Neil Davidge
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Neil Davidge is an English record producer, songwriter, film score composer and musician. Once an associate of dance producers
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
, he is best known as the long-term co-writer and producer for trip hop collective
Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...
. In 1997, he also produced the Sunna album '' One Minute Science''. During that time he has established a career as a film score composer including projects such as ''Push'', Bullet Boy, Trouble the Water, and additional music for ''Clash of the Titans''. Artists he has worked with include
Unkle Unkle (often stylised as U.N.K.L.E. or UNKLE, occasionally known as UNKLE Sounds) is a British musical outfit founded in 1992 by James Lavelle. Originally categorised as trip hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and have employed a ...
,
Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...
,
Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963) is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins, who achieved success in the UK from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums '' Victorialand'' (1986) and '' H ...
,
Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...
,
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
, and
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
. In 2012, he composed the
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
to the video game '' Halo 4'' and recorded "The Storm That Brought Me To You" with Tina Dico and
Ramin Djawadi Ramin Djawadi (born 19 July 1974) is an Iranian-German film score composer, conductor, and record producer. He is known for his scores for the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', for which he was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2018 and 2020. He is al ...
for the ''Clash of the Titans'' soundtrack, the first vocal track for which he is credited as an artist separately from Massive Attack. In 2017, Davidge composed the critically acclaimed soundtrack for the TV series, ''
Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...
'', and in 2023, co-scored Apple TV+'s ''Criminal Record''.


Career


DNA (1989–1992)

Davidge worked with UK duo
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
in the period between 1989 and 1992, co-producing four singles and one album.


Massive Attack (1995–2010)

Davidge had met
Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...
's Andrew Vowles as early as 1991, and was in and around Bristol's Coach House Studios when Portishead recorded their debut album ''Dummy'' between 1991 and 1994. Neil was introduced to the rest of Massive Attack in 1996, and hitting it off, he produced ' The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game', a song for the ''Batman Forever'' soundtrack that featured Everything But The Girl vocalist Tracey Thorn. Working in close collaboration with Massive's
Robert Del Naja Robert Del Naja (; born 21 January 1965), also known as 3D, is a British artist, musician, singer and songwriter. He emerged as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective The Wild Bunch (sound system), the Wild Bunch, and later as ...
, Neil shaped the sound of the band's third album, 1998's ''Mezzanine'', including the song "Teardrop", which became the theme song for the
medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...
"House". ''Mezzanine'' won a Q Award for Best Album and was nominated for a Mercury Award. As with ''Mezzanine'', Massive Attack's fourth album '' 100th Window'' was largely piloted by Davidge and Robert Del Naja. Sessions were protracted and pressurised, the group discarding material to re-write the whole record in the last six months of a three-year odyssey. "Some great things had been said about ''Mezzanine'' and we didn't want to repeat ourselves", says Neil "It was a strange period of isolation and the weirdness of 9/11, but we got there in the end." Following the release of ''100th Window'', Davidge and Del Naja established a new studio in Bristol, which would become the primary recording location for Massive Attack going forward, as well as Davidge and Del Naja's soundtrack projects. ''Collected'' was Massive Attack's best of album released on 27 March 2006. The album was preceded by the release of the single " Live With Me" on 13 March. "Live With Me" was co-written and produced by Davidge.. ''Heligoland'' is the fifth studio album by
Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...
. Co-produced by Davidge and Robert Del Naja with additional production by Tim Goldsworthy, the record features vocals from
Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Keith Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as " Skylarking", as well as "Government Land", "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Ma ...
, Tunde Adebimpe,
Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...
, Hope Sandoval, Guy Garvey and Martina Topley-Bird. Davidge co-wrote eight of the ten tracks as well as playing keyboards, bass and guitar.


Film & TV projects (2004–present)

