of audio samples that will keep ones ears quite busy. Emailing the composer is easy, but know that he is leery of fans inquiring about getting copies of his scores. (Great Site!!! - 3 3/4 stars)
• Lisa Gerrard - http://www.lisagerrard.com/
As the voice of DEAD CAN DANCE, this is one incredible site by Miss Gladiator, herself. Flash heavy, but a lot of fun, Gerrard has made certain that her web page leaves no stone unturned, as there are lots of links, almost too much information and copious amounts of music samples. No question about it, there has been a lot of attention paid to detail on this site. (One of the BEST Composer Sites out there!!! - 4 Stars)
• Jeff Rona - http://www.jeffrona.com/index.php - Myspace site - http://www.jeffrona.com/index.php
What can I say, this website is Exhaustive!!! Great site by one of Zimmer's long time collaborators. Regularly updated, with tons of content and links, Rona seems to take his website passionately and seriously. It's fan friendly and a great marketing tool for his career, while also acting as an indispensable resource for the burgeoning film composer. Be sure to check out his "SCORES" page, where he has large volumes of music to listen to, much which that has never been released before. Also of note is his "FORUM" page ( http://www.jeffrona.com/phpbb/ ) which is much like this INTRADA blog, where one can interact with fellow music fans and banter with Jeff, himself. I should also make mention of one of his sites nicer features, which is his "STORE," where one can buy his soundtracks, some only available from his site, and even his popular film scoring book, THE REEL WORLD: SCORING FOR PICTURE, signed by him, no less. (INCREDIBLE SITE - out of 4 stars, this rates a 5!!!)
• Geoff Zanelli - http://www.geoffzanelli.com/index_main.html
Recent 2005 Emmy winner for his score to the Spielberg produced epic television series, INTO THE WEST, Zanelli is developing a very respectable following and is turning into a worthy, soon to be, alumni of the school of Zimmer. His site is thoughtfully put together, completely updated with current news on the composer, and has a nice assortment of audio samples, some "Original" compositions (INTO THE WEST, HOUSE OF D) and others that are merely regurgitated material for films by "Team Zimmer." The only down note here is to say that his site is just too boring to look at. The design, though soothing in it's tranquil color scheme, is very generic and static. Of course, this is only nit-picking. I should also mention that he also has contact info for fans and professional inquires. (Clean & Informative - 3 1/4 stars)
• Martin Tillman - http://www.martintillman.com/
Slowly building his film music career, Tillman has only seemed to a be a "Fill in the Gaps" kind of composer, which is, no doubt, an important part of Zimmer's plug and play music machine (he seems to have worked on everything that Zimmer has done in the last 10 years). Thus said, his website is nicely laid out, with plenty of information on the composer and a decent earfull of audio samples. Also, there is a link to purchase his new solo album, A YEAR IN ZIRICH, which I have not heard yet. Isn't it interesting that the photo of Tillman on his main page just manages to cut his face from out of view. How mysterous. I'll guess that one will just have to look for the crows feet and unshaven face when they're out hunting for composer autographs ( I wonder if he'll sign it Hans Zimmer?). (Nice! - 3 stars)
• Justin Caine Burnett - http://www.flie.net/
Dual website for composers Justin Caine Burnett and Cain Davidson. Aside from representing the musical beast that is Zimmer, Burnett is the composer of DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS and I'LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. This site, though, is quite generic and only offers tidbits of information on his films, with zero sound bites, and some of his links don't seem to work. However, he does offer views of the TRAILERS that he has done (perhaps co-composed with Cain Davidson). Click on the "contact" link and one can send him an email and ask him to update his site with some tasty sound bites (hint!). (Who Dropped the Soap? - 1/2 star)
• John Sponsler and Tom Gire - MAGIC BOX MUSIC - http://www.magicboxmusic.com/
If you're looking for TRAILER MUSIC chances are that these guys do some of the best. Seriously, when a studio wants effective and engaging trailer music, MAGIC BOX MUSIC is a one stop shop. Their credits in this area alone is mighty impressive ( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0819370/ ), not to mention their collaborations with composers, such as; John Debney, Hans Zimmer and John Williams. Their site is effective enough and worth a look. Also, be sure to check out their extensive music library - http://www.brandxmusic.net/ ( Interesting - 2 3/4 Stars)
• Heitor Pereira - http://www.heitorpereira.com/
One of the more visible musicians of Zimmer's tribe, Heitor Pereira is quickly showcasing his talents as a burgeoning composer in his own right. His website is nicely laid out and has an appropriate Earthy flavor to it, which fits the natural tone and roots of his music. On his site you'll find the requisite biography, a list of films that he's worked on and albums/CDs released, both solo and performances by him, and a page of copious audio samples of film scores that he's done. Also, be sure to check out his "Original Music," which features his solo album release, "Untold Stories." The page not only has a good sampling of the CDs tracks, but also a link on where to buy it (Here's the link - and it's INEXPENSIVE!!! - http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/heitorpereira ) (Informative and easy to navigate - GREAT audio samples!!! - 3 Stars)
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And these....
