Dustin O'Halloran (born September 8, 1971) is an American composer and pianist. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O'Halloran is a film and TV composer, as well as one half of ambient act A Winged Victory for the Sullen.

Early life

O'Halloran was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, and spent most of his childhood in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. While studying art at

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high sc ...

, he met singer Sara Lov, with whom he founded

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band Dévics in 1998. When the group signed with

Bella Union Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde. History After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twin ...

in 2001, they relocated to Romagna, Italy, where O'Halloran lived for seven years.

Career

Solo work

In 2004, O'Halloran released his first record as a solo artist, ''Piano Solos''. He has since released three more solo records, the latest of which is ''Lumiere'' (2011), which featured contributions by Peter Broderick and Adam Wiltzie (

Stars of the Lid Stars of the Lid is an American ambient music duo consisting of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie. The duo formed in Austin, Texas in 1993. They have been acclaimed for their music incorporating droning, effects-treated guitars along with piano, st ...

), and was mixed by

Jóhann Jóhannsson Jóhann Gunnar Jóhannsson (; 19 September 1969 – 9 February 2018) was an Icelandic composer who wrote music for a wide array of media including theatre, dance, television, and film. His work is stylised by its blending of traditional orchest ...

. In 2019, O'Halloran signed with

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

and released his first EP on the label, entitled ''Sundoor''.

A Winged Victory For The Sullen

With A Winged Victory for the Sullen, his collaboration with Adam Wiltzie, O'Halloran has released three studio albums, '' A Winged Victory for the Sullen'' (2011), '' Atomos'' (2014) and '' The Undivided Five'' (2019). The second of which was also the original score for the identically titled dance piece by choreographer Wayne McGregor and his company Wayne McGregor Random Dance. In 2015, they were invited to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

. The duo scored their first film together in 2016, entitled '' In the Shadow of Iris'' by French director Jalil Lespert. In 2019, A Winged Victory for the Sullen signed with UK-based indie label Ninja Tune.

Film score works

Since the release of ''Piano Solos Volumes 1'' and ''2'' in 2004 and 2006, O'Halloran has gone on to score a number of films and TV shows. These include

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola (; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and actress. The youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor Coppola, Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed ...

's 2006 film '' Marie Antoinette'', and Drake Doremus’ '' Like Crazy'' (2011), which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. In 2014, O’Halloran worked on Indian drama '' Umrika'', which won the Audience Award at Sundance, and gave him his first opportunity to compose for a full string orchestra. In the same year he was also asked to provide the music for ''Transparent'', the acclaimed TV series created by

Jill Soloway Joey Soloway (previously Jill Soloway; born September 26, 1965) is an American television creator, showrunner, director and writer. Soloway is known for creating, writing, executive producing and directing the Amazon original series '' Transparent ...

for

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

. O'Halloran was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for his original theme for ''Transparent'' in 2015. In 2016, he collaborated with Hauschka (Volker Bertelmann) on the score for the Oscar-nominated film '' Lion''. The score of the film was nominated for many major awards including the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Critics’ Choice Awards. He has since collaborated with Bertelmann on a number of other scores, including '' Ammonite'' (2020).

Discography

Solo albums

Soundtrack albums

* '' Marie Antoinette'' (Verve Forecast/Polydor, 2006) * ''An American Affair'' (Splinter, 2009) * ''Now Is Good'' (Polydor, 2012) * ''Like Crazy'' (Relativity Music, 2012) * ''The Beauty Inside'' (Splinter, 2013) * ''Breathe In'' (Milan Records, 2013) * ''Umrika'' (Splinter, 2015) * ''Iris'' (Erased Tapes, 2016) (as A Winged Victory For The Sullen) * ''Lion'' (Sony Music, 2016) (with Hauschka) * ''Save Me'' (Sky, 2018) * ''Puzzle'' (Sony Music, 2018) *''The Hate U Give'' (Milan Records, 2018) (with Volker Bertelmann) * ''The Art of Racing in the Rain'' (Hollywood Records, 2019) (with Volker Bertelmann) * ''Save Me Too'' (SATV/Save Me Too, 2020) * ''A Christmas Carol'' (Hollywood Records, 2020) (with Volker Bertelmann) * ''The Old Guard'' (Lakeshore Music, 2020) (with Volker Bertelmann)

With Devics

* ''If You Forget Me'' (

, 1998 — writer, co-producer) * ''My Beautiful Sinking Ship'' (Bella Union, 2001 — writer, co-producer) * ''The Stars at St. Andrea'' (Bella Union, 2003 — writer, producer) * ''Push the Heart'' (Filter, 2006 — writer, producer)

With A Winged Victory for the Sullen

* '' A Winged Victory for the Sullen'' ( Kranky, 2011 — Arranger, Composer, Engineer, Main Personnel, Score) *'' Atomos'' (Kranky, 2014 — Arranger, Composer, Engineer, Primary Artist, Score) *''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

'' ( Erased Tapes, 2016) * ''

God's Own Country "God's Own Country" is a phrase meaning an area, region or place supposedly favoured by God. Examples Australia In Australia, the phrase "God's own country" was often used to describe the country in the early 1900s, but it appears to have gr ...

'' (2017) *'' The Undivided Five'' ( Ninja Tune, 2019)

Other collaborations

* With Katy Perry: 'Into Me You See' from

Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

Filmography

Awards

Personal life

Dustin O'Halloran divides his time between Reykjavík and Los Angeles.

References

External links

* *
psychoPEDIA interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohalloran, Dustin 1971 births Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers Musicians from Los Angeles Santa Monica College alumni American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians Bella Union artists Deutsche Grammophon artists FatCat Records artists