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 the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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

Career

Brook studied music and electronics at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

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 Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

, 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 w ...

and

Harold Budd Harold Montgomory Budd (May 24, 1936December 8, 2020) was an American music composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert, he became a respected composer in the minimal music and avant-garde scene of Southern California ...

. 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'' with Clan of Xymox member Pieter Nooten ( 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, '' Miss America'' by Mary Margaret O'Hara and collaborated with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the album '' Mustt Mustt''. 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, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in December 1993 documented on the album '' Damage: Live''. He also opened the concerts with a solo set, featuring the Infinite Guitar 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 Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' praised his "evocative scoring."

Awards and honors

He was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

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

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's album '' Night Song''. Brook's soundtrack to '' Into the Wild'' was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

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 ''The Joshua Tree'' is the fifth studio album by the Irish rock music, rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 by Island Records. In contrast to the ambient music, ambient experimentati ...

(1987). Two films that he scored, ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in 2015. He won ASCAP awards in 2011 for '' The Fighter'' and 2013 for '' The Vow''. He won the Havana Film Festival award for best music in 2011 for '' El Infierno''.

Selected discography

Studio and live albums

Soundtracks

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

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

'' (1995) *'' Albino Alligator'' (1996) *'' Affliction'' (1997) *'' Crime and Punishment in Suburbia'' (2000) *'' Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000) *'' Black Hawk Down'' (2001) - music composed by

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...

*'' Charlotte Sometimes'' (2002) *'' India: Kingdom of the Tiger'' (2002) *'' An Inconvenient Truth'' (2006) *''Tre'' (2007) *'' Into the Wild'' (2007) *'' Americanese'' (2008) *'' Road, Movie'' (2009) *''

Morning Morning is either the period from sunrise to noon, or the period from midnight to noon. In the first definition it is preceded by the twilight period of dawn, and there are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and nigh ...

'' (2010) *'' 9500 Liberty'' (2010) *'' The Fighter'' (2010) *'' Country Strong'' (2010) *'' El Infierno'' (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'' (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