Australian musician and composer
Musical artist
Ben Frost (born 1980) is an Australian-born musician,
composer ,
record producer ,
sound designer and director currently based out of
Reykjavík ,
Iceland .
[1]
Frost has contributed to albums by Canadian
electronic musician
Tim Hecker and American
experimental rock band
Swans .
Career
Born in
Melbourne , Australia, and based in
Reykjavík , Iceland, since 2005, Frost composes
minimalist , instrumental, and experimental music,
[2]
[3]
[4] with influences ranging from
classical minimalism to
punk rock and
black metal .
[5]
His early releases include the guitar-oriented albums Steel Wound (2003) and School of Emotional Engineering (as part of the band School of Emotional Engineering) (2004). Theory of Machines (2007) marked a radical shift toward more angular aggressive music and was further advanced on the critically acclaimed
By The Throat (2009). In 2011, commissioned by
Unsound Festival , and as part of a collaboration with
Brian Eno and fellow Icelandic composer
Daníel Bjarnason , Frost released Solaris, a conceptual album which rescored
Andrei Tarkovsky's film of the same name. In 2014 after signing with British record label
Mute Records , Frost released the critically lauded and distinctly more rhythmical album
Aurora . In 2017 Frost traveled to Chicago to record The Centre Cannot Hold with
Steve Albini .
[2]
[3] In addition to his studio albums, Frost has collaborated with contemporary dance companies
Chunky Move ,
[6] the Icelandic Dance Company
[7] Contemporary Dance of Cuba
[8] and the British choreographer
Wayne McGregor .
[9] He composed the music for Wayne McGregor's 2010 production FAR.
Frost co-composed Music for Solaris with
Daníel Bjarnason , which was inspired by both
Stanisław Lem 's novel
Solaris and the 1972
Tarkovsky
film of the same name . It was performed by Frost, Bjarnason, and Sinfonietta Cracovia.
[4] He composed the music for the films
Sleeping Beauty , the Icelandic drama
The Deep ,
[7] and the 2015 British television series
Fortitude . In 2012, he traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo with
Richard Mosse , along with Trevor Tweeten to score the sound for Mosse's artwork The Enclave .
[10]
In 2013, in his first directorial role, he premiered a critically acclaimed music-theatre adaptation of the
Iain Banks novel
The Wasp Factory .
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
In 2015, Frost, in collaboration with
Paul Haslinger , created the score for
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege .
[15]
Two years later, in 2017, Frost scored the film
Super Dark Times .
[16] In that same year, he premiered a new installation at the
Barbican Centre in
London , titled Incoming , with
Richard Mosse and Trevor Tweeten. The piece used advanced
surveillance technology to comment on the
refugee crisis in Europe, and later toured worldwide.
[17]
From 2017 to 2020, Frost created the score for all three seasons of
Netflix 's German sci-fi thriller
Dark .
[18] In 2022, Frost, Mosse and Tweeten premiered their third collaborative installation, Broken Spectre , at 180 the Strand in London.
[19] Frost premiered two new sound installations in 2023, Enduring Amazon
[20] at the Momentary in Arkansas and The Predatory Chord
[21] at the Megaron in Athens.
Collaborations
In 2005, Frost remixed
Björk 's song "Desired Constellation", which was featured as the B-side to the "
Triumph of a Heart " single.
[22] He engineered and played the keyboards on
Tim Hecker 's albums
Ravedeath, 1972 and
Virgins , which were recorded by Frost in Reykjavík.
[23]
[24] He was the mixing engineer on
Colin Stetson 's albums
New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges and
New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light .
[25]
[26] He was a recording engineer for
A Winged Victory for the Sullen .
[27] Frost participated in the recording of the
Swans albums
The Seer ,
Leaving Meaning and
The Beggar ; he would also join as a touring member.
[28]
[29]
[30]
Music for film and television
Sleeping Beauty – Directed by Julia Leigh
Super Dark Times – Directed by Kevin Phillips
Fortitude – Directed by Kieron Hawkes
Dark – Directed by Baran Bo Odar
Raised By Wolves – Directed by Ridley Scott
What Remains – Directed by Ran Huang
1899 – Directed by Baran Bo Odar
Opera
The Wasp Factory (2013)
The Murder of Halit Yozgat (2020)
Discography
Albums
EPs and other
Music for Sad Children (2001) – independent
Variant (2014) – Bedroom Community
Threshold of Faith (2017) – Mute Records
All That You Love Will Be Eviscerated (2018) – Mute Records
Soundtracks
The Invisibles (2010) – for
Amnesty International
FAR (2013) – independent
[31]
Sleeping Beauty (2013) – independent – soundtrack for
Julia Leigh's movie of the same name .
