Clint Mansell | |
|---|---|
 Mansell with theSonus Quartet, playing at theUnion Chapel, London, 20 July 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Clinton Darryl Mansell (1963-11-07)7 November 1963 (age 62) |
| Origin | Coventry,Warwickshire, England |
| Genres | Film score,alternative rock,grebo rock,electronic,industrial rock,classical |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, composer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals,keyboards,piano,guitar,bass |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Website | iamclintmansell |
Clinton Darryl Mansell (/ˈmænsəl/; born 7 November 1963)[1][2] is an Englishmusician,singer, andcomposer. He served as thelead vocalist ofalt-rock bandPop Will Eat Itself. After the band's dissolution, Mansell moved to the United States and embarked on a career as afilm score composer.
Mansell partnered with American filmmakerDarren Aronofsky and composed the scores for his filmsPi,Requiem for a Dream,The Fountain,The Wrestler,Black Swan, andNoah. Mansell is best known for theRequiem for a Dream soundtrack, particularly the film's composition "Lux Aeterna" and a re-orchestrated version titled "Requiem for a Tower" that was created forThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers trailer, both of which have been featured in multiple advertisements, films,film trailers, video games and other media.
He provided the scores for theBen Wheatley filmsHigh-Rise,Happy New Year, Colin Burstead,Rebecca, andIn the Earth. Other films featuring Mansell's scores includeSahara,Moon andStoker. He has also composed music for television and video games.
Mansell was nominated for aGolden Globe for his work onThe Fountain, and was nominated for multipleGrammy Awards for his work onBlack Swan.
Mansell was born inCoventry, England.[1] His father worked for theelectricity board and his mother was a preparer ofschool meals.[3]
Inspired byDavid Bowie's performance of "Starman" on the television seriesTop of the Pops, he started to play guitar at the age of nine.[4] His foray intopunk-inspired music was influenced by theRamones.[5] In 2014 he toldBeat Magazine "I heard the Ramones and punk rock changed my life."[5] While living inStourbridge, Mansell played in rock bands as a youth, and at 19 years of age he joined the band that becamePop Will Eat Itself.[6]
From the band's inception in 1986 until their dissolution in 1996, Mansell was a member ofgrebo/alt-rock bandPop Will Eat Itself (PWEI).[3] He served as the band's lead vocalist, guitarist and one of the band's main songwriters.[1][3][7] The band was first introduced to computer-based music in 1988 while working with producerFlood on their albumThis Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!.[8] Their sound evolved to includesampling andelectronic music, bringing influences fromhip hop,industrial music and otherdance genres into their music.[6] After the band was dropped byRCA, PWEI were signed in 1994 toNothing Records, a label owned byTrent Reznor ofNine Inch Nails.[8][6]
Following PWEI's break-up in 1996, Mansell moved toNew York, where he hoped to start a solo career, but struggled creatively.[5] He was invited by Reznor to move to an apartment inNew Orleans owned by Reznor, where Mansell lived for three years, prior to settling inLos Angeles.[6][9][10] It was there that Reznormentored Mansell and introduced him toPro Tools.[6][9] Mansell also performed backing vocals on Nine Inch Nails' 1999 albumThe Fragile.[1]
Mansell reunited with PWEI in 2005 for their "Reformation" tour, which included performances inNottingham,Birmingham andLondon.[11]
While still living in New York, Mansell was introduced to directorDarren Aronofsky by a mutual friend.[12] Aronofsky was unaware of Mansell's previous work with Pop Will Eat Itself, however the two men bonded over their love of hip hop and their belief that "film music at the time was terrible."[13]
Aronofsky suggested that Mansell write the opening title piece forPi, Aronofsky'sfeature film directorial debut.[12] Aronofsky had intended to use pre-existing electronic music in the rest of the film, but due to a lack of funds, he found it difficult to acquire the rights to much of the music that interested him and Mansell was hired to provide music for the entire film.[12] Mansell's score for the film won him the City of Birmingham award at the Birmingham Film Festival in 2000.[3]
Mansell wrote thescore for Aronofsky's next film,Requiem for a Dream, which became acult hit.[1] The film's primary composition "Lux Aeterna" became a favorite in its own right.[14] A re-orchestrated version of the song, titled "Requiem for a Tower", was arranged by composers Simone Benyacar, Dan Nielsen andVeigar Margeirsson for thetrailer ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.[6]
Both "Lux Aeterna" and "Requiem for a Tower" have been used in multiple forms of media, including the film trailers forThe Da Vinci Code,I Am Legend,Sunshine andBabylon A.D.; trailers for the video gamesAssassin's Creed andLord of the Rings: Return of the King; advertising campaigns for such products asCanon PowerShot cameras,Molson Canadian beer; and on television such as in the seriesAmerica's Got Talent,So You Think You Can Dance as well as a promo spot the seriesFlash Forward.[1][14]
