Ramachandra Borcar

Last updated
Ramachandra Borcar
Also known asRam, DJ Ram, Ramasutra
Born Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation(s)Composer, screen composer, musician
Instrument(s)drums, percussion

Ramachandra Borcar is a Montreal-born musician and composer of mixed Indian and Danish background. He is also known under the monikers Ramasutra and DJ Ram.

Contents

His extensive musical career includes work as a film composer, arranger, orchestrator, performer, studio producer and ethnomusicologist. After studying classical composition, orchestration and electro-acoustic music at McGill University, he went on to create scores for film, television, documentaries, commercials and the theatre.

Film composer

Borcar has composed for over 100 television episodes, 30+ film, documentary and animated short scores and a AAA video game soundtrack (Far Cry 4). Among the few contemporary polystylistic composers, Borcar's portfolio of work includes an astonishing range of musical styles and expressions.

Film, tv & documentary projects include among others Soft Shell Man (Un crabe dans la tete) (2001), for which he won a Jutra Award in 2002, Happy Camper (Camping sauvage) (2004), Louise Archambault's debut feature film Familia (2005), Bombay Calling (2005), [1] Karsh Is History (2009) - for which he was nominated for a Gemini Award [2] and Patrick Demers' critically acclaimed debut Suspicions (Jaloux, 2011) [3] for which he earned a Genie Award nomination. [4] He also composed the opening theme music for Nicolas Roeg's Puffball (2008). His television work includes the ten part series Web Dreams, themes for Tout le monde en parle , Casting, Women Warriors, Comme Par Magie - for which he was nominated for a Prix Gémaux award [5] and commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Cadbury.

In 2011, Borcar composed film scores for Goon , directed by Michael Dowse and starring Liev Schreiber, Marc-André Grondin, Jay Baruchel, Seann William Scott and Alison Pill; [6] the Belgian-Quebec co-production Un nuage dans un verre d'eau directed by Srinath Samarasinghe and starring Anamaria Marinca, [7] and "The American Tiger" - a David Suzuki The Nature of Things documentary. He also scored the music for the NFB's animated short Paula, by Dominic-Étienne Simard, which won "Best Animated Short" at the Canadian Screen Awards [8] and earned Borcar the "Award for Music in Film" at the Animatòr Film Festival. [9]

In 2012, Borcar composed the original music for the trailer of Martin Villeneuve's science fiction film Mars et Avril; wrote the music for the NFB's ambitious interactive site Here At Home ; completed the full score for orchestra for Manon Briand's feature-film Liverpool. He also composed the original score for Yan Lanouette Turgeon's debut feature film Rock Paper Scissors (Roche papier ciseaux), which earned him the Jutra Award for "Best Original Score" [10] as well as a Canadian Screen Award nomination [11]

In 2013, Borcar wrote the original music for Nickelodeon's TV feature Nicky Deuce - starring James Gandolfini, Tony Sirico, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Curatola, Rita Moreno and Steve Schirripa (writer and director). He completed the full score for orchestra of Stefan Miljevic's Amsterdam; the full score for Jean-Sebastien Lord's L'Ange Gardien, starring Guy Nadon, Marilyn Castonguay and Patrick Hivon, and the original music for Bruce La Bruce's Gerontophilia starring Walter Borden, Pier-Gabriel Lajoie and Katie Boland.

In 2014, Borcar completed the score for Je suis à toi, the second film by Belgian director David Lambert. The film premiered at Karlovy Vary where it won the best actor award for Nahuel Perez Biscayart's lead role. [12] The film also co-starred Canadian actress Monia Chokri.

In 2014, he completed the score for the feature documentary The Price We Pay, from director Harold Crooks ( The Corporation , Surviving Progress ). The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Borcar was also a musical contributor to Ubisoft's Far Cry 4 , composing the original music for several parts of the open-world video-game. FC4's main composer was Cliff Martinez ( Drive , Only God Forgives ). Borcar's original game soundtrack Far Cry 4 Lakshmana Edition was released by Ubisoft in May 2015.

