On December 7th, RE:VIVE with support by Buma Music in Motion, presents its fourth Crossing Over Workshop with musician Oliver Coates. The Crossing Over series features producers and composers from the experimental and electronic music worlds who have “crossed over” into the realm of composing for film, TV and video games. This Workshop is open to any musician interested in learning the ins and outs both professionally and creatively in relation to composing for media.
Workshop place: Sound & Vision, 1 Media Parkboulevard, Hilversum 1217WE (Next to Hilversum Media Park NS station)
Workshop date: December 7, 2023
Workshop time: 13:30 – 18:00
Cost: Free but registration is mandatory and space is limited. Registration will be granted on a first come / first served basis.
Register Here
Known for his dark ambience and experimental cello playing, a staple on RVNG Intl. Oliver Coates has sneakily been building up his film scoring credentials for nearly a decade. His initial releases on PRAH Recordings varied from minimalist modern classical focusing on his core instrument, the cello, to lofi-house and abstract sound collage. His 2016 album with long-standing collaborator and fellow film composer Mica Levi, Remain Calm waded in the waters of dub, experimental electronica and deeper sonic exploration. Once he found a home on RVNG Intl. it’s not even worth trying to pin down Coates’ style as he simply refuses or is incapable of staying in one lane. Making him the perfect film scoring swiss army knife.
As we said, Coates’ film career has been bubbling beneath the surface for a decade. He first popped up as a cellist working with Mica Levi on Under the Skin, he then found his way into Jonny Greenwood’s rolodex for Phantom Thread (and did tour support for Thom Yorke) he also worked with Matthew Herbert for The Cave among many other supporting performance credits. But in 2022 he got his first major solo credit, composing for The Stranger, the breakthrough film by Australian filmmaker, Thomas M. Wright. After that it spirals into madness with six credits in 2022 and 2023 plus three more titles to be released into 2024, with more to be announced. Notably among these films is the highly praised 2022 Charlotte Wells coming-of-age-film Aftersun which has swept up awards at nearly every film festival. He also scored Academy Award winning Director Steve McQueen’s newest film The Occupied City along with Foe, The Absence of Eden and Close to You. However, his work for Aftersun is an incredible new musical statement from someone outside the conventional composer world that will surely enter the quiver of temp music supervisors for years to come.
Alongside all of this though, Coates still has the time to keep releasing experimental records, the odd live show plus composing and conducting for Dior and more.
During this workshop, Coates will share his experiences crossing over into the world of composing for moving images from a professional and artistic perspective. He will give demonstrations and walk-throughs of different clips and scenes and dive deeper into his sound design and composition process. After that, participants will be given a clip from the Sound & Vision archive and challenged to compose for that small fragment. We’ll follow that up with a show and tell and reflections session.
For composers and producers in the Netherlands interested in getting involved in the composing world be sure to check out Buma Music in Motion for all their workshops, meet-ups, challenges and matchmaking sessions. Find out more here.
Photo by: Djenaba Davis-Eyo