David Helpling is a

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

based guitarist and keyboardist, recording artist and film composer specializing in

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. He started his solo career with ''Between Green and Blue'' and ''Sleeping On The Edge Of The World''. After composing the soundtrack to the film ''Trade Offs'' in 2003 Helpling released four albums, collaborating with fellow ambient recording artist Jon Jenkins, before releasing several solo tracks and three new solo albums: ''A Sea Without Memory'' (made exclusively with electric guitars, 2018), ''Rune'' (2019), and ''IN'' (2022).

Musical career

Helpling is a self-taught musician, whose debut release, ''Between Green and Blue'', was a finalist for the 1997 INDIE Album-Of-The-Year award. In 1999, Helpling released his second album, ''Sleeping on the Edge of the World''. Among other musical influences such as U2 and

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, one of Helpling's main inspirations is film music.

Elliot Goldenthal Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2, 1954) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and film and theatrical scores. A student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, he is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various ...

Edward Shearmur Edward Shearmur (also known as Ed Shearmur; born 28 February 1966) is a British film composer. Born in London, England, at age seven he sang in the boys' choir at Westminster Cathedral. Educated at Eton College, he studied at the Royal College o ...

and David Julyan are among his favorites.
As a full-time composer, Helpling has written music for several films, one of which, ''Trade Offs'', immersed him in the music of India. The score features several guest artists, including vocalist Nidhi Bhatmuley, who also performs on his 2022 album, IN. Other film assignments include Cold Storage (2009), directed by Tony Elwood, for which Helpling scored a fully orchestral soundtrack using only computers.

Collaboration

Helpling and Jon Jenkins initially became a working partnership after being contacted by filmmaker Chris Cumming via Helpling's record company Spotted Peccary. After working on the score to Cumming's film "False Summit" the pair discovered they had a mutual respect for and interest in each other's music. Starting with ''Treasure'' the two worked as true collaborators; both contributing equally to composing, arranging the tracks and engineering the recordings. This collaboration continued as the two embarked on completing two follow-up albums, ''The Crossing'' and ''Found'' winning the 2013 ZMR Music Award for Best Electronic Album;, the three albums constituting a sonic trilogy. He continued his collaboration with Indian musicians on the album IN (2022), which involves vocalist Nidhi Bhatmuley and

esraj The (from the pa, ਇਸਰਾਜ) is an Indian stringed instrument found in two forms throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is a relatively recent instrument, being only about 300 years old. It is found in North India, primarily Punjab, whe ...

player Benjy Wertheimer. Loop cellist

Matthew Schoening Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

also features on the album.

Film composition

Helpling is also a composer for film, and has also provided several themes, scores, and ambient beds for numerous television, corporate, and interactive projects. His production company is named DHM Music Design.

Other projects

"As the World Falls Away" is a time-lapse video filmed and produced by Shawn Malone and set to Helpling's music. According to WILX, it "went viral" in 2014. The video "North Country Dreamland", shot and produced by Malone, was set to "Lifted" from the album ''The Crossing''. The video "Radiance", shot and produced by Malone, was set to Helping's music. The animated video "You Already Are", produced by Joe Abreu, was set to the track of the same name from the album IN.

Discography

Compilations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Helpling, David 1969 births Living people People from Chula Vista, California Musicians from California American film score composers 20th-century American composers 21st-century American composers American male film score composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians