Ivor Novello Award winning and Emmy nominated composer Ben Salisbury is one of the country’s leading film and TV composers, with credits including Alex Garland’s Oscar winning film Ex Machina, Annihilation starring Natalie Portman, MEN starring Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear and Netflix’s Black Mirror. Ben’s recent scores include Alex Garland’s Civil War and the Apple TV+ series Constellation starring Noomi Rapace.

Further work includes Netflix’s Archive 81, Claire Oakley’s film Make Up, the feature film Luce, starring Octavia Spencer and Naomi Watts, three series of Hanna for Amazon Studios and NBC Universal, Devs, Alex Garland’s sci-fi drama series for Hulu, Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire starring Brie Larson and Beyonce: Life is But a Dream.

Equally as well known for his exquisite orchestral writing, and a prolific name, too, in the highly influential Bristol band scene (he is a member of the bands Drokk with Geoff Barrow and Dolman with Scott Hendy), Ben has proved time and again that he’s a supremely talented, multi-faceted composer, able to adapt to the demands of any project.

Ben won the 2016 Ivor Novello Award for his score to Ex Machina and the 2021 Ivor Novello Award for his score to Devs. He received an EMMY nomination for his 007-influenced music for The Widlife On One, and an ASCAP and 2 World Soundtrack Awards nominations 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 music 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’.

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Credits

CIVIL WAR
(co-composed with Geoff Barrow)
A24/ DNA Films
Director: Alex Garland
Producers: Gregory Goodman, Andrew
Macdonald, Allon Reich
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny

MEN
(co-composed with Geoff Barrow)
A24/ DNA Films
Director: Alex Garland
Producers: Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear,
MAKE UPBBC / Curzon
Director: Claire Oakley
Producer: Emily Morgan
Starring: Molly Windsor, Joseph Quinn, Stefanie Martini
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 DREAMICM Patners
Director: Ed Burke, Beyoncé Knowles
Producer: Bill Kirstein
Starring: Beyoncé Knowles
THE TOOTH FAERIEShufti Films
Director: Nick Mackie
Producer: Abigail Davies
THE DREAMERSundance Films
Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Producer: Ivor Powell

CONSTELLATION (Co-composed with Suvi-Eeva Äikäs) – Apple TV+ –Dir. Joseph Cedar, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Michelle MacLaren
ARCHIIVE 81 – Netflix– Creator – Rebecca Sonnenshine, Dir. Rebecca Thomas, Haifaa Al-Mansour, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead
DEVS –DNA Films, Hulu – Dir. Alex Garland
**Winner 2021 Ivor Novello Award: Best Television Soundtrack**
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

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

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