Recorded in Berlin by the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt ( the state owned orchestra of Berlin) and conducted by Bernd Ruf. Some of the basic melody was written late one night and I returned to it over the next few days always changing it but kept returning to what I originally had. I guess the first idea is often what sticks.
A big thanks to all the musicians and everyone involved.
Just before Christmas I wrote some music which was recorded by the “Brandenburgisches Staatsorcheste” the state owned Orchestra in Berlin. A big thanks to David Christiansen, all the musicians and engineers. A nod to the composers like John Williams, some of the Bruckheimer stuff , David Newman, Bruce Broughton, Michael Patti, the list goes on ..
The music had to be light, upbeat and non intrusive as various readers discussed Dawn French’s new book. There is a subtle tonal shift when the various moods of her novel become apparent then a shift in gear when Dawn first appeared. I tried to channel a little bit (oh for just a little bit!) of the master Les Paul on the guitar for her arrival as he could have so much joy and cheekiness in his playing.
Broadcast Worldwide on Cartoon Network
Back in 2008, before The Amazing World of Gumball was commissioned, Ben Bocquelet, the show’s creator asked me to pitch some music for scoring the pilot. What I came up with as it turned out was the shows theme song , though we didn’t know that yet…
As there wasn’t any animation at this point Ben sent me some images that he had drawn and I then used those to get a feel for what the show might sound like. Gumball has lots of different characters, feels bright and is quirky too so the music needed to be a mix of instruments with a good vibe.
I had been visiting home in Melbourne around that time and found my recorder I had at primary school and brought it back to London thinking it might come in handy one day. Once I had the track more or less done I then added the recorder, overdubbing quite a few of them and it seemed to give it that certain sound I was looking for.
The Amazing World of Gumball – The DVD Episode
Broadcast Worldwide on Cartoon Network
Some 1200 cues later (not including rewrites!) plus the theme tune, end credits, promos etc, it’s been genre hopping musical mayhem. From a chamber ensemble to odd little electro ditties, orchestral scores such as this one and back again.
The Amazing World of Gumball is now in its third season and airs worldwide in 166 countries on Cartoon Network.
The End Credits needed to sound warm with a dash of charm. Yet completely out there.
Well, you know, like Gumball really.
The Amazing Adventures of Kid Cole and Klay
Pilot series for Cartoon Network
Created by Pete Candeland and Stu Connolly/Directed by Stephene Coedel.
I’d worked with Pete Candeland on a Kia Sportage advert and he asked me to compose the music for this pilot episode. A homage to the 50’s sci-fi and horror, I loved working on this! Twangy guitars and jazzy horns were on the menu and a theremin was thrown in for good measure..I then ran the mix through some tape to add a bit of dust…
Part of a larger campaign for Canon of which I composed eight of the twelve other films. This was alot of fun to write with Paul Sandy on double bass coming up with a great groove along with saxophonist Pete Grogan of Led Bib.
Broadcast in the UK and screened at the O2 for the Pronino charity, ‘Changing Lives’ is a short film showcasing the work of Telefonica’s Pronino charity in Latin America. Filmed in Ecuador, the film charts the journey of a young boy’s life from a rubbish dump in Manta to university.
UK Broadcast
I got in touch with a fantastic banjo player by the name of Phil Morley for this Kia advert. We recorded the band live initially with a click track, but it wasn’t working so we ditched the click and got it one take at the right tempo. Good players and a bit of luck never go astray!
UK Broadcast
Co-written with saxophonist Pete Grogan, we came up with a bit of 50’s rock n roll for this one. I provided two versions; one in mono mixed down to tape and the the other stereo. This is the stereo version.
The coffee making process – From Beans to Barista. Once it was written and recorded I found George, the wonderful Romanian accordion player !
Director: Charles Turley, CTA Camera: Jaimie Gramston, Boris Jansch Editor: Boris Jansch
An experimental documentary for B3 Media about the Rivington Place Visual Arts Centre in London designed by architect David Adjaye. The building itself is the main character and narrator. The story is not only an unspoken conversation with the urban context but also a visual dialogue with its user. Musically I was given plenty of rope to explore ideas. Once the strings and piano were complete I overdubbed three melodicas and finally a bass clarinet.
One of Five Films for Costa each with a different style of music. I had the added bonus of meeting some new musicians for the black book.
Director: Charles Turley, CTA. Camera: Jaime Gramston & Boris Jansch Editor: Boris Jansch
A short film about the cake making process. Filmed in Lazenby, England. I wrote the music which needed to be slightly pastoral but with a sense of drive and warmth without being overly so. Featuring some lovely violin performed by Amanda Drummond.
Director: Charles Turley, CTA Camera: Jaimie Gramston, Boris Jansch Editor: Boris Jansch
Winners Film for the Assignment Online Canon EOS Campaign
A light playful approach was required here so I wrote this piece which has a slight African tinge on the guitar with some beautiful violin played by Chris Haigh.
IVCA Award Branded editorial for TV and Online.
I wanted to avoid plugins and virtual synths for a more organic approach. Apart from the obvious piano tinkle here and there, the ‘synthy’ sounds were all done recording guitars and bass (loud!) through a few effects units and a couple of ambient mics dotted around the place with some subtle percussion overdubs.
