Hans Zimmer has revolutionized the art of the film score and the fusion of electronic and acoustic instruments. He has created music so unique that listeners can almost instantly identify a piece that was composed by him. He has composed hundreds of films and is considered to be in the same league as John Williams, Danny Elfman, and James Newton Howard. His career started with award-winning film "The Lion King" and since then he has scored some of the most widely known movies today such as Pirates of the Caribbean and The Dark Knight. (Hans Zimmer)
Much like composer John Williams has inspired many of the composers we listen to today, Hans Zimmer is becoming an influence to many upcoming score artists. More and more people are starting to experiment with electronic scoring and soon it may become standard in certain genres of film.
Hans' signature sound is often dark, droning, and tonal but can also be energetic and exciting at times. He achieves this through the perfect mixture of orchestral instruments and electronic samplers or synthesizers. Often he will take oscillators and add natural characteristics to them such as reverb and delay to make them sound massive and more realistic. Hans is also the master of the counterpoint and musical motifs which makes the music he writes more memorable. Everyone remembers the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song because the motif sticks in the listeners mind for long after the movie ends. (Hans Zimmer)
Hans Zimmer possesses the kind of talent that can change the entire industry of film scoring. People will often watch the movies he scores and then go buy the soundtrack because the music is so interesting and unique they want to hear it again. My favorite soundtrack that he did was for Gladiator. I listen to the soundtrack because it reminds me of scenes in that movie that were emotionally moving.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Peer Comment
Really great podcast. The use of terminal with “Alex” fits in perfectly with the overarching theme of Kraftwerk. It’s true that today, most popular music has at least some sort of electronic or synthesized element in it. But the electronic sound of Kraftwerk is not the only thing that inspired modern artists. In fact the modern pop artist Coldplay wrote a personal letter to Kraftwerk for the permission to use the melody of “Computer Love” in their song “Talk”, which later became a hit single on the pop charts. Great job though and I look forward to your future posts.
Peer Comment
Great article Nicholas! This exactly describes the kind of band that The Velvet Underground was. I like that you thoroughly explained the harkening image that Lou Reed and John Cale’s innovations gave to the band’s music. The accomplishments of these two artists cannot be underplayed. You may be right that punk music would not exist as it does today if not for the influence of the Velvet Underground. Countless artists clearly drew inspiration from the band’s unorthodox musical style. Overall this is a great article and it is very informative as to the band that had a large part in the development of the punk genre.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Electronic Music Innovations - Amon Tobin
Amon Tobin is a more current electronic musician who likes to produce dark environmental drum n' bass pieces. His music is often theme based and he achieves the mood in his songs through the use of heavy sampling. He has changed the way artists think about electronic music today. Instead of trying to make purely electronic sounds similar to real instruments, he attempts to effect sounds we hear in our everyday live to create a different, yet familiar sound in his music. Amon started his career remixing drum n' bass tracks and these remixes gained the attention of big music critics. He was signed by Ninebar and started to create albums soon after. (Amon Tobin)
In addition to drum n' bass, Amon also worked on music for several games and movies including, The Italian Job, Infamous, and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. His work in the game and movie industry inspired some of the creativity in his later albums. (Amon Tobin)
Amon Tobin's music is unique and innovative because he takes non-musical elements and makes them musical, then does the opposite and takes musical instruments and makes non-musical sounds with them. Amon was also known for taking samples of old movie dialogue or soundtracks and incorporating it into his songs. This is often done in pop music today. (Amon Tobin and the Music of Infamous)
Though Amon Tobin is an underground artist, he has a clear understanding of the creative potential needed to attract listeners. His use of samples and non musical instrumentation makes his songs memorable, which is a characteristic that can often be more effective in music than good production value and marketing.
