Cliff Martinez | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Martinez in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Cliff Robert Martinez (1954-02-05)February 5, 1954 (age 72) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Film score,punk rock,funk rock,experimental rock,synthwave,industrial,ambient |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Drums, piano |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | EMI |
| Formerly of | Red Hot Chili Peppers,The Dickies,Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band,Lydia Lunch,The Weirdos |
| Website | cliff-martinez |
Cliff Robert Martinez (born February 5, 1954) is an American musician and composer. Early in his career, Martinez was known as a drummer notably with theRed Hot Chili Peppers andCaptain Beefheart and the Magic Band.[1] Since the 1990s, he has worked primarily as afilm score composer, writing music forSpring Breakers (2012),The Foreigner (2017), and multiple films bySteven Soderbergh,Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989),Solaris (2002),Contagion (2011) andTraffic (2000)[2] andNicolas Winding Refn,Drive (2011),[1]Only God Forgives (2013),[1]The Neon Demon (2016) and the miniseriesToo Old to Die Young (2019).
On April 14, 2012, Martinez was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.[2]
Martinez was born inthe Bronx, New York City. His grandfather migrated from a small village in Spain to the United States.[3] Raised inColumbus, Ohio, his first job composing was for the popular television showPee Wee's Playhouse.[4] At the time, however, he was more interested in rock bands, and played drums in a variety of them, mostly in a temporary capacity.
After several years drumming for such acts asCaptain Beefheart and the Magic Band,The Dickies,Lydia Lunch andThe Weirdos, in late 1983, Martinez andJack Sherman were drafted in to join theRed Hot Chili Peppers for the recording oftheir eponymous first album afterJack Irons andHillel Slovak left the band to concentrate on their other project at the time,What Is This?. Martinez also played on the recording of the band's second albumFreaky Styley (1985) and itssubsequent tour.
In 2012 Martinez was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.[5] Martinez performed with the band for the first time in 26 years when he joined them along with former drummerJack Irons on their song, "Give It Away" during the ceremony.[6]
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In the mid 1980's, Martinez' interests shifted and he began to focus his attention toward film scoring. A tape Martinez had put together using new technologies made its rounds, leading him to score an episode ofPee-Wee's Playhouse. The same recording also ended up inSteven Soderbergh's hands and Martinez was hired to score the famed director's first theatrical release, 1989'sSex, Lies, and Videotape.[citation needed] Martinez's longstanding relationship with Soderbergh has continued through the years and they have worked together on ten theatrical releases includingKafka (1991),The Limey (1999),Traffic (2000),Solaris (2002) and 2011'sContagion, as well the Cinemax seriesThe Knick (2014–2015).
His nontraditional scores tend towards being stark and sparse, utilizing a modern tonal palette to paint the backdrop for films that are often dark, psychological stories likePump Up the Volume (1990),The Limey,Wonderland (2003),Wicker Park (2004) andDrive (2011).[citation needed] Martinez has been nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Steven Soderbergh'sTraffic), aCésar Award for Best Original Music (Xavier Giannoli'sIn the Beginning (2009)), and a Broadcast Film Critics Award (Drive). He earned aRobert Award for Best Score for his work onOnly God Forgives (2013).[7]
Martinez's use of audio manipulations, particularly for percussive sounds, has been evolving through the years and is evident[citation needed] by the hammered dulcimer ofKafka, the gray-areas between sound design and score forTraffic, the steel drums and textures ofSolaris, what Martinez called "rhythmi-tizing pitched, ambient textures" ofNarc (2002), and "using percussion performances to trigger and shape the rhythmic and tonal characteristics of those ambient textures," as he described his score for 2011'sThe Lincoln Lawyer.[citation needed]
Martinez served as a juror for the2012 Sundance Film Festival and served on the International Feature nominating committee for the27th Independent Spirit Awards in February that same year. Martinez's recent films include Robert Redford'sThe Company You Keep (2012), Nicholas Jarecki'sArbitrage (2012), Harmony Korine'sSpring Breakers (2012) (co-composed withSkrillex), and Nicolas Winding Refn'sOnly God Forgives[8] andThe Neon Demon (2016).[9]
Martinez composed the main menu music titled "Galaxy Theme" forSpore in 2008.[10] In 2014, Martinez also composed the title score forFar Cry 4.
In 2013, Martinez scored the "Fly Beyond"Grey Goose vodka commercial.[11] Martinez also composed two songs, "Vibe" and "Kotopulse", for the 2014Lincoln Motor Company advertising campaign featuringMatthew McConaughey.[12]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2014–2017 | The Knick | N/a |
| 2019 | Too Old to Die Young | additional music by Peter G. Adams & Thor Lawae |
| 2020–2022 | The Wilds | N/a |
| 2022 | Copenhagen Cowboy | N/a |
| Year | Title | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Spore | Maxis | Electronic Arts | Galaxy Main Theme and other unspecified compositions Composed withBrian Eno |
| 2014 | Far Cry 4 | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft | Additional music and arrangements by Peter G. Adams, Gregory Tripi, Mac Quayle andJeff Rona |
