Benson Taylor
| Benson Taylor | |
|---|---|
 Taylor speaking at a childrens fundraising event in 2014. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mark Davison |
| Born |
September 10, 1983 Bradford, Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | Film score, electronic, ambient, classical, trip hop, blues, Post-industrial, experimental music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, songwriter, music producer, remixer |
| Instruments | Synthesizers, music sequencer, piano, samplers, trumpet, guitar, drum machine, bespoke electronics |
| Years active | 2009-present |
| Labels | EMI Music Publishing, Universal, Fairwood Music, Sony/ATV |
| Website |
bensontaylor |
| Notable instruments | |
| Orchestra, Schimmel Piano, Korg MS-20, Roland Juno-60, Moog synthesizers | |
Benson Taylor, FRSA (born Mark Davison, 10 September 1983, Bradford) is an English composer and producer who is best known for producing music for film, television and video games. His style of music encompasses a British influence, often working a classic film score sound amongst electronics and other musical settings.[1][2]
He won the 'Best Original Music' award at the 2013 Monaco International Film Festival.
He was styled as the “New Sound of Hollywood” by MovieScope Magazine in their 24th issue.
Taylor recently scored and produced the music to Mathew Cullens' upcoming film adaptation of the Martin Amis novel, London Fields, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Cara Delevingne, Amber Heard & Johnny Depp.[3]
Life and career
Born in Bradford, and educated at Bradford Grammar School in the United Kingdom,[4] Taylor later studied composition at the University of California, Los Angeles.
He began writing music at the age of 21 whilst working as a radio producer, primarily for radio and television commercials. He later launched a studio in England and has since written scores for television shows broadcasting worldwide, including Two and a Half Men, 30 Rock, 90210, and The Big Bang Theory, as well as producing music for Super Bowl XLIII (2009) Super Bowl XLIV (2010) Super Bowl XLV (2011) Super Bowl XLVI (2012) Super Bowl XLVII (2013) Super Bowl XLVIII (2014).[5] Taylor has created music for international advertising campaigns, including one in 2011 with Cee Lo Green for the Las Vegas Tourist Board.[6][7]
Taylor has written and produced feature film scores for both television and theatre release.[8] Taylor himself has also written music exclusively for use in movie trailers that did not appear in the films themselves, including Avatar, Clash of the Titans, Blind Side, The Expendables, Twilight Saga: New Moon, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transcendence (2014 film) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.[5]
In 2011, Taylor made his theatre debut co-composing the music for Derek Bond's West End production of the play Many Moons.[9]
Taylor has twice contributed music to the Netflix produced series, Orange Is the New Black. His music has also featured in the 6th series of Justified, the first series of How to Get Away with Murder, the second series of Ray Donovan, and in the 2015 Kroll Show.[10][11]
In June 2013, music publishers Fairwood Music announced that they had added Taylor to their roster of artists which over the years has included David Bowie, U2, Cat Stevens, The Average White Band, Bob Marley, and J.J. Cale. Taylor told British magazine, Music Week, “I'm extremely humbled to join their roster, amongst some of the most recognised talents in the world. Here's hoping some of it will rub off on me!"[12]
Taylor is a professional member of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.[13]
He gives time to several charities,[14] and is a trustee of the Bradford section of the homeless charity Emmaus UK, as well as a goodwill ambassador for the Cambodian Children's Trust, which works to free children from severe poverty.[15]
Taylor splits his time between Huddersfield in northern England, New York, and Los Angeles. He has two children.[6]
Business ventures
In 2012, Taylor founded the London and Los Angeles based music label Insidious Music, producing underscore music for film, television, trailers and video games. Insidious is distributed by Universal & EMI Music.[16]
The label has licensed music to syndicated television shows such as Grey's Anatomy, House, Revenge, Unusual Suspects, Breaking Bad, Masterchef, Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, The Oprah Winfrey Show, 24 (TV Series), and the NFL on Fox.
In March 2014, through his publishing company, Taylor licensed a large catalogue of musical works in partnership with Peter Gabriel's CueSongs, and a smaller subsidiary of the catalogue to Japanese National Broadcaster, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai. Taylor expressed in an interview with WQXR-FM that it was his intention for the catalogue to grow, and to further develop co writes with artists around the world, specifically in the middle and far east.
