Michael Brook (born 1951) is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music,

minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the world have made him "one of the most sought-after producers in the music industry." Born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, Brook lives in Los Angeles. He is the creator of the

Infinite Guitar The Infinite Guitar is a modified electric guitar created by Michael Brook, as a way of allowing a note to be held with infinite sustain (hence the name). It consists of an electronic circuit that takes the signal from a standard guitar pickup, amp ...

Career

Brook studied music and electronics at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...

and worked as an engineer at the Grant Avenue studios, then owned by the Lanois brothers. Here he worked with

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...

, The Edge,

Jon Hassell Jon Hassell (March 22, 1937 – June 26, 2021) was an American trumpet player and composer. He was best known for developing the concept of "Fourth World" music, which describes a "unified primitive/futurist sound" combining elements of various ...

and Harold Budd. In 1985 he released his first solo album ''Hybrid'', containing instrumental tracks with Indian and African elements. Another notable collaboration was ''

Sleeps with the Fishes ''Sleeps with the Fishes'' is the lone collaborative album from Clan of Xymox founding member Pieter Nooten and Canadian guitarist/ producer Michael Brook, released by 4AD on 12 October 1987. Intended as Nooten's debut solo album after a brief sp ...

'' with Clan of Xymox member

Pieter Nooten Pieter Nooten (born 22 January 1961 in Oss) is a Dutch musician and composer best known for his work with Clan of Xymox. Music career Nooten's musical career began in the late 1970s. Starting out as the drummer in a local symphonic rock band, ...

( 4AD, 1987). He worked on the album ''

Set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

'' by

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

, ''

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

'' by Mary Margaret O'Hara and collaborated with

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes ...

on the album ''Mustt Musst''. He toured as a member of the Sylvian and Fripp tour group, with the final concert at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in December 1994 documented on the album '' Damage: Live''. He also opened the concerts with a solo set, featuring the

with effects and sequencer backing. In 1998, he produced the album " Volcán: Tributo a José José", a tribute album to singer Jose Jose. In 2006, the solo album ''RockPaperScissors'' was released, with an ambient remix version following in 2007. Brook toured small venues in Canada and the United States in late January/early February, 2007. In writing about his score for the film 2015 film ''Brooklyn'', '' Variety'' said the film was "buoyed along by a beautiful Michael Brook score and ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' praised his "evocative scoring."

Awards and honors

He was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in 1996 for his production work and as a co-artist on

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i singer

's album '' Night Song''. Brook's soundtrack to '' Into the Wild'' was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

in 2008. He also contributed a track to The Edge's soundtrack for the film Captive (1986). Brook's Infinite Guitar was later utilized by The Edge on U2's The Joshua Tree (1987). Two films that he scored, ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

'' and '' Aloft'', premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

in 2015. He won

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

awards in 2011 for ''

The Fighter ''The Fighter'' is a 2010 American biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and stars Mark Wahlberg (who also produced), Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of professional boxer M ...

'' and 2013 for '' The Vow''. He won the

Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English language, English as Int ...

award for best music in 2011 for ''

El Infierno ''El Infierno'' ( en, Hell) is a 2010 Mexican crime film produced by Bandidos Films, directed by Luis Estrada and following the line of ''La ley de Herodes''. The film is a political satire about drug trafficking, organized crime, and the Mexi ...

''.

Selected discography

Studio and live albums

Soundtracks

*'' Captive'' (1986) – co-writer/producer with The Edge. *''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

'' (1995) *''

Albino Alligator ''Albino Alligator'' is a 1996 American crime thriller film. The directorial debut of Kevin Spacey as well as the screenwriting debut of Christian Forte, it stars Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, and Gary Sinise. It tells the story of three small-time c ...

'' (1996) *'' Affliction'' (1997) *'' Crime and Punishment in Suburbia'' (2000) *'' Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000) *'' Black Hawk Down'' (2001) - music composed by Hans Zimmer *'' Charlotte Sometimes'' (2002) *'' India: Kingdom of the Tiger'' (2002) *'' An Inconvenient Truth'' (2006) *'' Tre'' (2007) *'' Into the Wild'' (2007) *''

Americanese ''Americanese'' is a 2006 American romantic drama film directed by Eric Byler and starring Chris Tashima, Allison Sie, Kelly Hu, Ben Shenkman, Autumn Reeser, and Joan Chen. It is based on the novel '' American Knees'' by Shawn Wong, concerning ...

'' (2008) *''

Road, Movie ''Road, Movie'' ( hi, रोड, मूवी) is a 2009 Indian road movie directed by Dev Benegal, and starring Abhay Deol, Tannishtha Chatterjee, and Satish Kaushik. It premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and opened the s ...

'' (2009) *'' Morning'' (2010) *''

9500 Liberty ''9500 Liberty'' is a 2009 documentary film about the struggle over immigration in Prince William County, Virginia. It was directed by Annabel Park and Eric Byler. Content The film chronicles an eight-week period wherein an "Arizona-style" imm ...

'' (2010) *''

'' (2010) *'' Country Strong'' (2010) *''

'' (2010) *'' Darwin'' (2011) *'' Undefeated'' (2011) *'' The Perks of Being a Wallflower'' (2012) *'' Cas and Dylan'' (2013) *'' Aloft'' (2015) *''

'' (2015) *'' Tallulah'' (2016) *'' Stronger'' (2017) *'' My Days of Mercy'' (2017) *'' Le Brio'' (2017) *''

Giant Little Ones ''Giant Little Ones'' is a 2018 Canadian drama film, written and directed by Keith Behrman.

'' (2019)

References

External links

Michael Brook's Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, Michael 1951 births Living people Musicians from Toronto Canadian guitarists Canadian record producers Canadian inventors Real World Records artists 4AD artists Canadian experimental musicians All Saints Records artists E.G. Records artists Canadian film score composers 20th-century Canadian composers 21st-century Canadian composers Best Original Score Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners