Geek Radio

07/06/2014

Composer John Debney Adapts the Sound of

Bonnie & Clyde for a Modern TV Audience





(Hollywood, CA) June 6, 2014— Academy ® Award nominee and three-time Emmy winner John Debney creates a hybrid score for A&E Networks’ epic mini-series Bonnie & Clyde. Debney incorporates modern electronic elements with classic orchestral sounds evocative of the period to help tell the story of America’s famed bank-robbing couple, played by Emile Hirsch and Holliday Grainger. By combining sounds of jazz and folk, Debney’s robust score captures the exhilaration, desperation and drama of Academy® Award nominated director Bruce Beresford’s TV adaptation of the classic tale.



Bonnie & Clyde aired simultaneously on the History, Lifetime and A&E networks. Executive Produced by Craig Zaden and Neil Meron, the all-star cast also included Holly Hunter, William Hurt, and Sarah Hyland. Debney is submitting his score for Bonnie & Clyde for Emmy consideration. Last year, Debney was Emmy nominated for another groundbreaking A&E collaboration;Hatfields & McCoys.



John Debney has the ability to create memorable music across a variety of genres, and has garnered a reputation of being remarkably collaborative. Debney has received numerous accolades for his talents. He is the youngest recipient of ASCAP's prestigious Henry Mancini Career Achievement Award. Variety named Debney the “Billion-Dollar Composer of the Year,” highlighting his tremendous box office successes, including The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty, The Princess Diaries 1 & 2, Spy Kids 1 & 2, Sin City,and Iron Man 2. Blending symphonic orchestra, a wide range of world instruments, and the beauty of the human voice, Debney’s landmark score for The Passion of the Christbecame a world-wide success and earned him an Academy ® Award nomination, a Gold record and a live concert performance in Rome.

03/06/2014

Composer Christopher Lennertz Scores

Think Like A Man Too



Lennertz reteams with Kevin Hart and director Tim Story for potential third straight #1 opening



(Hollywood, CA) June 2, 2014—Composer Christopher Lennertz scores Screen Gems’ comedy Think Like a Man Too. This is the third collaboration between Lennertz and director Tim Story, who worked together on both Think Like a Manand Ride Along. Lennertz’s swaggering score sets the tone for the film, which features an ensemble cast including Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union, Michael Ealy and Taraji P. Henson, opens in theaters nationwide on June 20th, 2014. The Think Like a Man Too score album will be available on June 20thon Varèse Sarabande Records.



Think Like A Man Too brings all the couples back for a wedding in Las Vegas. When plans for the bachelor and bachelorette weekend go awry, their various misadventures get them into some compromising situations that threaten to derail the big day. Lennertz had little trouble finding the tone for the characters in their Las Vegas surroundings. “Think Like a Man Too is just as funny, sweet, and sexy as the original. However, with the progression of the relationships, the music is able to get emotionally deeper and have more range. We also added both big band style brass as well as hints of old school Rat Pack rhythms to give it the right personality and swagger,” said Lennertz.



Christopher Lennertz is an award-winning composer for film, television and video games. Lennertz’s success ranges from scoring star-studded comedies including the recent box office hits Identity Thief, Think Like a Man andHorrible Bosses to family films includingAlvin and the Chipmunks and Hop.Lennertz’s recent television credits include NBC’s hit series Revolution and the CW’s landmark series Supernatural. In the video game world, Christopher Lennertz’s credits include the finale installment of Mass Effect 3 and the finale installment of Starhawk. Other video game credits include Medal of Honor, the James Bond: 007 series, andGun. Lennertz’s accolades include BMI Film Awards, two Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awards for Best Original Score, and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music for a Series forSupernatural.

03/06/2014

LAKESHORE RECORDS PRESENTS IN YOUR EYES –

ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SCORE





Featuring Original Music by Tony Morales



(May 28, 2014– Los Angeles, CA) – Lakeshore Records will release the In Your Eyes – Original Motion Picture Score digitally on June 10thand CD July 1, 2014. The album features original music by Tony Morales (Hatfields & McCoys, The Bag Man).

“The goal of the score was to come up with a sound that felt romantic and other worldly at the same time,” said Morales. “In Your Eyes is a love story at its core, but it does have a supernatural angle that was important to express.”



