Dustin O'Halloran

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Dustin O'Halloran
Dustin O'Halloran.jpg
Background information
Born (1971-09-08) September 8, 1971 (age 53)
Phoenix, Arizona
OriginLos Angeles, California
Occupation(s)Pianist, composer [1]
Years active1994–present
Labels Deutsche Grammophon
Website dustinohalloran.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Dustin O'Halloran (born September 8, 1971) [2] is an American composer and pianist. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O'Halloran is a film and TV composer, as well as one half of ambient act A Winged Victory for the Sullen.

Contents

Early life

O'Halloran was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and spent most of his childhood in Hawaii and Los Angeles. While studying art at Santa Monica College, he met singer Sara Lov, with whom he founded indie rock band Dévics in 1998. When the group signed with Bella Union in 2001, they relocated to Romagna, Italy, where O'Halloran lived for seven years.

Career

Solo work

In 2004, O'Halloran released his first record as a solo artist, Piano Solos. He has since released three more solo records, the latest of which is Lumiere (2011), which featured contributions by Peter Broderick and Adam Wiltzie (Stars of the Lid), and was mixed by Jóhann Jóhannsson. [3]

In 2019, O'Halloran signed with Deutsche Grammophon and released his first EP on the label, entitled Sundoor. [4]

A Winged Victory For The Sullen

With A Winged Victory for the Sullen, his collaboration with Adam Wiltzie, O'Halloran has released four studio albums: A Winged Victory for the Sullen (2011), Atomos (2014), The Undivided Five (2019), and Invisible Cities (2021). The second was also the original score for the identically titled dance piece by choreographer Wayne McGregor and his company Wayne McGregor Random Dance. [5] [6]

In 2015, AWVFTS were invited to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the BBC Proms. [7] The duo scored their first film together in 2016, entitled In the Shadow of Iris by French director Jalil Lespert.

In addition to their studio outputs, they wrote the soundtrack for the 2016 film Iris .

In 2019, A Winged Victory for the Sullen signed with UK-based indie label Ninja Tune.

Film score works

Since the release of Piano Solos Volumes 1 and 2 in 2004 and 2006, O'Halloran has gone on to score a number of films and TV shows. These include Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette , and Drake Doremus Like Crazy (2011), which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. In 2014, O’Halloran worked on Indian drama Umrika , which won the Audience Award at Sundance, and gave him his first opportunity to compose for a full string orchestra.[ citation needed ]

In the same year he was also asked to provide the music for Transparent, the acclaimed TV series created by Jill Soloway for Amazon Studios. [8]

O'Halloran was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for his original theme for Transparent in 2015. [9]

In 2016, he collaborated with Hauschka (Volker Bertelmann) on the score for the Oscar-nominated film Lion . [10] The score of the film was nominated for many major awards including the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Critics’ Choice Awards. He has since collaborated with Bertelmann on a number of other scores, including Ammonite (2020).[ citation needed ]

Discography

Solo albums

YearAlbumLabel
2004Piano SolosSplinter
2006Piano Solos Vol. 2 Filter/Splinter
2010VorlebenSonic Pieces
2011Lumiere Fat Cat
20173 Movements (EP)1631 Recordings
2019Sundoor (EP) Deutsche Grammophon
2021SilfurDeutsche Grammophon
20241 0 0 1Deutsche Grammophon

Soundtrack albums

With Devics

With A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Other collaborations

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorCreditsNotes
2006 Marie Antoinette Sofia Coppola Composer
2007 Remember the Daze Jess Manafort
2008 An American Affair William Olsson
2010Want to See Something?Tomas JonsgårdenShort
2011 Like Crazy Drake Doremus
2012 The Other Dream Team Marius A. MarkeviciusDocumentary
2012 The Beauty Inside Drake Doremus TV Mini-Series
2012 Now Is Good Ol Parker
2013 Breathe In Drake Doremus
2013EclipseLinda Arkelian, David CooperShort
2014 Posthumous Lulu Wang
2014–2017 Transparent Jill Soloway (creator)TV series
2015DeliáThomas Scott StantonShort
2015 Umrika Prashant Nair
2015 American Masters Susan LacyTV series documentary
2015This Is MeRhys ErnstTV mini-series documentary
2015 Equals Drake Doremus
2016 I Love Dick Sarah Gubbins, Jill Soloway (creators)TV series
2016 Lion Garth Davis with Volker Bertelmann [13]
2016QueimafobiaDaniel Sánchez ArévaloShort
2016 In the Shadow of Iris Jalil Lespert
2017 God's Own Country Francis Lee
2018 The Current War Alfonso Gomez-Rejon With Hauschka
2018 Save Me Nick Murphy with Bryan Senti
2018 Puzzle Marc Turtletaub
2018 The Hate U Give George Tillman Jr.
2019 The Art of Racing in the Rain Simon Curtis with Volker Bertelmann
2019 A Christmas Carol Nick Murphy
2020 For Life Hank Steinberg TV series
2020 Save Me Too Nick Murphy with Bryan Senti
2020 The Old Guard Gina Prince-Bythewood with Volker Bertelmann
2020 Ammonite Francis Lee
2022 The Essex Serpent Clio Barnard with Herdís Stefánsdóttir

Awards

YearAwardNominationTitleResultNotes
2014HMMA AwardMain Title - TV Show / Digital Series Transparent Nominated
2015 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Main Title Theme Music Won [14]
2016 Critics’ Choice Awards Best Score Lion (2016)NominatedShared with: Volker Bertelmann
PFCS AwardBest Original Score
HMMA AwardBest Original Score - Feature Film
2017GFCA AwardBest Original Score
BAFTA Film Award Original Music
Academy Award Best Original Score Shared with: Volker Bertelmann [15] [16]
Golden Globe Best Original Score Shared with: Volker Bertelmann

Personal life

Dustin O'Halloran divides his time between Reykjavík and Los Angeles.

