Ben Salisbury
Ivor Novello winning and Emmy nominated composer Ben Salisbury is one of the country’s leading film and TV composers, with recent credits including Alex Garland’s Oscar winning film Ex Machina and Annihilation, Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire starring Brie Larson, Beyonce: Life is But a Dream, and Netflix’s Black Mirror. Most recently, Ben has scored the 8-part thriller series Hanna for Amazon Studios and NBC Universal, and upcoming feature Luce, starring Octavia Spencer and Naomi Watts.
Equally as well known for his exquisite orchestral writing, and a prolific name, too, in the highly influentual Bristol band scene (he is a member of the bands Drokk with Geoff Barrow and Dolman with Scott Hendy), Ben has proved time again that he’s a supremely talented, multi-faceted composer, able to adapt to the demands of any project.
Ben won a 2016 Ivor Novelo Award for his score to Ex Machina. His nominations include a an EMMY for his 007-influenced music for The Widlife On One, and an ASCAP and 2 World Soundtrack Awards nominations, also for Ex Machina. He won Best Music Video Award at The Missoula International Wildlife Film Festival for his score for Natural Tracks; and further awards for Natural World-Transylvania at the Montana International Wildlife Film Festival and for Nature’s Great Events at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.
Ben has scored over 50 natural history films – including the last 3 of David Attenborough’s ‘Life …’ series: Life In The Undergrowth, the 2008 BAFTA winning series Life In Cold Blood, and The Life of Mammals, which Sir David himself has described as ‘one of the best scores there has been on any programme I have narrated.’ As part of the celebrations for the re-opening of Bristol’s Colston Hall in 2009, Ben’s music for Nature’s Great Events, co-composed with Barnaby Taylor, was performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, introduced and compered by David Attenborough, and received outstanding reviews in the media. Other natural history credits include Ocean Giants, Nature’s Great Events, The Nature of Britain, Congo and the Making Waves strand of 8 ‘behind the scenes’ programmes that accompanied the award winning The Blue Planet series.
Deeply rooted in the renowned Bristol band scene, Ben, as co-writer and arranger, was an integral part of Malachai’s highly praised 2nd album, Return To The Ugly Side. His critically acclaimed writing partnership with Portishead’s Geoff Barrow (with whom he co-scored Ex Machina, Annihilation and Free Fire) resulted in the release of their 2012 album, DROKK: Music Inspired By Mega-City One, described by The Quietus as ‘jaw dropping… one of the heaviest and most intensely atmospheric records of the year’. Ben also co-wrote and arranged tracks for The Beekeepers debut album, Apiculture, and was the string arranger on the Boca 45 album Vertigo Sounds. Most recently he worked alongside Portishead ’s Adrian Utley and Geoff Barrow on a new album by Joe Volk, Happenings and Killings, released in 2016 on Glitterhouse Records, and has released a co-written album with Malachia’s Scott Hendy under the name Dolman, praised by Crack magazine as an ‘impressive exercise in sonic muscle flexing’.
Film
| LUCE (co-composed with Geoff Barrow) | Dream Factory Group Director: Julius Onah Producers: John Baker, Andrew Yang Starring: Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Tim Roth | |
| ANNIHILATION (co-composed with Geoff Barrow) | Paramount Pictures Director: Alex Garland Producer: Andrew MacDonald, Allon Reich Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thomson, Oscar Isaac | |
| FREE FIRE (co-composed with Geoff Barrow) | Rook Films Director: Ben Wheatley Producer: Andrew Starke Starring: Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer | |
| EX MACHINA (co-composed with Geoff Barrow) | DNA Films / Universal Pictures / Film4 Director: Alex Garland Producers: Andrew MacDonald, Allon Reich Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac | **Winner 2016 Ivor Novello Award: Best Original Film Score** **World Soundtrack Award nomination: Public Choice Award** **World Soundtrack Award nomination: Discovery Of The Year Award** **ASCAP Composers’ Choice Award nomination: Film Score OF The Year** |
| BEYONCE: LIFE IS BUT A DREAM | ICM Patners Director: Ed Burke, Beyoncé Knowles Producer: Bill Kirstein Starring: Beyoncé Knowles | |