Emmy-nominated Tony Morales began his career as a staff composer within the commercial music division of Hans Zimmer’s Media Ventures in 1998. Since that time he has gone on to compose numerous scores for film and television including Gopher Broke, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short in 2005, Hide AwayUnguarded, an ESPN documentary which was nominated for two Sports Emmys, andHatfields & McCoys (co-composed with John Debney), which earned Morales his first Emmy-nomination. The mini-series would draw a record 13.9 million viewers, and earn 16 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.



A guitar player since the age of six, music has always been a part of Morales’ life. After an adolescence spent playing in a series of unfortunately named bands, he retired his Flying V and turned to the world of film music. He earned a degree in film scoring from the renowned Berklee College of Music and attended USC’s Advanced Studies in Film Scoring program.



Tony Morales’ recent projects include Night Has Settled, which debuted at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 1st, The Bag Man (starring Robert De Niro and John Cusack, co-composed with Edward Rogers) and the Dreamworks Animation shortRocky And Bullwinkle, which will be released in 2014.



Written and executive produced by Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Avengers), In Your Eyes tells an infectious, universal story of star-crossed characters. In the frozen East Coast winter, Rebecca is withering away in a life of cocktail parties and lonely nights as the sheltered, soft-spoken wife of a successful doctor. Across the country in sun-drenched, arid New Mexico, charismatic ex-con Dylan is struggling to find his footing and a fresh start. When these polar opposites realize they share an inexplicable connection, a unique metaphysical romance begins.



“I like to write themes first in the process to get everyone excited about the sound,” Morales described. “Creating an overall sound was the most challenging part. We were very careful not to over play the supernatural part, as it's not really the foundation of the story. The opening scene was key because the entire story unfolds after the events that happen in it. So the score had to be confident in it's approach right from the get go.”



In Your Eyes is the second film from Joss Whedon and Kai Cole’s independent “Micro Studio” Bellwether Pictures, following the critically acclaimed, contemporary Shakespearean adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (2013).



Bellwether Pictures presents In Your Eyescurrently on VOD. Lakeshore Records presents the In Your Eyes – Original Motion Picture Score, available digitally June 10th and on CDJuly 1, 2014.

03/06/2014

Composer David Buckley’s Classic Orchestral Score for

The Good Wife to be Released on CBS Records





(Hollywood, CA) June 2, 2014—The Good Wife season five score album by composer David Buckley is availabletoday on Amazon.com through CBS Records. His baroque approach to contemporary classical composition sets the dramatic tone for the award winning series starring Julianna Margulies and Josh Charles. Buckley is submitting his music for Emmy consideration for the first time in the series’ history. As the characters have developed in the fifth season, so has Buckley’s music. His score is now more prevalent than ever with his lush orchestral music unique to contemporary television.



Buckley’s musical ability traverses virtually every medium or genre. Whether for blockbuster video games or Oscar® nominated films, he remains a purist to his classical orchestral approach. His ability to create perennial compositions has led to collaborations with today’s leading filmmakers including Ridley and Tony Scott, Joel Schumacher, Rob Minkoff, Luc Besson, and Taylor Hackford. In addition to scoring Ben Affleck’s The Town, he recently contributed additional music to David O. Russell’sAmerican Hustle. His music has also set the tone for some of the video game industry’s most successful titles, including Call of Duty: Ghost and the upcoming Batman: Arkham Knight.



David Buckley was destined for a life in music. He was a choirboy performing on Peter Gabriel’s score for Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. After graduating from Cambridge University, Buckley moved to London and began a successful career writing music for TV shows and commercials. In 2006, he relocated to Los Angeles and began collaborating with award-winning composer Harry Gregson-Williams writing additional music for films including Shrek the Third and The Number 23. In addition to Parker andThe Town, Buckley’s recent film scores include From Paris with Love, Book of Dragons, and Gone. David was recognized as a “Brit To Watch” by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and has been the recipient of five BMI Awards. He is currently scoring the drama-thriller A Bit of Bad Luck, in theaters later this year.

16/05/2014

SONY MUSIC RELEASES THE ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

OF X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST



AVAILABLE DIGITALLY MAY 19 AND CD ON JUNE 3



Sony Music announces the release of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of X-Men: Days of Future Past, featuring music composed by BAFTA Award winner John Ottman. The soundtrack will be available digitally on May 19 and on CD June 3. The composer is no stranger to this epic movie series and to the superhero genre. As both composer and editor, Ottman is the musical right-hand man of Bryan Singer, with whom he collaborated on The Usual Suspects, Jack the Giant Slayer and Valkyrie, and for whom he wrote the soundtrack of X2, the second in the X-Men series.

