Rick Smith | |
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![]() Smith at the Roundhouse with Underworld in 2016 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Richard Smith |
Born | Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales | 25 May 1959
Genres | Electronic, progressive house, progressive trance, ambient, experimental |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
Instrument(s) | Keyboards, synthesisers |
Years active | 1978–present |
Website | www |
Richard Smith (born 25 May 1959) is a Welsh musician and composer. He is a founding member of British electronic music group Underworld and an acclaimed composer, having collaborated extensively with director Danny Boyle, [1] most notably as the musical director for the London 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, [2] alongside Underworld's Karl Hyde. [3] He is also a founding member of the multi-discipline design and film collective Tomato. [4]
Smith left a bank clerk job in Llanelli to do an electronic and electrical engineering degree; however, he dropped out during his finals after being asked to join Hyde’s band The Screen Gemz. [5] In 1983, they formed the new wave band Freur and recorded two albums for CBS Records International. The group disbanded in 1986.
In 1987, Smith and Hyde formed Underworld, and the pair are the longest and only original serving members of the musical project, still performing together today.
Smith worked with director Danny Boyle for two decades after the director used the band's music in his 1996 film Trainspotting . As part of Underworld, Smith scored the soundtrack for Boyle's stage production of Frankenstein in 2011, and in 2012 undertook a solo venture creating the soundtrack to Boyle's film Trance . [1] Smith was appointed the musical director for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony which was directed by Boyle. Smith worked with Boyle on his 2017 follow-up film T2 Trainspotting . [6]
Underworld are a British electronic music group formed in 1987 in Cardiff, Wales and the principal collaborative project of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith. Prominent former members include Darren Emerson, from 1990 to 2000, and Darren Price, as part of the live band from 2005 to 2016.
Trainspotting is a 1996 British black comedy-drama film directed by Danny Boyle, and starring Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle and Kelly Macdonald in her film debut. Based on the 1993 novel of the same title by Irvine Welsh, the film was released in the United Kingdom on 23 February 1996.
Daniel Francis Boyle is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including Shallow Grave (1994), Trainspotting (1996) and its sequel T2 Trainspotting (2017), The Beach (1999), 28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), 127 Hours (2010), Steve Jobs (2015), and Yesterday (2019).
David Arnold is an English film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films (1997-2008), as well as Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998), Shaft (2000), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Four Brothers (2005), Hot Fuzz (2007), and the television series Little Britain and Sherlock. For Independence Day, he received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television, and for Sherlock, he and co-composer Michael Price won a Creative Arts Emmy for the score of "His Last Vow", the final episode in the third series. Arnold scored the BBC / Amazon Prime series Good Omens (2019) adapted by Neil Gaiman from his book Good Omens, written with Terry Pratchett. Arnold is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
Dubnobasswithmyheadman is the third studio album by British electronic music group Underworld, released in the United Kingdom on Junior Boy's Own on 24 January 1994. It was the first Underworld album after the 1980s version of the band had made the transition from synthpop to electronic dance music and is also the first album to feature Darren Emerson as a band member.
Karl Hyde is an English musician, composer and artist. He is a founding member of British electronic group Underworld. Hyde has also released a solo album, made albums with Brian Eno and Matthew Herbert, and contributed towards the score for the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony alongside Rick Smith.
Sunshine is a 2007 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. Taking place in the year 2057, the story follows a group of astronauts on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun. The ensemble cast features Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Chipo Chung, and Mark Strong. The director cast a group of international actors for the film, and had the actors live together and learn about topics related to their roles, as a form of method acting.
Darren Paul Emerson is an English musician, DJ and producer best known as a former member of the British electronic music group Underworld.
"Dark & Long" is a song by British electronic music group Underworld and the opening track on their third studio album, dubnobasswithmyheadman (1994). The band released a number of versions of the track, including the "Dark Train" mix made popular for inclusion on the hit soundtrack album for the 1996 film Trainspotting, and the 2021 "Drift 2 Dark Train" mix.
"Born Slippy .NUXX" is a song by the British electronic music group Underworld. It was first released as the B-side to another track, "Born Slippy", in May 1995. The fragmented lyrics describe the perspective of an alcoholic.
Sunshine: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album for the 2007 Danny Boyle film Sunshine. It is a joint composition by the electronic band Underworld and film score composer John Murphy. Underworld has a long history of collaboration with Boyle, having been featured on the soundtracks of Boyle's Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, and The Beach. Murphy composed the scores to Boyle's 28 Days Later and Millions.
Trance is a 2013 psychological thriller film directed by Danny Boyle with a screenplay by Joe Ahearne and John Hodge from a story by Ahearne. It stars James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson. The world premiere of the film was held in London on 19 March 2013.
The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the ceremonial opening of this international sporting event with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture. The spectacle was entitled Isles of Wonder and directed by Academy Award-winning British film director Danny Boyle.
"Caliban's Dream" is a track written by Rick Smith of electronic group Underworld for the Isles of Wonder in London, and the 14th and final track of the first disc of the official soundtrack.
"And I Will Kiss" is a song written by Rick Smith and Karl Hyde of electronic group Underworld for the Isles of Wonder opening ceremony of the 2012 summer Olympics in London, and the fourth track on the official soundtrack. The title makes reference to a speech given by Caliban in Act 2, Scene 2 of The Tempest by William Shakespeare:
Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future is the ninth studio album by British electronic group Underworld, released on 18 March 2016. It is the band's first studio album since Barking in 2010. Barbara Barbara received widespread critical acclaim upon its release and placed in several international charts. The album has also earned a 2017 Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album.
T2 Trainspotting is a 2017 British black comedy drama film, directed by Danny Boyle and written by John Hodge. Set in and around Edinburgh, Scotland, it is based on characters created by Irvine Welsh in his 1993 novel Trainspotting and its 2002 follow-up Porno. A sequel to Boyle's 1996 film Trainspotting, T2 stars the original ensemble cast, including leads Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, and Robert Carlyle, with Shirley Henderson, James Cosmo, and Kelly Macdonald. The film features a new character, Veronika, played by Anjela Nedyalkova, and includes clips, music, and archive sound from the first film.
"East Hastings" is a 1997 song by the Canadian rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor from the 1998 CD release of their debut album F♯ A♯ ∞ and is perhaps best known for its use in the film 28 Days Later in an edited version.
Mark Tildesley is a British production designer. Tildesley has collaborated with film directors Danny Boyle, Michael Winterbottom, Mike Leigh, Roger Michell, Paul Thomas Anderson and Cary Fukunaga. He studied theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art in the 1980s before transitioning to film work. In 1998, he won a BAFTA Cymru award for best production design for his work on House of America. He also worked with Danny Boyle as a designer for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony Isle of Wonder for which he won an Emmy Award for best art direction. In 2020, he replaced Dennis Gassner as the set designer for the 25th James Bond film No Time to Die.
Trance (Original Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2013 film Trance directed by Danny Boyle. Featuring music composed by British electronic music duo Underworld frontman Rick Smith, the soundtrack consisted of electronic, jazz, pop and rock music from Smith, along with contributions from Art and Dotty Todd, Emeli Sandé, Kirsty McGee, Moby, M People and Rosario Dawson, one of the film's lead actors. The soundtrack was released first in the United Kingdom on 25 March 2013, and in the United States on 2 April. Republic Records distributed the album.