Charlie Clouser

Last updated
Charlie Clouser
Charlie Clouser by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Clouser at the 2017 WonderCon
Background information
Birth nameCharles Alexander Clouser
Born (1963-06-28) June 28, 1963 (age 61)
Origin Hanover, New Hampshire, United States
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • composer
  • record producer
  • remixer
InstrumentKeyboards

Charles Alexander Clouser (born June 28, 1963) is an American keyboardist, composer, record producer, and remixer. He worked with Trent Reznor for Nine Inch Nails from 1994 to 2000, and is a composer for film and television; among his credits are the score for the Saw franchise and American Horror Story . Clouser was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance in 1997.

Contents

Early life

Clouser was born in Hanover, New Hampshire; his father, K. Danner Clouser (1930–2000), was a professor at Dartmouth College and Pennsylvania State University. [1] He attended Middletown High School in Pennsylvania and graduated from Hanover High School in 1981. [1] He is also a graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts; he earned a degree in electronic music in 1985. [2]

Career

Clouser plays keyboard, synthesizer, theremin, and drums. [3] He also does music programming, engineering, and mixing. He co-worked with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails (1994–2000) for several projects. Before he worked with Nine Inch Nails, he was in the alternative band Burning Retna with former L.A. Guns guitarist Mick Cripps and fellow Nothing Records employee Sean Beavan. Clouser also was a member of the band 9 Ways to Sunday, which released a self-titled album in 1990. Clouser has remixed artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, White Zombie, Rammstein and Meat Beat Manifesto.

In 2004, Clouser produced the Helmet album Size Matters . Consisting mainly of collaborations between Clouser and Page Hamilton, it was intended to be a Hamilton solo album. The first release from the collaboration, known as "Throwing Punches", appeared on a soundtrack in 2003 for the film Underworld , and was credited as a Hamilton track. Clouser created one of FirstCom music's master series discs, only sold for commercial use, in the late 1990s.

Two songs programmed by Clouser were nominated for Grammy Awards in 1997: White Zombie's "I'm Your Boogie Man" and Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper's "Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)", the latter of which Clouser also co-wrote and mixed.

He worked with Trent Reznor on the soundtrack of Natural Born Killers , helping record and produce a new version of "Something I Can Never Have," the original version of which appeared on Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine album. Clouser's remix of Zombie's "Dragula" can be found on The Matrix soundtrack. Another Zombie track remixed by Clouser, "Reload", appears on The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack. He produced the unfinished Hamilton project Gandhi. In 2001, Clouser formed the supergroup Revenge of the Triads with Jason Slater and Troy Van Leeuwen, although they later disbanded in 2002 without releasing any material. [4]

Clouser provided the live synth for Alec Empire's "Intelligence And Sacrifice" tour in 2001. He appears in the Moog documentary about electronic-music pioneer Robert Moog and composed the song "I Am a Spaceman" for the original soundtrack of that movie.

Clouser has also worked as a film and television composer, scoring the entire Saw series of films. [5] He was the "top choice" for scoring the first film of the series, as director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell are both Nine Inch Nails fans and they used remixes of the band's songs for the temp score. Clouser said, "They wanted progressive, underground music that was kind of underground, and they were looking to inject that flavor in the score." [6] He has also scored films such as Deepwater (2005), Dead Silence (2007), Death Sentence (2007), and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). [7] [8] On television, he was the composer for the TV series Las Vegas (NBC), for which he won a BMI TV Music Award, [9] [10] Fastlane (Fox), and Numbers (CBS). [11] [12] Additionally, he composed the theme song for those shows as well as American Horror Story (FX). [13] [14]

Personal life

Clouser married his long-time girlfriend, photographer and model Zoe Wiseman, in the summer of 2007.[ citation needed ]

Discography

Other artists

Clouser has performed on releases with a variety of other artists and bands.

Soundtracks

Film

YearTitleDirectorStudio(s)
2004 Saw James Wan Lionsgate Films
2005 Deepwater David S. MarfieldHalcyon Entertainment
Saw II Darren Lynn Bousman Lionsgate Films
2006 Saw III
2007 Dead Silence James Wan Universal Pictures

20th Century Fox

Death Sentence
Resident Evil: Extinction Russell Mulcahy Screen Gems
Saw IV Darren Lynn BousmanLionsgate Films
2008 Saw V David Hackl
2009 The Stepfather Nelson McCormick Screen Gems
Saw VI Kevin Greutert Lionsgate Films
2010 Saw 3D
2012 The Collection Marcus Dunstan LD Entertainment
2016 The Neighbor Anchor Bay Films
2017 Jigsaw The Spierig Brothers Lionsgate Films
2021 Spiral Darren Lynn Bousman
Eye Without A Face Ramin Niami Sideshow
2022 Unhuman Marcus Dunstan Blumhouse Productions
2023 Saw X Kevin GreutertLionsgate Films