In Ottman’s own words: "It’s great to be back home with my favorite characters after being away from them since X2. With the story being focused on a young and broken Charles Xavier, I was given a musical opportunity to underscore his journey of rekindling the hope he’d lost. Charles Xavier finally gets his own theme."

John Ottman graduated from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. One of his early assignments was to provide original music for the computer game I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. In 1996 he won a BAFTA award for editing The Usual Suspects, and was later nominated for an Emmy Award for his score to the ABC series Fantasy Island. Ottman has written the music for such iconic films as Superman Returns, Fantastic Four and its sequel, and Valkyrie. His range of composition takes in the dark comedy of The Cable Guy, the nightmares of Gothika and Orphan, the animated notes of Astro Boy and Non-Stop.

With six films already released, X-Men is one of the most successful franchises in film history. It started in 2000 with the original X-Men movie, directed by Bryan Singer. X-Men: Days of Future Past is the seventh in the series and the third directed by Singer. The outstanding cast of actors includes Michael Fassbender and Ian Mc Kellen in the role of Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, Hugh Jackman as the mutant Logan/Wolverine, Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkhölme/Mystique, and Halle Berry playing Ororo Munroe/Storm. It is a dual sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: First Class, and also

follows up the story of The Wolverine.
Sony Music Masterworks comprises the Masterworks, Sony Classical, OKeh, Portrait, Masterworks Broadway and Flying Buddha imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.SonyMasterworks.com

About X-Men Days of Future Past:

The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The beloved characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from the past, X-Men: First Class, in order to change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save our future.

The film stars Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, and Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. Also starring are Evan Peters and Omar Sy. The film opens nationwide on May 23.

Check out sonymasterworks at http://www.sonymasterworks.com

04/05/2014

Composer John Debney Scores Walk of Shame





(Hollywood, CA) May 2, 2014—Academy® Award nominated composer John Debney scores Focus Features’ comedy Walk of Shame, in theaters May 2, 2014. Walk of Shamestars Elizabeth Banks as a resourceful reporter whose one-night stand with a handsome stranger leaves her stranded the next morning in downtown Los Angeles without a phone, car, ID, or money – and only 8 hours before the most important job interview of her career.



Debney’s musical versatility is on full display as this light hearted romantic comedy counters the high pressure intensity of Kevin Costner's NFL film,Draft Day, which Debney also scored. He also recently composed the music for the critically acclaimed mini-series,Bonnie & Clyde, starring Emile Hirsch. The two-day television event aired simultaneously on A&E, Lifetime, and The History Channel. Additionally, Debney has Spongebob Squarepants 2Broken Horses, and Eliza Gravesslated to release in theaters later this year.



John Debney has the ability to create memorable music across a variety of genres, and has garnered a reputation of being remarkably collaborative. Debney has received numerous accolades for his talents. He is the youngest recipient of ASCAP's prestigious Henry Mancini Career Achievement Award. Variety named Debney the “Billion-Dollar Composer of the Year,” highlighting his tremendous box office successes, including The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty, The Princess Diaries 1 & 2, Spy Kids 1 & 2, Sin City,and Iron Man 2. Blending symphonic orchestra, a wide range of world instruments, and the beauty of the human voice, Debney’s landmark score for The Passion of the Christbecame a world-wide success and earned him an Academy ® Award nomination, a Gold record and a live concert performance in Rome. Debney's other accolades include three Emmy awards.

03/05/2014

Composer John Debney Scores Walk of Shame





(Hollywood, CA) May 2, 2014—Academy® Award nominated composer John Debney scores Focus Features’ comedy Walk of Shame, in theaters May 2, 2014. Walk of Shame stars Elizabeth Banks as a resourceful reporter whose one-night stand with a handsome stranger leaves her stranded the next morning in downtown Los Angeles without a phone, car, ID, or money – and only 8 hours before the most important job interview of her career.



Debney’s musical versatility is on full display as this light hearted romantic comedy counters the high pressure intensity of Kevin Costner's NFL film, Draft Day, which Debney also scored. He also recently composed the music for the critically acclaimed mini-series, Bonnie & Clyde, starring Emile Hirsch. The two-day television event aired simultaneously on A&E, Lifetime, and The History Channel. Additionally, Debney has Spongebob Squarepants 2, Broken Horses, and Eliza Graves slated to release in theaters later this year.



