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 Don ...

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 university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

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 an ...

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

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 composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert, he became a respected composer in the minimalist and avant-garde scene of Southern California in the ...

. 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 s ...

'' with

Clan of Xymox Clan of Xymox, also known as simply Xymox, are a Dutch rock band from Nijmegen formed in 1981 best known as pioneers of darkwave music. Clan of Xymox featured a trio of singers and songwriters – Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert, and Pieter Noot ...

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, h ...

( 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 Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album ''Miss America'', released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a con ...

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 music, Sufi devotional music. ...

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 Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 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), 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 pres ...

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 t ...

in 2008. He also contributed a track to The Edge's soundtrack for the film

Captive Captive or Captives may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd * ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed * ''Captive'' (1991 ...

(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 Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, ''T ...

(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 This list of ship directions provides succinct definitions for terms applying to spatial orientation in a marine environment or location on a vessel, such as ''fore'', ''aft'', ''astern'', ''aboard'', or ''topside''. Terms * Abaft (preposition ...

'', 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 46,66 ...

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 Micky ...

'' 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 as International Festiva ...

award for best music in 2011 for '' El Infierno''.

Selected discography

Studio and live albums

Soundtracks

*''

'' (1986) – co-writer/producer with

. *''

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 al ...

'' (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 ...

'' (1996) *''

Affliction Affliction or Afflicted may refer to: Books * ''Affliction'' (novel), a 2013 Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel by Laurell K. Hamilton * ''Affliction'', a novel by Russell Banks, basis of the 1998 film Film and TV * ''Affliction'' (1997 film), ...

'' (1997) *''

Crime and Punishment in Suburbia ''Crime and Punishment in Suburbia'' (stylized as ''Crime + Punishment in Suburbia'' or simply ''Crime + Punishment'') is a 2000 film directed by Rob Schmidt and starring Monica Keena, Ellen Barkin, Michael Ironside, James DeBello and Vincent Ka ...

'' (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, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

*'' Charlotte Sometimes'' (2002) *'' India: Kingdom of the Tiger'' (2002) *''

An Inconvenient Truth ''An Inconvenient Truth'' is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming. The film features a slide show that, by Gore's own e ...

'' (2006) *'' Tre'' (2007) *'' Into the Wild'' (2007) *'' Americanese'' (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 se ...

'' (2009) *''

Morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning strict ...

'' (2010) *'' 9500 Liberty'' (2010) *''

'' (2010) *''

Country Strong ''Country Strong'' is a 2010 American drama film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester. The film, about an emotionally unstable country music star who attempts to resurrect her career, was directed and written ...

'' (2010) *'' El Infierno'' (2010) *'' Darwin'' (2011) *'' Undefeated'' (2011) *''

The Perks of Being a Wallflower ''The Perks of Being a Wallflower'' is a coming-of-age epistolary novel by American writer Stephen Chbosky, which was first published on February 1, 1999, by Pocket Books. Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and obs ...

'' (2012) *''

Cas and Dylan ''Cas and Dylan'' is a 2013 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Jason Priestley from a screenplay by Jessie Gabe. It stars Richard Dreyfuss, Tatiana Maslany, Jayne Eastwood, Aaron Poole, Corinne Conley, and Eric Peterson. The film had its worl ...

'' (2013) *''

'' (2015) *''

'' (2015) *'' Tallulah'' (2016) *'' Stronger'' (2017) *''

My Days of Mercy ''My Days of Mercy'' is a 2017 romantic drama film directed by Tali Shalom Ezer and written by Joe Barton (screenwriter), Joe Barton. It stars Kate Mara, Elliot Page, Amy Seimetz, Brian Geraghty, and Elias Koteas. It screened at the 2017 Toronto ...

'' (2017) *''

Le Brio ''Le Brio'' is a 2017 French comedy film directed by Yvan Attal. Plot Neïla lives in the Paris suburb Créteil with her mother and grandmother. She enrolls herself into Panthéon-Assas University in the hopes of becoming a lawyer, but meets wit ...

'' (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