In 2016, Borcar completed the score for David Lynch: Shadows of Paradise a documentary film by Sebastian Lange exploring David Lynch's role as the spokesperson for the Transcendental Meditation movement, founded by the Maharishi. Borcar also scored the hugely successful television series L'Imposteur (The Imposter) starring Marc-André Grondin and directed by Yan Lanouette Turgeon, which has been renewed for a second season. [13] Borcar's original music for the series earned him two awards at the 2017 Gémeaux Awards. [14]

Recording artist and performer

Under the name Ramasutra, he released his self-produced debut album The East Infection [15] in 1999 for which he won a Félix Award in 2000 (amongst three nominations including "Best Arranger"), two Mimi Awards for "Album of the Year" and "Best Live Show", and a Juno Award nomination for "Best Alternative Album". He followed it up with El Pipo Del Taxi [16] in 2003 that won him a Mimi award for "Best Producer". [17]

Under his full name and on his own label, Semprini Records, he released the score for the award-winning [18] documentary by Joseph Hillel and Patrick Demers entitled Regular or Super (2004), [19] as "Steel and Glass". [20] Borcar performed the album live at the 2005 Montreal International Jazz Festival, with over 20 of the city's renowned jazz musicians, [21] all of whom performed on the original soundtrack recording.

Producer

Borcar's production work includes not only his personal albums and soundtracks but other artists as well. In 2005 he produced debut albums for the Brazilian funk band Gaia, the indo-jazz outfit Catherine Potter's Duniya Project, [22] Bulgarian gypsy band Kaba Horo [23] and the Montreal tex-mex electro duo Call Me Poupee and Voivod.

In 2006, Borcar co-founded the Signed by Force record label, which was active until 2010, during which time they released albums by a number of artists including: Bionic, Nutsak, Trigger Effect, Starvin Hungry and Devil Eyes.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Performer, composer & arranger

ArtistTitleYearLabel
RamasutraThe East Infection1999Tox
RamasutraEl Pipo Del Taxi EP2003Semprini Records
Ramachandra BorcarCamping Sauvage(Original Soundtrack)2004Canusa
Ramachandra BorcarSteel And Glass (Original Soundtrack)2005Semprini Records
Ramachandra BorcarJaloux (Original Soundtrack)2011Semprini Records
Ramachandra BorcarRoche papier ciseaux (Original Soundtrack)2013Semprini Records
Ramachandra BorcarL'Ange gardien (Original Soundtrack)2014Semprini Records
Ramachandra BorcarFar Cry 4 Lakshmana Edition (Original Game Soundtrack)2015Ubisoft Music

Producer

ArtistTitleContributionYearLabel
Catherine PotterDuniya ProjectProducer2005SHADAJ
GaïaGaïaProducer2005JAJOU PRODUCTIONS
Lubo AlexandrovKaba HoroProducer2005ENJA
Call Me PoupéeWestern ShanghaiProducer2006Semprini Records

Related Research Articles

The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978) known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor Sorel Etrog, who designed its statuette.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian film industry and television industry professionals, most notably through the Canadian Screen Awards The mandate of the Academy is to honour outstanding achievements; to heighten public awareness of and increase audience attendance of and appreciationпа of Canadian film and television productions; and to provide critically needed, high-quality professional development programs, conferences and publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre</span> Canadian documentary film maker

Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre is a Montreal-based filmmaker most notable for her animated documentary films.

The Prix Iris is a Canadian film award, presented annually by Québec Cinéma, which recognizes talent and achievement in the mainly francophone feature film industry in Quebec. Until 2016, it was known as the Jutra Award in memory of influential Quebec film director Claude Jutra, but Jutra's name was withdrawn from the awards following the publication of Yves Lever's biography of Jutra, which alleged that he had sexually abused children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benoît Charest</span> Musical artist

Benoît Charest is a Canadian guitarist and film score composer from Quebec. He is best known for the soundtrack of the animated film The Triplets of Belleville (2003), for which he won a César Award for Best Music Written for a Film as well as a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Music. The song "Belleville Rendez-vous", in particular, earned him an Academy Award nomination as well as a Grammy Award nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc-André Grondin</span> Canadian actor

Marc-André Grondin is a Canadian actor, known for his role as Xavier Laflamme in the 2011 ice hockey film Goon. He also played Zachary Beaulieu in Jean-Marc Vallée's film C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005), for which he won a Jutra Award for best actor. He was born in Montreal, Quebec.

Dominik Pagacz is a Canadian artist known mostly as an Emmy Award-winning motion picture supervising sound editor, sound effects editor, sound designer, sound re-recording mixer, actor and filmmaker. He is a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) (U.S.A.).

Patrick Boivin is a Canadian filmmaker and animator. In addition to directing, he is often involved in the lighting, editing, animation, special effects and even music in his films.

InformAction Productions is a Montreal-based Canadian documentary film production company founded in 1971 by producer Nathalie Barton, directors Jean-Claude Bürger and Gérard Le Chêne. Their films explore major contemporary social and political issues or focus on human stories, art and culture. In 1999 and 2000 producers Ian Quenneville and Ian Oliveri joined the company so as to work with Nathalie Barton.

Patricio Henriquez is a Quebec based filmmaker, who is a partner with Robert Cornellier and Raymonde Provencher in the Macumba Films documentary studio.

<i>Vic and Flo Saw a Bear</i> 2013 film

Vic and Flo Saw a Bear is a 2013 Canadian drama film directed by Denis Côté. The film premiered in competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Alfred Bauer Prize.

<i>Youre Sleeping Nicole</i> 2014 film

You're Sleeping Nicole is a 2014 Canadian drama film directed by Stéphane Lafleur. It was selected to be screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The film had a limited release on 22 August 2014, followed by a general Quebec theatrical release on 29 August 2014. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>Rock Paper Scissors</i> (2013 film) 2013 Canadian film

Rock Paper Scissors is a 2013 Canadian thriller film from Québec directed by Yan Lanouette Turgeon, which he co-wrote with André Gulluni. The third film to be produced by Camera Oscura, producer Christine Falco described it as a work of hyperlink cinema. Lanouette Turgeon's debut feature is the story of three men—Boucane (Samian), Lorenzo, and Vincent —whose lives are brought together through a strange sequence of events.

<i>Suspicions</i> (film) 2010 Canadian film

Suspicions is a Canadian thriller film, directed by Patrick Demers and released in 2010. The film stars Maxime Denommée and Sophie Cadieux as Thomas and Marianne, an unhappy couple who are spending time at a cottage in the country to sort out their relationship issues, whose plans are complicated by the intrusions of neighbour Jean. The film, an expansion of his earlier short film Discharge (Décharge), was largely unscripted, with the actors allowed to improvise much of their own dialogue.

The Prix Iris for Best Animated Short Film is an annual film award presented by Québec Cinéma as part of its Prix Iris program, to honour the year's best animated short film made within the cinema of Quebec.

Vincent-Guillaume Otis is a Canadian actor from Quebec. He is most noted for his roles in the television series District 31, for which he won the Prix Gémeaux for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2018, and the film Norbourg, for which he won the Prix Iris for Best Actor at the 24th Quebec Cinema Awards in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Félix Dufour-Laperrière</span>

Félix Dufour-Laperrière is a Canadian animator, film director and screenwriter from Chicoutimi, Quebec. He is most noted for his 2021 film Archipelago (Archipel), which was the winner of the Prix Luc-Perreault from the Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma at the 2022 Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma.

Michel Corriveau is a Canadian composer of film and television scores from Quebec. He has received multiple nominations and awards throughout his career for Canadian and international films and TV productions

The Longest Goodbye is a Canadian-Israeli documentary film, directed by Ido Mizrahy and released in 2023. The film documents the psychological impact of space travel on astronauts who must spend long periods of time away from family and friends.

References

  1. NFB page and credits on Bombay Calling
  2. "about Gemini nomination".
  3. "About Jaloux".
  4. "About 2012 Genie nomination for Jaloux". The Globe and Mail .
  5. Radio-Canada, Médias numériques de (August 30, 2023). "Gala des prix Gémeaux 2023 | ICI Télé | Radio-Canada.ca". Radio-Canada.
  6. "Goon (2011) - IMDb" via www.imdb.com.
  7. "Un nuage dans un verre d'eau (2012) - IMDb" via www.imdb.com.
  8. "Canadian Screen Awards 2013: Broadcast Gala Photos". 6 March 2013.
  9. "Festival Animator 2013 - News". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21.
  10. http://www.socan.ca/news/ramachandra-borcar-wins-2014-jutra-award-best-original-music
  11. http://www.academy.ca/getmedia/7009a495-8966-4ead-ad65-c46702758d94/Academy_News_2014CSA_Feature_FILM_Nominations_Full.aspx [ dead link ]
  12. "'All Yours' ('Je suis a toi'): Karlovy Vary Review". The Hollywood Reporter . 22 July 2014.
  13. "Marc-André Grondin confirme une saison 2 de l'Imposteur". 12 October 2016.
  14. "Finalistes et lauréats | 32es prix Gémeaux". 14 September 2017.
  15. Montreal mIrror about "The East Infection" Archived 2007-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  16. "official release about "El Pipo Del Taxi"".
  17. "Ramachandra Borcar - Biography". IMDb.
  18. "about "Regular or Super"".
  19. "MM Magazine". MM Magazine. May 24, 2024. Archived from the original on May 18, 2006.
  20. "Information about "Steel And Glass"".
  21. "Montreal International Jazz Festival - Official Site - Event Page".
  22. ""Duniyan Project" information".
  23. ""Kaba Horo" information". Archived from the original on August 14, 2006.