John Debney has the ability to create memorable music across a variety of genres, and has garnered a reputation of being remarkably collaborative. Debney has received numerous accolades for his talents. He is the youngest recipient of ASCAP's prestigious Henry Mancini Career Achievement Award. Variety named Debney the “Billion-Dollar Composer of the Year,” highlighting his tremendous box office successes, including The Passion of the Christ, Elf, Bruce Almighty, The Princess Diaries 1 & 2, Spy Kids 1 & 2, Sin City, and Iron Man 2. Blending symphonic orchestra, a wide range of world instruments, and the beauty of the human voice, Debney’s landmark score for The Passion of the Christ became a world-wide success and earned him an Academy ® Award nomination, a Gold record and a live concert performance in Rome. Debney's other accolades include three Emmy awards.

26/04/2014

COMPOSER FREDERIK WIEDMANN TO COMPOSE MUSIC FOR UPCOMING

DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL MOVIESON OF BATMAN



FIELD OF LOST SHOES, Also Featuring Original Music By Wiedmann,

Is Screening In Select Markets





(April 24, 2013– Los Angeles, CA) – Composer Frederik Wiedmann (BEWARE THE BATMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX) is proud to announce that has composed the music for the upcoming DC Universe Animated Original Movie SON OF BATMAN. Additionally, the film FIELD OF LOST SHOES, featuring music by Wiedmann, is showing in select markets.



“This installment of Batman was an interesting one, musically speaking,” said Wiedmann. “In addition to the action-packed epic score, there are a large number of very emotional moments, filled with darkness. We recorded a wonderful 30-piece orchestra in Los Angeles, conducted by Hyesu Yang, as well as a few very unique soloists and exotic percussion. It is a very thematic score.”



The world is turned upside down when Batman – one of the world’s greatest Super Heroes – discovers he is a father in the newest DC Universe Original Animated Movie, SON OF BATMAN.

Batman learns he has a son, Damian – and to further complicate matters, the mother is Talia al Ghul, daughter of one of his most dreaded enemies, Ra’s Al Ghul. When the odds quickly turn against Batman and Damian, Batman must become both father and mentor to the aggressive, agile new Robin. Together they form an uneasy alliance to try and thwart the criminal enterprise of Deathstroke and his army of ninja man-bats before there are international consequences.



Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Frederik Wiedmann came to Los Angeles in 2004 to become a film composer. After three years working as an assistant to veteran composer John Frizzell, Wiedmann scored his first feature Return to House on Haunted Hill for Dark Castle Entertainment (Warner Bros.) in 2007.



Since then, Wiedmann has written the music for a wide variety of feature film and TV productions including Hostel: Part III (Sony Pictures), Mirrors II (20th Century Fox),Hellraiser: Revelations (Weinstein Company, Dimension Films), and The Hills Run Red (Dark Castle Entertainment, Warner Bros.). He composed music for the Warner Bros. Animation television series Green Lantern: The Animated Series, for which he earned two Annie Award nominations, and Beware The Batman.



Wiedmann’s latest film project is the Civil War drama FIELD OF LOST SHOES, directed by Sean McNamara (SOUL SURFER, BRATZ). The film is about the Battle of New Market fought in 1964 in Virginia.



“I think it must the dream of every composer to score a film like this. An epic, sweeping, thematic orchestral period drama,” Wiedmann described. “What a fun and challenging assignment! This is by far the most thematic score I have composed so far, it’s delicate, epic, grand and dark at times. We recorded a wonderful orchestra and a 20-piece choir, as well as solo fiddle and solo vocals. Writing this score was a nice throwback to traditional scoring techniques, something we as composers don’t get to do every day. The big task of the score in this film was to slowly build the themes of the young cadets from an innocent bunch of guys, to a group of extraordinarily courageous soldiers, that defined the outcome of the battle of New Market.”



SON OF BATMAN will be available on May 6, 2014, on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD. FIELD OF LOST SHOES recently premiered in Richmond, VA.

01/04/2014

Composer Mark Snow Headlines ASCAP Day at Berklee College of Music



Snow to Receive Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Award at Emmy Concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall May 21st



(West Hollywood, CA) April 1, 2014- The ASCAP Foundation is pleased to announce its support of ASCAP Day @ Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, taking place on April 2nd, 2014. ASCAP TV/film composer Mark Snow will headline the day. Additionally, Mark Snow will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at a special Emmy concert event at UCLA’s Royce Hall, May 21st, 2014. Snow will also be conducting a medley of his scores, including music from The X-Files, at the event.