Television

YearTitleStudio(s)Notes
2002–2003 Fastlane Warner Bros. Television
20th Century Fox Television 		—
2003–2008 Las Vegas DreamWorks Television "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley was the theme during the series run in the United States while "Let It Ride" by Clouser was used as the theme in international and DVD versions of the series
2005–2010 Numbers Scott Free Productions —
2008 Fear Itself Lionsgate Television —
2011-present American Horror Story 20th Television Theme music
2015 Childhood's End Universal Cable Productions —
2015–2016 Wayward Pines 20th Century Fox Television—

Video games

YearTitleDeveloperPublisherNotes
1999 WCW Mayhem Kodiak Interactive Electronic Arts song "Mayhem"
2009 Singularity Raven Software Activision With Michael Wandmacher
2015 Evolve Turtle Rock Studios 2K Games With Jason Graves, Lustmord & Danny Cocke

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine Inch Nails</span> American industrial rock band

Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN, stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent collaborator, Atticus Ross. Reznor was previously the only permanent member of the band until Ross was officialized in 2016. The band's debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was released via TVT Records. After disagreeing with TVT about how to promote the album, the band signed with Interscope Records and released the EP Broken (1992). The following albums, The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999), were released to critical acclaim and commercial success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trent Reznor</span> American musician (born 1965)

Michael Trent Reznor is an American musician. He came to prominence as the founder, lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. The band's line-up has constantly changed, with Reznor being its only official member from its creation in 1988 until 2016, when he added English musician and frequent collaborator Atticus Ross as its second permanent member.

<i>And All That Could Have Been</i> 2002 live album by Nine Inch Nails

And All That Could Have Been is a double album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on January 22, 2002, by Nothing and Interscope Records. The live album contains music recorded during the Fragility v2.0 US tour in 2000. Disc one is a live album of most of the band's normal set list of the time, while disc two contains a studio album titled Still, containing "deconstructed" versions of previous Nine Inch Nails songs and some new material. The double DVD set, sold separately, includes video recordings of the songs performed on the CD, as well as additional song performances and footage from the tour.

<i>The Fragile</i> 1999 album by Nine Inch Nails

The Fragile is the third studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released as a double album by Nothing Records and Interscope Records on September 21, 1999. It was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and the English producer Alan Moulder, a longtime Reznor collaborator. It was recorded throughout 1997 to 1999 in New Orleans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clint Mansell</span> English musician and composer

Clinton Darryl Mansell is an English musician, singer, and composer. He served as the lead vocalist of alt-rock band Pop Will Eat Itself. After the band's dissolution, Mansell moved to the United States and embarked on a career as a film score composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atticus Ross</span> English musician, composer, and producer

Atticus Matthew Cowper Ross is an English musician, composer, record producer, and audio engineer. He is best known for his work with American musician Trent Reznor, with whom he first worked on the musical project Tapeworm in 2002. He began working with Reznor's band Nine Inch Nails in 2005 as a programmer and producer, then joined as a musician and became the only official member of the band other than Reznor in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapeworm (band)</span> Nine Inch Nails-associated side project

Tapeworm was an American side project of Nine Inch Nails which existed in various forms from 1995 to roughly 2004. Tapeworm never released any recordings, but was frequently referenced in interviews. The band started as a side-project between Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and live-band members Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser. Through the years the group expanded and evolved numerous times to include artists such as Maynard James Keenan, Atticus Ross, and Alan Moulder, effectively turning the project into a supergroup. After many years of rumors and expected release dates, Reznor announced the end of the project in 2004.

Daniel Patrick Lohner, frequently known as Renholdër, is an American musician and record producer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle. In 2020, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Nine Inch Nails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alessandro Cortini</span> Italian musician

Alessandro Cortini is an Italian musician best known for his work with modular synthesizers, and being the keyboard, guitar, and bass player in the American industrial band Nine Inch Nails. As a member of Nine Inch Nails, Cortini is the first Italian inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.

<i>Natural Born Killers</i> (soundtrack) 1994 soundtrack album by Various Artists

Natural Born Killers: A Soundtrack for an Oliver Stone Film is the soundtrack to the film Natural Born Killers, produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. It was released on August 23, 1994. It charted at number 19 on US Billboard 200 album charts and was certified Gold in both the United States and Canada, and Silver in the United Kingdom.

<i>Lost Highway</i> (soundtrack) 1997 soundtrack album by Various artists

Lost Highway is the soundtrack album for the 1997 David Lynch film of the same name. It was produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and includes original music from the film recorded by Reznor, Angelo Badalamenti and Barry Adamson, as well as songs by other artists used in the film. The album reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and reached Gold status in the United States and Platinum in Canada. The album was re-released on vinyl in November 2016 by Dutch label Music On Vinyl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passive (song)</span> 2005 single by A Perfect Circle

"Passive" is a song by American rock band A Perfect Circle. The song, originating from the Tapeworm side-project under the title "Vacant", was eventually recorded in the studio as "Passive" by A Perfect Circle around the time of the side-project's demise. It was the second single from their album Emotive, and peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Sheridan</span> American graphic designer

Robert Sheridan is an American graphic designer, art director, stage visual designer, photographer, and comic book author best known for his extensive work with the band Nine Inch Nails. He is widely known as a designer of stage visuals. He is also an apparel designer, and co-founder of Glitch goods with his wife Stephanie Sheridan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fragility Tour</span> 1999–2000 concert tour by Nine Inch Nails

The Fragility Tour was a concert tour in support of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails' The Fragile album, which took place in late 1999, running until mid-2000, and was broken into two major legs, Fragility v1.0 and Fragility v2.0 respectively. Destinations included Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Perfect Drug</span> Nine Inch Nails song

"The Perfect Drug" is a song by Nine Inch Nails written for the David Lynch film Lost Highway. It was released in 1997 on the Lost Highway soundtrack as well as a single from the score. Remixes of the song were released as an EP, "The Perfect Drug" Versions.

The Twenty Thirteen Tour was a concert tour by industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails to support the album Hesitation Marks. It marked the return of the band for live performances after a four-year touring hiatus. It began on July 26, 2013, and ended on August 30, 2014.

<i>Before the Flood</i> (soundtrack) 2016 soundtrack album by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Mogwai and Gustavo Santaolalla

Before the Flood is a collaboration soundtrack album by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Mogwai and Gustavo Santaolalla for Fisher Stevens's film of the same name. It was originally made available as an Apple Music exclusive on October 21, 2016 and received a wide digital release on October 28. A CD release is scheduled for December 16, 2016 with a vinyl release to follow. The song "A Minute to Breathe" was first made available as a digital single on October 7, 2016. The album was released on Lakeshore Records.

<i>Quake</i> (soundtrack) 1996 soundtrack

Quake is the soundtrack album to the 1996 id Software video game of the same name, composed by Trent Reznor and his industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. It was released on June 22, 1996. Originally pressed on the same disc as the game, Quake was otherwise commercially unavailable until its release on vinyl in September 2020. Reznor also provided sound effects for the game.

<i>Watchmen</i> (soundtrack) 2019 soundtrack album

Watchmen (Music from the HBO Series) is the original score for the HBO superhero drama limited series Watchmen, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The score was released in three volumes on vinyl and digital services over the course of the series' broadcast in 2019, with Volume 1 on November 6, Volume 2 on November 27, and Volume 3 on December 18.

References

  1. 1 2 Leary, Alex (August 5, 2000). "On the Road with Nine Inch Nails". Valley News . pp. C1, C3. Retrieved December 19, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Kimpel, Dan (15 October 2006). "Charlie Clouser". BMI . Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  3. ↑ "The Tour". Keyboard. 26 (1–6). GPI Publications: 45. 2000. Retrieved December 20, 2023. The touring ensemble consists of Trent (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Robin Finck (guitar, vocals, keyboards), Danny Lohner (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals), Charlie Clouser (keyboards, theremin, vocals), and Jerome Dillon (drums).
  4. ↑ Blabbermouth (2002-12-16). "REVENGE OF THE TRIADS Cease To Exist". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  5. ↑ "[Exclusive] The Sounds of SAW: An Interview with Composer CHARLIE CLOUSER | Nightmare on Film Street". Nightmare on Film Street. 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  6. ↑ Hay, Carla (January 29, 2005). "Breaking Into The Big Screen". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 5. pp. 5, 46. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  7. ↑ Ebert, Roger (September 2, 2007). "Bacon completes 'Sentence'". York Daily Record . p. F2. Retrieved December 20, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "SoundtrackNet: Charlie Clouser" . Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  9. ↑ Hay, Carla (January 22, 2005). "'One Tree Hill' Sprouts Soundtrack, Tour". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 4. p. 48. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  10. ↑ Whitmire, Margo (May 22, 2004). "BMI Hands Out Film, TV Honors". Billboard . Vol. 116, no. 21. p. 36. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  11. ↑ Crisafulli, Chuck (January 14, 2008). "Rock stars try new tune as Hollywood composers". Reuters . Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  12. ↑ D., Spence (May 20, 2012). "Charlie Clouser Interview". IGN . Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  13. ↑ Stack, Tim (September 28, 2011). "'American Horror Story' opening credits". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  14. ↑ McLevy, Alex (July 2, 2016). "Nine Inch Nails' Charlie Clouser makes American Horror Story and Saw sound creepy". The A.V. Club . Retrieved December 20, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.