In 2004
Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French filmmaker. He directed and produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Associated with the '' Cinéma du look'' film movement, he h ...
approached Davidge and Robert Del Naja to score the movie Danny The Dog, later renamed Unleashed. There then followed scores for Bullet Boy, Battle in Seattle, and Trouble the Water, which received an Oscar nomination as Best Documentary Feature. It is a moving study of those displaced by
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
which won 'Best Documentary' at the 2008
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 ...
. Working with
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
, Neil also scored the music for ''
In Prison My Whole Life ''In Prison My Whole Life'' is a 2007 documentary film about American journalist and prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, directed by Marc Evans, and written by Evans and William Francome. Others involved with the project were Robert R. Bryan, Angela Davis, ...
'', a documentary about US death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal. Away from his collaborations with Robert, Neil scored the music to the Paul McGuigan directed ''Push'' and provided additional music to the Warner Brothers film ''Clash of the Titans'' working alongside composer
Ramin Djawadi Ramin Djawadi (born 19 July 1974) is an Iranian-German film score composer, conductor, and record producer. He is known for his scores for the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', for which he was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2018 and 2020. He is al ...
. He was approached by director Louis Leterrier to replace Matt Bellamy from
Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
who had to pull out due to touring commitments in the USA. Davidge also went on to score the documentary film ''
Citizen Koch ''Citizen Koch'' is a 2013 film produced and directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, concerning the political influence of American plutocrats on the political process following the US Supreme Court decision in ''Citizens United v. FEC'' which grant ...
'', action thriller Good People, and '' Monsters: Dark Continent'', the sequel to Gareth Edwards' '' Monsters''. He also scored two television films for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
; drama-documentary ''8 Days: To The Moon and Back'', co-scored with David Poore, as well as drama '' Sitting in Limbo'', about the 2018 Windrush scandal. Both were nominated for BAFTA Awards, with the latter winning the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama at the
2021 British Academy Television Awards The 2021 British Academy Television Awards were held on 6 June 2021, to recognise the excellence in British television of 2020. The nominees were announced along with the nominees for the 2021 British Academy Television Craft Awards on 28 April 20 ...
. His first TV score was for the Canal+ series '' Spotless''. This was followed by the scores for New Blood and In the Dark, both of which premiered on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. In 2018 saw the release of Sky Atlantic's ''Britannia'', starring David Morrissey,
Mackenzie Crook Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is an English actor, director, comedian and writer best known for his roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for portraying Gareth Keenan in the British sitcom '' ...
and Kelly Reilly. The first season of Britannia, featuring Davidge's "stunning" score was closely followed by another Davidge scored show for BBC One, '' Hard Sun''. He has also scored a number of television documentaries, including Amazon Studios' All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur, as well as co-scoring BBC Earth's ''Earth From Space'' with fellow Bristol-based composer David Poore. Davidge's newest project, Apple TV+'s ''
Criminal Record A criminal record (not to be confused with a police record or arrest record) is a record of a person's criminal Conviction, convictions history. The information included in a criminal record, and the existence of a criminal record, varies betwe ...
'' was released on 10 January 2024. Davidge co-scored the project with Michael Asante.


''Halo 4 Original Soundtrack'' (2012)

On 11 April 2012, Davidge was revealed to be the composer for the '' Halo 4 Original Soundtrack'', the official soundtrack of the video game '' Halo 4''. A self-professed fan of previous ''Halo'' games, he and 343 Industries felt the music needed to change to fit the new trilogy. "The phrase that kept going around was 'evolution not revolution' of the score," he said. " hey wanted amore electronic, slightly more beat-driven direction, which is one reason why they came to me. They wanted to flesh out, sonically, a new universe. One that they could expand on in subsequent sequels.” The majority of the soundtrack was written in Bristol, and recorded at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
and Angel Recording Studios, both situated in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Davidge and his production team enlisted the 50-piece Chamber Orchestra of London, as well as 26 male and female vocalists and other performers. The Original Soundtrack for ''Halo 4'' was released on 19 October 2012, and debuted at No. 50 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, becoming the highest peaking video game soundtrack on Billboard's charts. Nearly 9,000 units were sold in the first week alone. This was followed by ''Halo 4 Original Soundtrack Remixes'', featuring remixes by Sander van Doorn & Julian Jordan, Gui Boratto, and Andrew Bayer, as well as an
Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is currently composed of three classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso. Originally a Classical music, classical- ...
vs Neil Davidge remix of ''The Beauty of Cortana''. ''Halo 4 Original Soundtrack Volume 2'' was released digitally on 8 April 2013.


''Slo Light'' (2014)

Davidge established his own studio in 2010. His debut solo album '' Slo Light'' was released in February 2014, and features guest vocalists including Low Roar, Sandie Shaw and Cate Le Bon. The album was accompanied by three singles. The first single was "Slo Light", released on 3 December 2013. The second single, "Sleepwalking", released on 20 February 2014, five days before the album's release, followed by the third single, "Riot Pictures", on 7 October 2014.


Filmography


As composer


Film


Television


Video games


Discography


As solo artist


Studio albums


Singles


As composer


Soundtrack albums


Production and songwriting credits


Albums


=Studio albums

=


=Remix albums

=


Singles


Other songs


Remixes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidge, Neil 1962 births English electronic musicians English film score composers English male film score composers English male songwriters English record producers English video game composers Living people Musicians from Bristol