Taylor is developing a commercial recording facility located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York.[17]
Musical works
Film scores
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Studio(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Hellbilly 58 | Composer (Additional Music) |
Russ Diaper | Sledge Films |
| 2010 | Cocaine Saints | Composer | Matt Reiker | Reiker Respect Entertainment Miramax |
| 2014 | Fear of Water | Composer | Kate Lane | KL Dream Pictures M4West Media |
| 2014 | Dark House | Composer | Victor Salva | Charles Agron Productions Paladin |
| 2015 | Set the Thames on Fire | Composer | Ben Charles Edwards | Blonde to Black Pictures |
| 2015 | London Fields | Composer | Mathew Cullen | Periscope Entertainment Tartan Films |
Recent TV scores
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Studio(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | The Big Bang Theory | Composer | Mark Cendrowski | Chuck Lorre Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| 2013 | Super Bowl XLVII | Composer | Mike Arnold | CBS Sports |
| 2013 | Orange Is the New Black | Composer | Michael Trim | Lionsgate Television Tilted Productions |
| 2014 | Super Bowl XLVIII | Composer | Hamish Hamilton | Fox Sports |
| 2014 | Justified | Composer (Song Placement) |
Tucker Gates | The Mark Gordon Company |
| 2014 | Ray Donovan | Composer (Song Placement) |
Michael Dinner | FX Productions Timberman-Beverly Productions Nemo Films |
| 2014 | How to Get Away with Murder | Composer (Song Placement) |
Laura Innes | ShondaLand ABC Studios |
| 2015 | Kroll Show | Composer | Jonathan Krisel | Good At Bizness Inc. |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Studio(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | CSI: Deadly Intent | Composer | CBS Television Network Ubi Soft Entertainment |
| 2009 | Football Manager 2010 | Composer | Sports Interactive Sega |
Awards and recognition
Taylor was honoured with a fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts in 2015 for services to charity.[18][19]
In November 2014, Taylor served as a Grand Juror at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.[20][21][22]
Taylor won Best Original Music for his score to Fear Of Water on 7 December 2013 at the Monaco International Film Festival[23] as judged by film director Roland Joffé.
| Year | Work | Category | Festival/Event | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Fear of Water | Best Original Music | Monaco International Film Festival | Won |
See also
References
- ↑ "Fired Earth Music Interviews SPIRITED Composers". APM Music. 2012-04-23. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ↑ "Q&A with Composer Benson Taylor". Future Composer. 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
- ↑ "Benson Taylor to Score London Fields". Film Music Reporter. June 9, 2014. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
- ↑ "Notable Old Bradfordians". Bradford Grammar School. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Benson Taylor (November 17, 2011). "Benson Taylor: The New Sound of Hollywood". Moviescopemag.com. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "5 minutes with Benson Taylor". TrailerMusicNews. January 31, 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
- ↑ Imran Hussain. "Big Bang Theory Music". El Cinema. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
- ↑ "Benson Taylor". Soundtrack.Net. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ↑ Ian Foster (May 22, 2011). "Many Moons – Theatre503, London". The Public Reviews. thepublicreviews.com Brad Wake. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
- ↑ "Orange Is The New Black". whawa.com. 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
- ↑ "poff festival jury". poff. 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
- ↑ Simon Bicks. "Fairwood Signs Taylor…". Music Week. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
- ↑ Oscar Wilde. "Benson Taylor". basca. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
- ↑ Debbie Matthews. "Celebrity Charity Chinwag". Halifax Courier. Retrieved 2014-09-30.
- ↑ "Benson Taylor Becomes Goodwill Ambassador". Cambodian Childrens Trust. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
- ↑ Insidious Music
- ↑ George Winters. "Wrecking Rooms Studio Facility". Wrecking Rooms. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
- ↑ Chloe Glover. "Film composer becomes fellow of royal society of arts". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
- ↑ Stephan Lurie. "Taylor enters Royal Society". Thepost.com.com. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
- ↑ Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. "2014 POFF Grand Jury". POFF. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
- ↑ Bruno Chatelin (Paris). "2014 Benson Taylor Juror". filmfestivals.com (Blog). Retrieved 2014-11-05.
- ↑ CineEuropa.org. "2014 Black Nights announces diverse International Competition". Cine Europa. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
- ↑ "Angel Film Awards - Monaco International Film Festival 2013". Monaco Film Festival. Retrieved 2015-04-25.