| THE TOOTH FAERIE | Shufti Films Director: Nick Mackie Producer: Abigail Davies | |
| THE DREAMER | Sundance Films Director: Miguel Sapochnik Producer: Ivor Powell |
Television
| HANNA – Amazon Studios – Dir. Sarah Adina Smith, Anders Engström Jon Jones, Amy Neil |
| BLACK MIRROR (series 3, ep. 5) – Netflix – Dir. Jakob Verbruggen |
| ATTENBOROUGH’S PARADISE BIRDS – BBC 2 – Dir. Miles Barton |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Superpowered Owls – BBC2 – Dir. Lucy Smith |
| SKY NEWS – Various promo idents – Sky – Dir. Nicole Poppi |
| ATTENBOROUGH: 60 YEARS IN THE WILD (series of 3) – BBC2 – Dir. Miles Barton |
| OCEAN GIANTS (series of 3) – BBC1 – Dir. Mark Brownlow |
| WHO’S BRITAIN IS IT ANYWAY – BBC1 – Dir. Joe Vale |
| INSIDE THE PERFECT PREDATOR – BBC1 – Dir. Mark Brownlow |
| SPACE (drama)- Central TV – Dir. Sndrew Wheeler |
| NATURE’S GREAT EVENTS (series of 6) – BBC1 – Dir. Karen Bass (co-composed with Barnaby Taylor) |
| THE PARKY (animated short) – BBC3 – Dirs. Tia Perkins & Jamie Pardo |
| LIFE IN COLD BLOOD (series of 6) – BBC1 – Dir. Miles Barton (co-composed with David Poore) |
| GOING HOME (drama) – Shooting Gallery / Channel 4 – Dir. Miquel Sapochnik |
| THE NATURE OF BRITAIN (series of 8) – BBC1 – Dir. Stephen Moss (co-composed with David Poore) |
| JEREMY CLARKSON’S CAR YEARS – BBC2 – Dir. David Pearson |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Cork: Forest in a Bottle – BBC2 – Dir. Paul Morrisson |
| HELL AND BACK (drama) – Central TV – Dir. Andrew Wheeler |
| LIFE IN THE UNDERGROWTH (series of 6)– BBC1 – Dir. Mike Salisbury (co-composed with David Poore) |
| PICTURE THIS – Revenge of the Killer Mutant Parents – BBC2 – series ed. Peter Symes |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Night & Day – BBC1 – Dirs. Amanda Barrett & Owen Newton |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Elephant Cave – BBC2 – Dir. Vannessa Berlowitz |
| FANTASY ROOMS – Bazal/BBC2 – Dirs. Linda Maher & Kristain Digby |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Islands of Fire – BBC2 – Dir. Jo Sarsby |
| MUSIC MONSTER (drama) – Nickleodeon – Dir. Tia Perkins |
| THE LIFE OF MAMMALS (series of 10) – BBC1 – Dir. Mike Salisbury (co-composed with Dan Jones) |
| HOME STORIES – BBC2 – Dir. David Pearson |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - A Wild Dog’s Story – BBC2 – Dir. Mike Holding |
| BLUE PLANET – MAKING WAVES (series of 8) – BBC1 – Dir. Alistair Fothergill |
| HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? – VH1/442 – Dir. Bob Mills |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Hotel Helicona – BBC2 – Dir. Phil Savoy |
| WILDLIFE ON ONE - Thunderball – BBC1 – Dir. Tania Dorrity |
| WESSEX WATER 2 commercials – Dir. Marlon Griffin |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Transylvania – BBC2 – Dir. Justine Evans |
| GRIZZLY WILDLIFE SPECIAL – BBC1 – Dirs. Jeff & Sue Turner |
| HOMEBASE SPONSORSHIP FOR BETTER HOMES – 422 – Dir. Chris Vass |
| CONGO (series of 3) – BBC2 – Dir. Brian Leith |
| GORILLA ACADEMY – BBC1 – Dir. Brian Lieth |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Millennium Oak – BBC2 – Dir. Mark Flowers |
| SHADOWS OF THE SUN – BBC2 – Dir. Neil Lucas |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - In The Company of Bears – BBC2 – Dirs. Jeff & Sue Turner |
| PYGMY ANIMALS – BBC/Discovery – Dir. Richard Chambers |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Tough Ducks – BBC2 – Dir. Mary Colwell |
| NATURAL TRACKS (series of 12) – BBC2 – Dir. Jerry Short |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - The Fatal Flower – BBC2 – Dir. Mark Flowers |
| WILDLIFE ON ONE - Birds in Black - BBC1 – Dirs. Jeff & Sue Turner |
| THE NATURAL WORLD - Africa’s Forgotten Elephants – BBC2 – Dir. Brian Leith |
Albums/Bands
| DOLMAN – DOLMAN (co-written with Scott Hendy – Inflexion Point |
| DROKK: MUSIC INSPIRED BY MEGA CITY ONE (co-written with Geoff Barrow) – Invada |
| THE BEEKEEPERS – APICULTURE (as co-writer and string arranger) – Jalepeno |
| MALACHAI – RETURN TO THE UGLY SIDE (as co-writer and string arranger) – Domino |
| MALACHAI – THE UGLY SIDE OF LOVE (as string arranger) – Domino |
| BOCA 45 – VERTIGO SOUNDS (as string arranger) – Grand Central |
| THE BEEKEEPERS – BEE FUNK EP (as co-writer and string arranger) – Jalepeno |
| PORTISHEAD – THIRD (as backing vocalist) |
| FILM SCORE VOLUME 1 (composer) – Standard Music Library |
| FILM SCORE VOLUME 3 (composer) – Standard Music Library |