Related Research Articles

Formed in 1993, Devics is an American indie rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, consisting of Sara Lov, Dustin O'Halloran, Ed Maxwell, Theodore Liscinski, and Evan Schnabel. Their music can be described as melancholic. They have been largely inactive since 2006.

Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stars of the Lid</span> American ambient music duo

Stars of the Lid is an American ambient music project that formerly consisted of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie. The duo formed in Austin, Texas, in 1993. They have been acclaimed for their music incorporating droning, effects-treated guitars along with piano, strings, and horns, described as "divine, classical drone without the tedious intrusion of drums or vocals." After McBride's death in 2023, Wiltzie remains the sole member.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hildur Guðnadóttir</span> Icelandic musician and composer (born 1982)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hauschka</span> German composer and pianist (born 1966)

Volker Bertelmann is a German composer, pianist and former rapper who mainly performs and records under the name Hauschka. He is best known for his compositions for prepared piano. He won an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award for his work on All Quiet on the Western Front (2022).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Winged Victory for the Sullen</span> American ambient music duo

A Winged Victory for the Sullen is an American ambient music duo composed of Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltzie. They have released four studio albums, an EP, and one soundtrack album. In 2015, they performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of The Proms.

<i>A Winged Victory for the Sullen</i> (album) 2011 studio album by A Winged Victory for the Sullen

A Winged Victory for the Sullen is the eponymous debut studio album by the ambient music duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen. It was released on 8 September 2011 on Erased Tapes Records and Kranky. Recorded over a two-year period at six studios throughout Europe, A Winged Victory for the Sullen features extensive use of natural reverb and combines classical instrumentation with soundscapes and drones. In addition to members Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltzie, the album features several prominent collaborators, including Hildur Guðnadóttir and Nils Frahm.

<i>Atomos</i> (album) 2014 studio album by A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Atomos is the second album by ambient music duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen. The album was released on October 6, 2014 on the labels Erased Tapes and Kranky.

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<i>Iris</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Jalil Lespert

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<i>The Undivided Five</i> 2019 studio album by A Winged Victory for the Sullen

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<i>Invisible Cities</i> (album) 2021 album by A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Invisible Cities is the fourth studio album by ambient music duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen. It was released on 26 February 2021 by Artificial Pinearch in association with Ninja Tune. The album was composed as the score of a 90-minute multimedia theatre production that was inspired by Italo Calvino's 1972 novel of the same name. The record relies prominently on an instrumental production featuring piano chords, arpeggiated strings, and distortion. Music critics were generally favourable towards the album, with particular praise towards its instrumental soundscape.

<i>Lion</i> (soundtrack) 2016 film score by Dustin OHalloran and Hauschka

Lion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2016 film Lion. The album mostly features musical score composed by Dustin O'Halloran and Volker Bertelmann, known by the stage name Hauschka. This film marked their joint collaboration together in scoring films. The score consisted of piano, accompanied by strings, percussions and a minimal orchestra, to produce the score in a "subtle and restrained manner", to convey the emotions of Saroo, the film's protagonist. The score album, also featured a promotional single, "Never Give Up" by Sia. The album was distributed by Sony Classical Records and released in digital formats on 25 November 2016, and through CDs on 23 December. A vinyl edition of the album also released on 17 March 2017.

<i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i> (soundtrack) 2022 film score by Hauschka

All Quiet on the Western Front (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) is the score album composed by German composer Volker 'Hauschka' Bertelmann to the 2022 film All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Edward Berger, based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque as well as the third feature film to be adapted from the novel after the 1930 silent film and 1979 television film. The album, featuring 24-tracks, was released by Netflix Music on October 28, 2022, the same day as the film.

References

  1. "Transparent Composer Dustin O'Halloran on the Show's Piano-Driven Score and Why the Theme Song Changed Slightly This Season". vulture.com. September 30, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  2. "Dustin O'Halloran - New Songs, Playlists & Latest News - BBC Music". BBC. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  3. "Dustin O'Halloran | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  4. "Dustin O'Halloran – Sundoor". www.deutschegrammophon.com. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  5. "A Conversation With Dustin O'Halloran". BMI.com. August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  6. "Subscribe | theaustralian". www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  7. "Prom 27: Late Night With … BBC Radio 6 Music". BBC Music Events. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  8. "The story behind 'Transparent's Emmy-nominated theme song". EW.com. July 16, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  9. "Composer Dustin O'Halloran Talks Transparent and Working With Jill Soloway". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  10. Vinyl, Music On. "OUT NOW: LION ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - Music On Vinyl". www.musiconvinyl.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  11. Furman, Brian (February 26, 2017). "2017 Academy Awards Preview: Best Original Score". Heavy.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  12. Ehrlich, David (November 30, 2016). "How Hauschka And Dustin O'Halloran Helped Lion Find Its Way Home | IndieWire". www.indiewire.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  13. Lowder, J. Bryan (February 9, 2017). "La La Land May Be a Shoo-in for Best Original Score, but Here's Who Really Deserves the Oscar". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  14. Variety Staff (July 16, 2015). "Emmy Award Nominations: Full List of 2015 Emmy Nominees". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  15. Merry, Stephanie; Merry, Stephanie (January 24, 2017). "Oscar nominations 2017: Complete list of nominees; 'La La Land's' 14 ties record". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  16. "Film composers talk Oscars in KUSC conversations" . Retrieved August 13, 2017.