Ludwig Göransson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Göransson in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Ludwig Emil Tomas Göransson (1984-09-01)1 September 1984 (age 41) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | |
Spouse | |
Ludwig Emil Tomas Göransson (/ˈɡɔːrənsən/;[2]Swedish:[ˈlɵ̌dːvɪɡˈjœ̂ːranˌsɔn]; born 1 September 1984) is aSwedish musician, composer, conductor, songwriter, and record producer. For his work in music, film and television, he has wonseveral accolades, including twoAcademy Awards, aBritish Academy Film Award, twoEmmy Awards, aGolden Globe Award and fourGrammy Awards.
As a record producer, he has frequently collaborated withChildish Gambino, producing his studio albumsCamp,Because the Internet and"Awaken, My Love!", among others. Göransson's producing work on Gambino's 2018 single "This Is America" was met with acclaim and accolades, including two Grammy Awards — forRecord of the Year andSong of the Year. He has also produced for other recording artists, such asAdele,Alicia Keys,Rihanna,Chance the Rapper,Haim,Justin Timberlake,Kendrick Lamar,Travis Scott andMoses Sumney.
On television, he received his first break as a composer for theNBC comedy seriesCommunity (2009–2015) followed by theFoxsitcomNew Girl (2011–2018). He transitioned into dramatic work, scoring theDisney+ seriesThe Mandalorian (2019–2020), which earned him twoPrimetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. He also composed the main theme forThe Book of Boba Fett (2021–2022).
For his work on film, he has earned twoAcademy Awards for Best Original Score, forRyan Coogler's superhero filmBlack Panther (2018) andChristopher Nolan's biopicOppenheimer (2023). He was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song for "Lift Me Up" performed byRihanna featured inWakanda Forever (2022). He frequently collaborates with Coogler, serving as composer forFruitvale Station (2013),Creed (2015),Creed II (2018), andSinners (2025). He is also known for scoringVenom (2018),Tenet (2020) andTurning Red (2022).
Göransson was born and raised inLinköping. His mother Maria, a florist, is fromWarsaw, Poland, and his father Tomas, a guitar teacher,[3][4] is Swedish. He has an older sister named Jessika.[5][6][7] He is named afterLudwig van Beethoven.[5]
He began music lessons at a young age and went on to graduate from theStockholm Royal College of Music. In 2007, he moved toLos Angeles to study at theUniversity of Southern California Scoring for Motion Picture and Television program.[8] It was at that university that Ludwig metRyan Coogler, for whom Ludwig composed the score for the award-winning short filmlocks in 2009, which Coogler wrote and directed while at USC.[3] Soon after graduating from USC, he began work assistingTheodore Shapiro, a composer known for films such asAlong Came Polly,The Devil Wears Prada,Idiocracy, andTropic Thunder. Göransson's first break came in 2009 as the composer for the sitcomCommunity.[4]
In 2013, Göransson's first feature film came from fellow USC graduateRyan Coogler. Göransson composed the score to Coogler's critically acclaimed dramaFruitvale Station, based on the fatal shooting of 22-year-oldOscar Grant. The film won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience awards in the Dramatic category at the2013 Sundance Film Festival, also taking home the Avenir Prize and Un Certain Regard awards at theCannes Film Festival.[citation needed] In August 2013, Göransson signed a management deal as a composer forJay-Z's label,Roc Nation.[9][5] That year he also composed the music for the movieWe're the Millers.[citation needed] In 2015, Coogler and Göransson again worked together this time on the critically acclaimedRocky franchise filmCreed. By 2016–17, he was scoringTrue Memoirs of an International Assassin,Central Intelligence andEverything, Everything.[citation needed]
In 2018, Göransson and Coogler came together for their third collaboration,Black Panther.[10] Göransson set out to create a score that would sit somewhere between traditional African instrumentation and a traditional superhero score. In order to do this he travelled to Senegal to research traditional African music and instruments. There he met musicianBaaba Maal whose voice is featured in the score, singing in his native Fula language. He later traveled to theInternational Library of African Music in South Africa, founded byHugh Tracey, where he listened to recordings of traditional musicians to ensure the score had a culturally traditional sound.[11] In 2019, Göransson's score forBlack Panther won theAcademy Award for Best Original Score and theGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.[12][13]