Black Marrow (2013) – independent
Tom Clancy's Siege (Original Game Soundtrack) (with
Paul Haslinger ) (2015) –
Ubisoft Music
The Wasp Factory (2016) – Bedroom Community
Super Dark Times (2017) – Super Dark Times Soundtrack – soundtrack for
Kevin Phillips's film of the same name
Catastrophic Deliquescence, Music From Fortitude (2015-2018) – Mute Records – soundtrack for
Fortitude (TV series)
Dark – Netflix series Dark Cycle 1 Soundtrack (2019) – Invada Records
Dark – Netflix series Dark Cycle 2 Soundtrack (2019) – Invada Records
Dark – Netflix series Dark Cycle 3 Soundtrack (2020) – Invada Records
Broken Spectre (2022) – The Vinyl Factory
1899 (Original Music From The Netflix Series) (2022) – Invada
Collaborations
School of Emotional Engineering - School of Emotional Engineering (2004) –
Architecture
Sólaris (with
Daníel Bjarnason ) (2011) – Bedroom Community
[32]
Francesco Fabris & Ben Frost – Vakning (2023) – Room40
Ben Frost & Francesco Fabris – Meradalir (2023) – Room40
See also
References
^
"The Death of Ben Frost" . 10 July 2014.
^
a
b
"BBC - Music - Review of Ben Frost - By the Throat" . BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
^
a
b Grayson Currin (8 January 2010).
"Ben Frost: By the throat" . Pitchfork . Retrieved 3 June 2012 .
^
a
b Cripps, Charlotte (3 June 2011).
"Music for Solaris: the mentoring process" . The Independent . London. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
^ Buchanan, John D.
"Ben Frost biography" .
AllMusic . Retrieved 14 November 2015 .
^
"Chunky Move" . Southbank Centre. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
^
a
b
"Jane Campion Presents a film by Julia Leigh: Sleeping Beauty" (PDF) . Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
^
"Ben Frost and Contemporary Dance of Cuba Will Premiere Work by Julio César Iglesias" . Cuba Si . 1 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023 .
^
"Inside choreographer Wayne McGregor's brain" . London Evening Standard . 17 September 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
^ Telekom (16 December 2014).
"Ben Frost Speaks to Richard Mosse— "Your work will be distilled into a plugin in Photoshop." " . Electronic Beats . Retrieved 26 January 2017 .
^
"The Wasp Factory" . Royal Opera House. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
^ Church, Michael (3 October 2013).
"Opera review: The Wasp Factory" . The Guardian . London. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
^
"The Wasp Factory, Linbury Studio Theatre, London – review" . Financial Times .
Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
^
"The Wasp Factory – review" . The Guardian . 4 October 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
^
"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege soundtrack by Ben Frost and Paul Haslinger released" . web.archive.org . 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^ O'Malley, Sheila.
"Super Dark Times movie review (2017) | Roger Ebert" . Roger Ebert . Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^ Ravens, Chal (5 January 2017).
"Ben Frost reunites with Richard Mosse for installation about refugee crisis" . Fact Magazine . Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^
" '1899' Composer Ben Frost on Recording the Soundtrack Inside of a Ship" . Netflix Tudum . Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^ Fact (27 September 2022).
"Richard Mosse's new installation transports you into the heart of the Amazon's ecological red zone" . Fact Magazine . Retrieved 14 December 2023 .
^
"Enduring Amazon: Ben Frost" . The Momentary . Retrieved 14 December 2023 .
^
"ROLEX ARTS FESTIVAL: The Predatory Chord" . Megaron Athens Concert Hall . Retrieved 14 December 2023 .
^ Adams, Sean (18 March 2011).
"Spotifriday #82: Raekwon, Bjork, Bieber, FlyLo, The Smiths" . DrownedInSound . Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^
"Album Review: Tim Hecker - Ravedeath,1972" . DrownedInSound . 14 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^ WEINGARTEN, CHRISTOPHER R. (13 October 2013).
"Tim Hecker: Attack of the Drones" . Spin .
^
"Colin Stetson New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges" .
Exclaim! .
^ Finlayson, Angus (26 April 2013).
"New History Warfare Vol. III: To See More Light" . Fact Magazine . Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^
"A Winged Victory for the Sullen - The Undivided Five" . Echoes And Dust . 6 November 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^ Fact (29 May 2012).
"Swans new album details: Ben Frost, Jarboe, Karen O and amazing cover art feature" . Fact Magazine . Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^ Richards, Sam (6 September 2019).
"Swans announce new album, Leaving Meaning" . UNCUT . Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^ Fu, Eddie (22 March 2023).
"Swans Announce New Album The Beggar, 2023 Tour Dates" .
Consequence of Sound . Retrieved 3 March 2024 .
^
"Ben Frost" . Bandcamp. Retrieved 30 November 2013 .
^ John D. Buchanan.
"Ben Frost – Discography – AllMusic" . AllMusic. Retrieved 15 January 2015 .
External links
International National Artists Other