James Hannigan is a BAFTA award-winning composer and producer with credits ranging from multi-million-selling video games and television to cutting-edge audio drama. His work includes entries in the Harry Potter, Dead Space, Evil Genius, RuneScape, Warhammer, The Lord of the Rings, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Theme Park, FIFA, and Command and Conquer video game franchises; full-cast Audible adaptations including the NY Times #1 bestselling The Sandman, the Alien series and the newly recorded Discworld. His themes, such as the parodic “Soviet March” from Red Alert 3, have been streamed hundreds of millions of times across digital platforms, and among his other awards are a Webby People’s Choice Award for The Sandman Act II (with James McAvoy, Michael Sheen, and Regé-Jean Page) and an IFMCA (International Film Music Critics Association) Award for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince VG (also BAFTA award-nominated for Original Music, 2010).

Hannigan has recorded with world class orchestras including The Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Skywalker Symphony Orchestra, at iconic studios such as Abbey Road, Air-Lyndhurst, and Skywalker Ranch. An occasional panellist at Comic-Con, interviewed by BBC Radio, Sky TV, IGN, Forbes, Music Radar and others, he has also written articles for Classic FM and other media outlets on subjects ranging from the function of screen music and interactive audio to the implications of AI in Music. He has appeared on the cover of DEVELOP magazine, spoken at conferences and institutions such as The School of Sound, EIGF, Musicworks, Ludomusicology, DEVELOP, and The Royal College of Music, and has been featured in BAFTA’s “Conversations with Composers” series at the Albert Hall.

Past projects include entries in the EA SportsGrand PrixSpace Hulk and F1 game series;  Primeval (BBC America/ITV), Nintendo’s Art Academy (also heard in the Super Smash Bros. series), Evil Genius 2 (2022), Steelrising (2022), Call of Antia (2022), Transformers UniverseRed Alert 3Dead Space 3Reign of FireCatwomanHarry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceHarry Potter and the Deathly HallowsTerraria: Otherworld, Chris Roberts’ Freelancer, Command and Conquer 4ConquestBrute ForceThe Darkening (with Christopher Walken, Clive Owen and John Hurt), Theme Park World (BAFTA Award, 2000), FA Premier League (BAFTA Nomination, 2000), The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest, Evil Genius (BAFTA Nomination, Original Music, 2004), Republic: The Revolution (BAFTA Nomination, Original Music, 2003), Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned RatRuneScape: The Orchestral Collection, the popular Harry Potter audiobooks read by Stephen Fry, and BBC Radio 4’s adaptations of Good Omens and Neverwhere.

Deeply fascinated by the intersection of music, sound and technology, early in his career Hannigan was an innovator in the field of interactive audio. Working internally with Electronic Arts and then later from his offices at Pinewood Studios in London, he devised pioneering interactive playback systems for numerous titles – including Republic: The Revolution, designed by Google DeepMind co-founder Sir Demis Hassabis. His early work in other media includes sound design for films such as the Golden Reel-Nominated, Lost in Space.

A longstanding BAFTA member and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Hannigan has co-founded and organised industry conferences including Screen Music Connect and Game Music Connect (held at London’s Southbank Centre, in partnership with BAFTA, Classic FM, Sony PlayStation, Music Week, and The Ivors Academy), and has participated in concerts ranging from RuneFest with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra to VGL with The Philharmonia at Royal Festival Hall.

Music from Hannigan’s back catalogue can be heard in countless TV productions, documentaries, commercials, and trailers, on numerous channels and platforms including Disney+, Discovery, The BBC and Netflix.  His music has also accompanied a number of experiences, rides, installations, and immersive experiences.

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Credits

STEELRISINGSpiders/ Nacon
CALL OF ANTIAFunplus
EVIL GENIUS 2: WORLD DOMINATIONRebellion Developments
RUNESCAPE: THE ORCHESTRAL COLLECTIONRecorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios
TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSEHasbro
DEAD SPACE 3
(Co-composer)
EA/ Visceral Games
HARRY POTTER AND
THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
Electronic Arts/Warner Bros
LORD OF THE RINGS:
ARAGORN’S QUEST
Headstrong/Warner Bros
COMMAND AND CONQUER 4Electronic Arts
HARRY POTTER AND
THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE
Electronic Arts/Warner BrosIFMCA Award 2009: Best Original Score for a Video Game
Nominated for BAFTA Video Games Awards 2010 (Best Original Score)
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLSUbisoft/Sony Pictures
COMMAND AND CONQUER: RED ALERT 3 UPRISINGElectronic Arts
HARRY POTTER AND
THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
EA/Warner BrosBest of 2007, IGN; ‘Best Game Score’, Movie Music UK Awards 2007
FREELANCERDigital Anvil/Microsoft
EVIL GENIUSVU GamesBAFTA Nomination, Music, 2005
RUNESCAPE 3JagexDEVELOP Awards Nomination
REPUBLIC THE REVOLUTIONEidosBAFTA Nomination, Music, 2004
CONQUEST: FRONTIER WARSDigital Anvil / Ubisoft
WARHAMMER: SCOTHRMindscape; Games Workshop
SUPER SMASH BROS.
(Additional Music)
Nintendo
CATWOMANEA/Warner Bros
REIGN OF FIREKUJU/BAM
BRUTE FORCEDigital Anvil/Microsoft
ART ACADEMYNintendo
MR BEANBlast! Ents
JETIXBlast! Ents
LOST IN SPACENew Line Cinema
SIM THEME PARK/ THEME PARK WORLDElectronic ArtsBAFTA Award, 2000
SIM COASTER/ THEME PARK INCElectronic Art
GRAND PRIX 4Infogames
WARHAMMER: DARK OMENElectronic Arts; Sound Design
ACTION MAN (multiple titles)Intelligent Games/Hasbro
PRIVATEER, THE DARKENINGElectronic Arts, Origin Systems
FA PREMIER LEAGUE MANAGEREA SportsBAFTA Nomination, Music, 2000
F1 SERIES – VariousEA Sports
FIFA SOCCER MANAGEREA Sports
CUTTHROAT ISLANDSony Imagesoft
FLIGHT OF THE AMAZON QUEENRenegade
INFESTATIONFrontier Developments
MOHOLost Toys
BREATS AND BUMPKINSElectronic Arts
DARKLIGHT CONFLICTElectronic Arts
SPACE HULKElectronic Arts/Games Workshop

FLOOR IS LAVANetflix
THE GRAND TOURSeason 4 (Additional Score)
Chump / Amazon
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JEFF GOLDBLUMSeries 1 (Additional Score)
Disney+
Directors: Karen McGann, Simon Lloyd, Nic Stacey
Producers: Craig Robert Young, Aisling Browne
TOP GEARSeries 18 (Additional Score)
BBC
PRIMEVALSERIES 3 (Additional Score)
Impossible Pictures/ITV
Director: Tony Mitchell, Mark Everest, Cilla Ware, Richard Curson Smith, Matthew Thompson
Producer: Tim Bradley
Execs: Tim Haines, Adrian Hodges

TERRY PRATCHET DISCWORLDAudible
THE SANDMANDC/Amazon/Audible
HOGFATHERLadbroke Audio
ALIEN III
Amazon/Audible
NEVERWHEREBBC Radio 4
GOOD OMENSBBC Radio 4
STARDUSTBBC Radio 4
ALIEN: OUT OF THE SHADOWSAmazon/Audible
ALIEN: SEA OF SORROWSAmazon/Audible
ALIEN: RIVER OF PAINAmazon/Audible
UNSEEN ACADEMICALSAmazon/Audible

Big Screen, Space and Science, Distorted Reality, Short Cuts series, Ducati Launch Events, Ferrari Red Racing Advertising Campaign

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