On 22 May 2019, it was announced that Göransson was composing the film score forChristopher Nolan'sTenet.[14] Göransson was chosen after Nolan's frequent collaborator and first choice,Hans Zimmer, turned down the offer in favor of the 2021 filmDune.[15][16] Göransson experimented withretrograde composition andsampling to match the themes and tone of the film. The first scoring session was held in November 2019, and sessions continued into early 2020.[17] He worked on original songs and music withJustin Timberlake for the 2020 filmTrolls World Tour.[5]
Since 2019, Göransson has composed the score for theDisney+ television seriesThe Mandalorian, which is set in theStar Wars universe, as well as the fanfare for the franchise's brand logo.[5] He won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for bothseason 1[18] andseason 2's[19] finales. In 2021, he started scoring sessions forThe Mandalorian's spinoff series,The Book of Boba Fett,[20] which premiered on 29 December 2021. In 2021, he was chosen to be the composer of the new fanfare forWarner Bros. Pictures, which combines a new arrangement of "As Time Goes By" with elements of the originalMax Steiner fanfare.[citation needed] In 2022, he worked on the scores of thePixar filmTurning Red and the secondBlack Panther installment,Wakanda Forever. For the latter, he co-wrote the song "Lift Me Up" performed byRihanna, which earned him a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song.[21]
He worked for a second time with Christopher Nolan on his 2023 filmOppenheimer.[22]Its accompanying soundtrack received critical acclaim and earned Göransson theBAFTA Award for Best Original Music, theCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Score, theGolden Globe Award for Best Original Score, and theAcademy Award for Best Original Score.[23]
In 2010, when Donald Glover first approached Göransson about his side project, Childish Gambino, the two were working on the set ofCommunity.[4] Since then they have released four albums:Camp,Because the Internet,"Awaken, My Love!", and3.15.20. Göransson served as producer and writer for every song on the album"Awaken, My Love!", inspired byParliament-Funkadelic and black power music of the '70s. In November, they earned four Grammy nominations for their work, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Redbone".[24] Overall, his work with Gambino earned him six Grammy Award nominations.[citation needed] In 2012, Göransson producedHaim's debut EP and helped establish the band with a new sound on the song "Forever".[citation needed] He also produced two songs on the band's debut albumDays Are Gone.[citation needed]
On 5 May 2018, "This Is America" was released. Produced by Gambino and Ludwig Göransson, the song features agospel-style choir and background contributions from various American rappersYoung Thug,Slim Jxmmi,BlocBoy JB,21 Savage,Quavo andOffset. "This Is America" debuted at number one on the USBillboard Hot 100, becoming the 31st song to do so in the chart's history. The song won in all four of its nominated categories at the61st Annual Grammy Awards forRecord of the Year,Song of the Year,Best Rap/Sung Performance, andBest Music Video.[25]
Göransson married American violinist Serena McKinney in 2018.[26] Their first child was born in 2019.[5] He has two sons.[27]
As a composer
| Year | Title | Showrunner(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–2015 | Community | Dan Harmon | NBC (seasons 1–5) Yahoo! Screen (season 6) |
| 2011–2013 | Happy Endings | David Caspe | ABC |
| 2011–2018 | New Girl | Elizabeth Meriwether | Fox |
| 2014–2015 | Satisfaction | Sean Jablonski | USA Network |
| 2016–2018 | Angie Tribeca | Steve Carell Nancy Carell | TBS |
| 2017 | Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King | Hasan Minhaj | Netflix |
| 2018–2020 | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | Richard A. Preuss | |
| 2019–2020 | The Mandalorian | Jon Favreau | Disney+ |
| 2021–2022 | The Book of Boba Fett | Jon Favreau |
Göransson composed theDisney+ drama seriesThe Mandalorian, which earned him thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for bothseason 1 andseason 2's finales. He composed the main theme forThe Mandalorian's spinoff series,The Book of Boba Fett, which debuted in 2021. On film, he composed theRyan Coogler directed 2018 superhero filmBlack Panther, for which he won theAcademy Award for Best Original Score and theGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. He further scored the secondBlack Panther film, 2022'sWakanda Forever, achieving a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song for "Lift Me Up" performed byRihanna. His work onChristopher Nolan's epic biopicOppenheimer (2023) earned his first wins at theBAFTA Awards andGolden Globe Awards, and a second win at theAcademy Awards.
I called him and I was like: 'Hey, my name is Ludwig Göransson and I'm a film composer ...'