• Christopher Ward - http://forscore.com/ - Myspace site - http://www.myspace.com/forscorecom
Nicely looking site that showcases the composers music eduction and talent for photography. But even though the site looks well designed, it's rather unremarkable and lacks any depth to tantalize it's visitors. I actually enjoyed watching the page load and was expecting an exciting and engaging experience, but was totally let down when I found that it had little to offer. Perhaps this is in it's early stages of development. Until then.... ( Chris Who? 1/2 Star)
• Mel Wesson - http://deviousnoise.com
Frequent collaborator with James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer, Steve Jablonsky and other Zimmerites. His official title is composer of "ambient music design," or what he refers to it as "deviousnoises." Hans Zimmer has aptly used the word "Tonmalerei" to discribe Mel's work, which is a reference to them essentially being "sound paintings". Though the information is interesting, giving a glimpse into an all together different side of the film music/sound design process, it would have been ideal to have had included a variety of audio samples to choose from. In the least, he does have some looped samples layering in the background that does add to the gritiness of his site as one veiws it. But at some point it just turns off and doesn't seem to reload. A cycling of difering soundscapes would have been fun. (Missed Opportunity - 1 3/4 Stars)
• Michael Wandmacher - http://www.michaelwandmacher.com/
Though it seems to be currently updated, as far as news is concerned, this is a fairly boring site with two links, with one directly leading to where one buy his only CD release to date, CRY-WOLF. (Not much here - 1/2 Star)
• Bruce (Steve, Tom, Ed and Walt) Fowler - http://www.fowlerbrothers.com/
Who would have known that the Fowler family was so big? The nod to family here seems appropriate enough, as their website has a very homespun feel to it. All the brothers have some musical talent, and at one besides Bruce has ties to film music (Walt). Each sibling has his own profile, which contains a bio, discography and a link to their own personal site, if they have one. Unfortunately there are no audio samples, but there is a link ( http://www.fowlerbrothers.com/fossil/catalog.asp ) were one can peruse their music before buying. (Mildly interesting, but lacking no real film interest - 1/2 Star)
• Alastair King - http://www.composer.co.uk/composers/king.html
Simple site that has a detailed bio that gives a healthy view of this composer and links to sound bits. There is also "contact" link for emailing. (For not falling into a crack - 1/2 Star)
**AN ADDENDUM** Alastair King also has a much improved site here - http://www.holyoakepublications.co.uk/
Indicating that he wanted a better rating after seeing the one above, he apparently threw this together, and it is much more polished than his previously posted site. In short, there is a lot to go through here. He has a nice bio, a short blurb of a "News" page, a few photos (always nice to see what our beloved composers look like), reviews and a page devoted to his "Compositions." This last page is a bit complicated to navigate, in that it isn't clear right away what it is. Images of sheet music show up that are for sale. I get that, but I also want to hear some samples - that's why I'm here. Clicking around on the sheet music images opens up a page that reveals details about the composition and, neat, an audio sample of the piece. On the left hand side of the page there is a "Categories" list, which if you choose a specific category you will be treated to seeing the sheet music and an audio sample (click on the Audo Button). This is a pretty cool feature, as one gets to see the written music that they are hearing. However, and as stated above, this cool feature just doesn't seem to navigate as well as I'd like, though it does flow easier as I delve into it. But that might be more me liking things pretty straight forward and uncomplicated (like I wear sandals all the time because I don't like tying my shoes.) Another thing, and this is the biggie, there ARE NO AUDIO SAMPLES from any of his film projects. It's obvious that he takes himself seriously as a composer, but that may be the point. He's a CONCERT COMPOSER and not just one who does work in film. Still, as a drooling film music fan I'd like to sample some of that. Who knows, maybe hell whip up a quickie film score category after reading this (?) (Interesting and informative, like seeing the sheet music - NO FILM MUSIC SAMPLES!!! - 2 1/2 Stars)
• Paul Linford - www.paullinford.com/ - Myspace site - http://www.myspace.com/paullinford
Well... just about the worst site of the bunch. His main site consist primarily of a few links to his profile on IMDB.com, an Itunes and interview link and a Myspace link. The last which is nothing more than fluff messages from family. (BLACK HOLE RATING - it sucks stars into it.)
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- WORTH MENTIONING...
• Patrick Cassidy - http://www.patrickcassidy.com/
Wrote a mini opera for HANNIBAL and works with Zimmer's colaborator, Lisa Gerrard.
• (Everything Zimmer) Hans Zimmer.com - http://www.hans-zimmer.com/fr/index.php
A one stop shop for everything Zimmer!!!
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- COMING SOON...
• Trevor Morris - http://www.trevormorris.com/
• Don Harper - http://www.donharper.com/
Conductor, composer, arranger... etc....
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- No "OFFICIAL" website that I know of:
• Klaus Badelt
• Trevor Rabin
• Steve Jablonsky
• John Powell
• Harry Gregson-Williams
• Ruppert Gregson-Williams
• Heitor Pereira
• Abhay Manusmare
• Clay Duncan
• Henning Lohner
• Gavin Greenaway
• Ilan Eshkeri
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Did I purposely leave off Zimmer's company site? Yes and No. I've just ran out of time to list anything else. If anyone has anymore links, be sure to post 'em. Also, if you guys post enough comments, I'll invite some of the composers mentioned to check this posting out and maybe make some comments them selves.
Oh... and a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mr. HANS ZIMMER, to whom we owe so much for all these years of groundbreaking and recycled music.
Thanks and enjoy!
~ Scorehead