In 2006, Mansell provided the score for the filmSmokin' Aces and he received aBMI Film & TV Award for his work on the filmSahara that same year.[1][15] The following year, his score for the Aronofsky filmThe Fountain was awarded Best Original Film Score of the Year and the Public Choice Award at the7th World Soundtrack Awards.[16]The Fountain's score was also nominated for Best Score in a Motion Picture at the 2007Golden Globe Awards.[17]
Mansell's score for Aronofsky'sBlack Swan garnered him multiple nominations and awards. He was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media as well as Best Original Soundtrack (forBlack Swan), and Soundtrack Composer of the Year (forBlack Swan,Last Night andFaster) at the11th World Soundtrack Awards. The score was deemed ineligible for theAcademy Award for Best Original Score due to its use ofTchaikovsky's original music fromSwan Lake.[13]
Mansell created the film score forMoon,Duncan Jones's feature film directorial debut. Mansell won Best Technical Achievement at the British Independent Film Awards forMoon's score. In 2011 Mansell was hired to provide the score forThe Iron Lady, but he was later replaced by composerThomas Newman.[18] Nevertheless, Mansell's music from the filmMoon was used in the film's trailer and was also used in the 2012 trailer of the computer gameAliens: Colonial Marines.[19][20]
Mansell provided the scores for the filmsStoker (also featuring music byPhilip Glass) andFilth, which were both released in 2013.[1]
FilmmakerBen Wheatley, who was a fan of Mansell's music for the filmsRequiem for a Dream andMoon, approached Mansell about providing the score for his 2015 filmHigh-Rise. Mansell also provided the music for Wheatley's subsequent worksHappy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018) andRebecca (2020) andIn the Earth (2021).[6][21]
Mansell's film scores have been sampled by such musical artists asLil Jon,A$AP Rocky,Bastille andPaul Oakenfold.[14][22]
Having no formal training inmusical notation, Mansell constructs his film scores using the method he employs for writing rock music — drums, bass, guitar and vocal lines — in addition to employing anorchestrator.[11] Some of his influences includePhilip Glass,Trevor Jones,David Holmes, and bands such asDeath in Vegas,Mogwai andUnkle.[9]
Mansell has performed some of his film compositions live with theSonus Quartet in the US, the UK and Australia.[4][10][12] TheKronos Quartet, who performed "Lux Aeterna" for theRequiem for a Dream soundtrack, have also performed some of Mansell's work live.[6][11]
In February 2019, Mansell signed a publishing deal with Decca Publishing, a division ofDecca Records.[22] This deal brought his catalogue of more than 650 original pieces, including his Pop Will Eat Itself work, under a single umbrella for the first time.[22]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Birmingham Film and Television Festival | City of Birmingham Award | Pi | Won |
| 2006 | BMI Film & TV Awards | Film Music award | Sahara | Won |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Score | The Fountain | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Golden Globe | Best Original Score | The Fountain | Nominated |
| World Soundtrack Award | Best Original Film Score | The Fountain | Won | |
| 2009 | British Independent Film Awards | Best Technical Achievement | Moon | Nominated |
| 2010 | Chicago Film Critics Association Award | Best Original Score | Black Swan | Won |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Score | Black Swan | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Original Score | Black Swan | Nominated | |
| 2011 | World Soundtrack Award | Best Original Score of the Year | Black Swan | Nominated |
| World Soundtrack Award | Soundtrack Composer of the Year | Black Swan,Last Night andFaster | Nominated | |
| BMI Film & TV Awards | Film Music award | Black Swan | Won | |
| 2012 | Grammy Award | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Black Swan | Nominated |
| 2014 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film | Noah | Nominated |
| 2017 | Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production | Loving Vincent | Nominated |
| Year | Title | Showrunner | Studio / Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | CSI: Miami | Ann Donahue | Episode: "MIA/NYC NonStop" | |
| 2011 | United | Chris Chibnall |
| Television film |
| 2016 | Black Mirror | Charlie Brooker |
| Episode:San Junipero |
| 2018–2023 | Titans | Greg Walker |
| |
| 2019–2023 | Doom Patrol | Jeremy Carver |
| |
| 2022–present | Peacemaker | James Gunn | Composed with Kevin Kiner | |
| 2024–present | Creature Commandos | Dean Lorey |
| Year | Title | Director | Studio / Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Casey Hudson | Composed withSascha Dikiciyan, Sam Hulick,Christopher Lennertz &Cris Velasco |
| Year | Title | Director | Studio / Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Hire: Ticker | Joe Carnahan | BMW films | |
| 2006 | The Big Forever |
| — | |
| 2007 | In the Wall | Mike Williamson | — | |
| The Healing Syndrome | Michael Sheehan | High Tyde Productions | ||
| My Mother | Elaine Wickham | Medb Films | ||
| 2009 | The Odds | Paloma Baeza |
| |
| Blue Knight | Mark Anthony | Man of Mistery Films | ||
| 2010 | Fragged | Devon Avery | — | |
| 2014 | A Rose Reborn | Park Chan-wook | — | |
| 2015 | Gaslighting | Elaine Wickham | — | |
| Deathly | Mike Williamson | — |
MANSELL, Clint (b. 1963)...He was born Clinton Darryl Mansell in Coventry, England, and was interested in rock music as a youth, learning the guitar and playing in amateur bands.
