Dustin O'Halloran (born September 8, 1971) is an American composer and pianist. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O'Halloran is a film and TV composer, as well as one half of ambient act

A Winged Victory for the Sullen A Winged Victory for the Sullen (AWVFTS) is an American ambient music duo composed of Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltzie. They have released four studio albums, an EP, and one soundtrack album. In 2015, they performed at the Royal Albert Hall a ...

Early life

O'Halloran was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, and spent most of his childhood in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. While studying art at

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The coll ...

, he met singer Sara Lov, with whom he founded

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band Dévics in 1998. When the group signed with

Bella Union Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde. History After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twin ...

in 2001, they relocated to

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

, Italy, where O'Halloran lived for seven years.

Career

Solo work

In 2004, O'Halloran released his first record as a solo artist, ''Piano Solos''. He has since released three more solo records, the latest of which is ''Lumiere'' (2011), which featured contributions by Peter Broderick and Adam Wiltzie (

Stars of the Lid Stars of the Lid is an American ambient music project that formerly consisted of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie. The duo formed in Austin, Texas, in 1992. They have been acclaimed for their music incorporating droning, effects-treated guitars a ...

), and was mixed by

Jóhann Jóhannsson Jóhann Gunnar Jóhannsson (; 19 September 1969 – 9 February 2018) was an Icelandic composer who wrote music for a wide array of media including theatre, dance, television, and film. His work is stylised by its blending of traditional orchest ...

. In 2019, O'Halloran signed with

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

and released his first EP on the label, entitled ''Sundoor''.

A Winged Victory For The Sullen

With

, his collaboration with Adam Wiltzie, O'Halloran has released four studio albums: ''

'' (2011), '' Atomos'' (2014), '' The Undivided Five'' (2019), and '' Invisible Cities'' (2021). The second was also the original score for the identically titled dance piece by choreographer Wayne McGregor and his company Wayne McGregor Random Dance. In 2015, AWVFTS were invited to perform 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 London as part of the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

. The duo scored their first film together in 2016, entitled '' In the Shadow of Iris'' by French director

Jalil Lespert Jalil Lespert (born 11 May 1976) is a French actor, screenwriter and director. He has been described as "one of the best actors of his generation." Early life and education Lespert was born in Paris to a Pied-Noir, ''pied-noir'' father, actor J ...

. In addition to their studio outputs, they wrote the soundtrack for the 2016 film '' Iris''. In 2019, A Winged Victory for the Sullen signed with UK-based indie label

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by musicians Matt Black and Jonathan More, known collectively as Coldcut. The label was established as an outlet for Col ...

Film score works

Since the release of ''Piano Solos Volumes 1'' and ''2'' in 2004 and 2006, O'Halloran has gone on to score a number of films and TV shows. These include

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

's 2006 film ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

'', and

Drake Doremus Drake Doremus (; born March 29, 1983) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer best known for directing the films ''Like Crazy'' (2011), which won the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, ''Douchebag (film) ...

’ ''

Like Crazy ''Like Crazy'' is a 2011 American romantic drama film directed by Drake Doremus and starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence. Written by Doremus and Ben York Jones, the film tells the story of Anna ( Felicity Jones), a B ...

'' (2011), which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. In 2014, O’Halloran worked on Indian drama '' Umrika'', which won the Audience Award at Sundance, and gave him his first opportunity to compose for a full string orchestra. In the same year he was also asked to provide the music for ''Transparent'', the acclaimed TV series created by Jill Soloway for

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

. O'Halloran was awarded the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music This is a list of the winning and nominated programs of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the award was presented with the "possibility of one, more than one, or no award given ...

for his original theme for ''Transparent'' in 2015. In 2016, he collaborated with

Hauschka Volker Bertelmann (born 11 October 1966) is a German composer, pianist and former rapper who mainly performs and records under the name Hauschka. He is best known for his compositions for prepared piano. He won an Academy Award and a British Ac ...

(Volker Bertelmann) on the score for the Oscar-nominated film ''

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

''. The score of the film was nominated for many major awards including the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Critics’ Choice Awards. He has since collaborated with Bertelmann on a number of other scores, including ''

Ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

'' (2020).

Discography

Solo albums

Soundtrack albums

* ''

'' (Verve Forecast/Polydor, 2006) * ''An American Affair'' (Splinter, 2009) * ''Now Is Good'' (Polydor, 2012) * ''Like Crazy'' (Relativity Music, 2012) * ''The Beauty Inside'' (Splinter, 2013) * ''Breathe In'' (Milan Records, 2013) * ''Umrika'' (Splinter, 2015) * ''Iris'' (Erased Tapes, 2016) (as

A Winged Victory For The Sullen A Winged Victory for the Sullen (AWVFTS) is an American ambient music duo composed of Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltzie. They have released four studio albums, an EP, and one soundtrack album. In 2015, they performed at the Royal Albert Hall a ...

) * ''Lion'' (Sony Music, 2016) (with

) * ''Save Me'' (Sky, 2018) * ''Puzzle'' (Sony Music, 2018) *''The Hate U Give'' (Milan Records, 2018) (with Volker Bertelmann) * ''The Art of Racing in the Rain'' (Hollywood Records, 2019) (with Volker Bertelmann) * ''Save Me Too'' (SATV/Save Me Too, 2020) * ''A Christmas Carol'' (Hollywood Records, 2020) (with Volker Bertelmann) * ''The Old Guard'' (Lakeshore Music, 2020) (with Volker Bertelmann)

With Devics

* ''If You Forget Me'' (

, 1998 — writer, co-producer) * ''My Beautiful Sinking Ship'' (Bella Union, 2001 — writer, co-producer) * ''The Stars at St. Andrea'' (Bella Union, 2003 — writer, producer) * ''Push the Heart'' (Filter, 2006 — writer, producer)

With
A Winged Victory for the Sullen A Winged Victory for the Sullen (AWVFTS) is an American ambient music duo composed of Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltzie. They have released four studio albums, an EP, and one soundtrack album. In 2015, they performed at the Royal Albert Hall a ...

* ''

'' ( Kranky, 2011 — Arranger, Composer, Engineer, Main Personnel, Score) *'' Atomos'' (Kranky, 2014 — Arranger, Composer, Engineer, Primary Artist, Score) *'' Iris'' ( Erased Tapes, 2016) * ''

God's Own Country "God's Own Country" is a phrase meaning an area, region or place supposedly favoured by God. While its origins can be traced to various locations, the phrase has gained widespread recognition as a moniker for the Indian state of Kerala. Austr ...

'' (2017) *'' The Undivided Five'' (

, 2019) * '' Invisible Cities'' (2021)

Other collaborations

* With

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

: 'Into Me You See' from

Witness In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

Filmography

Awards

Personal life

Dustin O'Halloran divides his time between Reykjavík and Los Angeles.

References

External links

* *
psychoPEDIA interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohalloran, Dustin 1971 births Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers Musicians from Los Angeles Santa Monica College alumni American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians Bella Union artists Deutsche Grammophon artists FatCat Records artists