Snow is best known for scoring popular television series, including The X-Files, The Ghost Whisperer, Smallville, One Tree Hill, Millennium Pasadena, Dynasty, T.J. Ho**er, Cagney & Lacey, Starsky & Hutch, Gemini and Hart to Hart. During the course of his prolific career, Snow has achieved the honor of being named the only ASCAP composer to receive the Most Performed Background Music award every year consecutively since its inception in 1985-86. He has been nominated 14 times for Emmy Awards for his work on television series and television films, including Helter Skelter, Children of the Dust, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All and Something about Amelia. His TV career continues to grow with the hit CBS show Blue Bloods. Snow also scored the last three films for French director Alain Resnais, who recently passed away. Resnais’s last film, Vous N’Avez Encore Rien Vous, scored by Snow, had its premiere in France in February 2014. Snow previously received a César nomination for his first Resnais collaboration, Coeurs.



ASCAP Day is designed to provide both Film Scoring and Songwriting students with information on current trends in their fields. Snow will discuss his own career in classes with students, and ASCAP staff will also be on-hand to answer students’ questions about the current state of the music business and performing rights organizations. A one-on-one interview with Mark Snow conducted by George Clinton, Chair of Berklee’s Film Scoring Department, is scheduled for April 2nd from 1:00-3:00pm in the Steve Heck Room. This event is open to all Berklee students. An additional seminar for seniors with Mark Snow and ASCAP Creative Services executives takes place April 2nd from6:00-7:30pm at 22 the Fenway, Room 112.

Another highlight of ASCAP Day is the presentation of two tuition-based scholarships at Berklee: The ASCAP Foundtaion Film Scoring Scholarship and The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Scholarship. Mark Snow and both scholarship recipients will be honored at a luncheon on April 2nd, which will be attended by Berklee faculty and ASCAP and ASCAP Foundation staff. ASCAP Day @ Berklee College of Music and the two scholarships are supported by The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund

22/03/2014

Composer Ju**ie XL Hosts Remix Contest of his

300: Rise of an Empire Score



Fans are invited to remix the Grammy nominated DJ/Producer/Composer’s score



(Hollywood, CA) March 20, 2014— Composer Ju**ie XL is hosting a remix contest, presented by Dancing Astronaut and Soundcloud, as 300: Rise of an Empire has grossed $238 million at the box office globally within its first two weeks of release. Contestants will remix Ju**ie XL’s 300: Rise of an Empire score track “History of Artemisia,” the stems of which are available for download through Ju**ie XL’s Soundcloud. The grand prize winner will have their track mentioned on the film’s social media channels, including Facebook (11 Million+ likes), on Twitter, and the Warner Bros. Picture Twitter (1.2 Million followers). The grand prize winner will also receive a congratulatory Skype call with Ju**ie XL, as well as a 300: Rise of an Empire movie poster signed by Ju**ie XL and a physical/digital copy of the 300: Rise of an Empire original motion picture soundtrack, available on Watertower Music. Additionally, four of the finalists will have their tracks posted in a “Top Remixer” Soundcloud playlist on Ju**ie XL’s profile and Watertower Music’s Soundcloud page, as well as a physical/digital copy of the 300: Rise of an Empire original motion picture soundtrack.



More information can be found at:

http://www.watertower-music.com/releases_spotlight.php?search=300_contest.



To score 300: Rise of an Empire, Ju**ie XL devised a unique piano creation, by removing the exterior of a piano and installing guitar and bass pickups. XL plays the instrument with a hammer, requiring him to wear a police riot helmet with shield, because if a string breaks it could be fatal. Ju**ie XL created a score that combines the intense action and character themes with a thematic tone influenced by the sea itself. He explains, “When I first saw footage of the film, I noticed the sound of the waves crashing into the boats and the boats hammering through them. The sound effects had an amazing rhythm to it with a strong downbeat that stuck with me. I immediately thought that I needed to find a rhythm that fits with that, so I took an audio file of those waves and I started working with the rhythms.” To capture the essence of visuals while reflecting the Greek and Persian culture of the period, XL put his own twist on traditional instruments to create untraditional sounds. This included recreating an Aulos, a traditional Greek flute.