In addition to drum n' bass, Amon also worked on music for several games and movies including, The Italian Job, Infamous, and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. His work in the game and movie industry inspired some of the creativity in his later albums. (Amon Tobin)
Amon Tobin's music is unique and innovative because he takes non-musical elements and makes them musical, then does the opposite and takes musical instruments and makes non-musical sounds with them. Amon was also known for taking samples of old movie dialogue or soundtracks and incorporating it into his songs. This is often done in pop music today. (Amon Tobin and the Music of Infamous)
Though Amon Tobin is an underground artist, he has a clear understanding of the creative potential needed to attract listeners. His use of samples and non musical instrumentation makes his songs memorable, which is a characteristic that can often be more effective in music than good production value and marketing.
Electronic Music
Kraftwerk is an electronic group that uses synthesizers and drum machines to create minimalistic and repetitive music. At the time of the band's inception, synthesizers were a new and futuristic technology. Kraftwerk essentially laid down the roots for how this technology would be used generations later. (The Story of Kraftwerk)
Autobahn, which was released in 1974, was the first commercial success for Kraftwerk. This success was largely due to the use of better technology and a refinement of Karftwerk's overall sound. The release of Autobahn also marked a change in how the group preformed live. The members started to do live vocals with a vocoder and used a minimoog for the keyboard parts. Radio-Activity came next and with the success of Autobahn the group was able to improve their equipment even more. They began to move towards a pop music style and were less experimental with their music. Although Radio-Activity was a relative flop in the U.S., it became the basis for how Kraftwerk would conduct its later music. In 1977 the group released Trans-Europe Express. This album later became one of the hallmarks of electronic music. The very next year Kraftwerk released The Man Machine. The group pulled out all the stops on this album and it was recorded in a very professional manner. In 1981 Kraftwerk released Computer World. This album sounded much like the electronic music we hear today. The groups trademark innovativeness landed it several hit singles and made it their most successful album to date. They also dramatically improved their live set when they went on tour. (The Story of Kraftwerk)
Kraftwerk was a unique and inspiring group to many artists because of their minimalistic style and their use of repetition to hook in listeners. The use of sequencers to have perfectly timed drums and vocals is a very pleasing aesthetic to many people. Kraftwerk excelled at doing a lot with a little. Kraftwerk was also well known for their innovative use of technology. With the use of the minimoog and unorthodox methods of recording vocals they set the standard for electronic music. (Kraftwerk, and the Electronic revolution)
As a listener I cannot fully appreciate Kraftwerk's music. The overuse of electronic instruments, the minimalism, and the stone-set timing of the beats are very unappealing to me. As an industry professional I can see how Kraftwerk was very influential to todays electronic musicians.
Autobahn, which was released in 1974, was the first commercial success for Kraftwerk. This success was largely due to the use of better technology and a refinement of Karftwerk's overall sound. The release of Autobahn also marked a change in how the group preformed live. The members started to do live vocals with a vocoder and used a minimoog for the keyboard parts. Radio-Activity came next and with the success of Autobahn the group was able to improve their equipment even more. They began to move towards a pop music style and were less experimental with their music. Although Radio-Activity was a relative flop in the U.S., it became the basis for how Kraftwerk would conduct its later music. In 1977 the group released Trans-Europe Express. This album later became one of the hallmarks of electronic music. The very next year Kraftwerk released The Man Machine. The group pulled out all the stops on this album and it was recorded in a very professional manner. In 1981 Kraftwerk released Computer World. This album sounded much like the electronic music we hear today. The groups trademark innovativeness landed it several hit singles and made it their most successful album to date. They also dramatically improved their live set when they went on tour. (The Story of Kraftwerk)
Kraftwerk was a unique and inspiring group to many artists because of their minimalistic style and their use of repetition to hook in listeners. The use of sequencers to have perfectly timed drums and vocals is a very pleasing aesthetic to many people. Kraftwerk excelled at doing a lot with a little. Kraftwerk was also well known for their innovative use of technology. With the use of the minimoog and unorthodox methods of recording vocals they set the standard for electronic music. (Kraftwerk, and the Electronic revolution)
As a listener I cannot fully appreciate Kraftwerk's music. The overuse of electronic instruments, the minimalism, and the stone-set timing of the beats are very unappealing to me. As an industry professional I can see how Kraftwerk was very influential to todays electronic musicians.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
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