Tom Holkenborg, aka Ju**ie XL draws from his extensive knowledge of classical forms combined with his work in contemporary music. He is a skilled multi-instrumentalist (Keyboards, guitar, drums, violin, and bass) and a master of studio technology. His ability to combine electronic, pop, and classical influences has made him a highly sought after Hollywood composer. Holkenborg’s career began in his native Holland where he created multiple film scores, and continued his growth through mentorships with celebrated composers including Harry Gregson Williams, Klaus Badelt and a highly-collaborative relationship with Oscar® winner Hans Zimmer. Their recent work on the 2013 blockbuster Man Of Steel marked the fifth scoring collaboration between Holkenborg and Zimmer. Ju**ie XL recently scored Divergent, in theaters March 21st. He is currently scoring Mad Max: Fury Road starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.



Holkenborg’s artist career started in 1993 when he started industrial rock band NERVE, while producing hardcore and metal bands like Sepultura and Fear Factory. Drawn to electronic breakbeats, Holkenborg began creating music under the pseudonym Ju**ie XL, and 1997 put out his debut album under the handle, Saturday Teenage Kick. Holkenborg went on to produce five more albums under the moniker while playing headline shows all over the world. In 2002 the producer/remixer scored a number one hit in 24 countries with his rework of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation.” Following that success, Holkenborg collaborated with celebrated artists including Dave Gahan, Robert Smith, Chuck D, and remixed artists including Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and many more. In addition Holkenborg created the music for videogames including Need For Speed, The Sims and SSX, and commercials for global campaigns including Nike, Heineken, Adidas, Cadillac and VISA.

25/02/2014

MICHAEL JOHN MOLLO ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF THE DOUBLE HELIX/CAPCOM REBOOT OF THE STRIDER GAME SERIES



The Music Pays Homage To The Style and Themes of the Classic Games





(February 23, 2014– Los Angeles, CA) – Michael John Mollo is proud to announce that he composed the original music for the Capcom release of STRIDER®. STRIDER® was developed by Double Helix and is available now as a $14.99 digital download title on PSN (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3), Xbox Live (Xbox One, Xbox 360) and PC (Steam).



“The approach to the music for STRIDER was to take the style and intensity of the original games from the late 80s, and breathe new life into the arrangements,” said Mollo. “I chose to feature old school synths and textures juxtaposed against modern sounds to both pay homage to the past but also move the sound ofSTRIDER into the 21st century.”



Michael John Mollo was born into a musical family and raised in rural Bloomsburg, PA. At a young age he learned the gift of song from his grandmother and the power of guitar from his father. As a teenager, Mollo developed his songwriting skills by listening countlessly to The Beatles, Paul Simon and Grateful Dead records. To further his musical understanding, Mollo pursued an education in classical music and jazz, eventually receiving multiple music degrees including a Master's of Music from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and an advanced certificate in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television from the University of Southern California.



In 2007, Mollo relocated to Los Angeles, CA to pursue his love for songwriting as well as composing music for film and television. After spending some time with Hans Zimmer and his team at Remote Control Productions, Mollo joined legendary film composer John Powell. Since then, he has contributed music to many blockbuster films including the Oscar nominated score for Dreamworks Animation's HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, 20th Century Fox’s RIO and DR. SEUSS’ THE LORAX.



Mollo has also developed a reputation in the Los Angeles scoring community as a talented synth programmer. Recent collaborations include, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (with Academy Award®-winner Michael Giacchino) and ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (with composer Aaron Zigman). Most recently Mollo completed his score for the education documentary WE THE PARENTS.



Mollo currently serves as CEO of Q6 Studios Inc. a collective of talented composers he founded with colleagues from USC. He continues to work on projects both large and intimate where he can explore new avenues of musical expression.

“We decided early on that it would be a good idea to re-arrange some of the classic STRIDERtunes for the game,” Mollo described. “Of course we had to use Raid. That was the first one we all agreed on. We also decided to include Coup, Mass Cloud, Armed Fortress, Egypt, Siberian Tunnel, and the original Kazakh Theme. We thought those tunes were the most iconic and best suited to accompany Strider as he enters the modern day. The remainder of the material consists of original tracks that I composed for the game.”



STRIDER returns in a brand new adventure, complete with incredible side-scrolling action, and lightning fast combat all in a massive interconnected world! Download the full game now and become the original assassin!