The next Caminandes episode is set for a November/December release and, once again, will feature an orchestral score and sound design by yours truly. Keep an eye on the production blog, where the team periodically shares their progress!

© arx anima

When medical technology specialist MED-EL introduced the world’s first single-unit processor for cochlear implants (CI) RONDO to the market, they approached Austrian animation studio arx anima for an image film that highlights the new level of freedom that the new technology can bring to hearing-impaired people. The result is an animated 2-minute journey through the world of sound: Musical instruments combine into symphonic landscapes, cities bristle with the sounds of communication, a stadium crowd erupts in jubilant cheering…

For arx anima, I provided a vibrant piece of music to accompany the spoken words of the poem that ties the images together, as well as the sound design and the audio mixing. You can watch and hear the result on YouTube or on my References page.

I’m very happy to announce that my music for Detective Agency No. 2, a series of detective stories for young readers written by Norwegian author Jørn Lier Horst and illustrated by Hans Jørgen Sandnes, has been nominated for Best Music in Advertisement at the 2013 Jerry Goldsmith Awards! The annual Jerry Goldsmith Award ceremony takes place as part of the International Film Music Festival in Córdoba, Spain, and in recent years has become one of the most renowned and sought-after recognitions for young media composers in Europe.

This has been my fifth nomination for the award overall, and I’m very grateful and honored for the recognition. The ceremony will take place on the 25th of June with attendance by veteran composers such as Rachel Portman (Chocolat, Oliver Twist) and last year’s Academy Award™ winner Mychael Danna (Life of Pi).

In their newest documentary feature Madagascar Diary, the Touratech crew travels across the fascinating island to the southeastern coast of Africa. Equipped with shiny new BMW prototype motorcycles and accompanied by a film crew directed by Wolfgang Danner, Herbert and Ramona Schwarz explore the vibrant wilderness between the sunny beaches of Nosy Bé and the urban scenery of Antananarivo. The result is a stunning, feature-length travel documentary, which is now available on DVD in the Touratech Webshop.

The project called for an eclectic, mostly acoustical music score that blends catchy folk-pop with the traditional African and Asian influences predominant in Madagascan music. For what marks my seventh collaboration with Touratech, I’ve written and produced more than 25 minutes of music for the film, some of which can be heard in its trailer.

All artwork (c) Hans Jørgen Sandnes

Targeted at young readers of ages 5–10, Detective Agency No. 2 is a series of illustrated children’s detective stories that has been launched successfully in the end of 2012 on the Norwegian market by publisher Gyldendal, and will be making its push to the European market this year. The stories are written by accomplished Norwegian author of criminal stories, Jørn Lier Horst, and are illustrated by Hans Jørgen Sandnes.

In addition to the printed books, an audio book adaptation of the series’ first two installments (titled Operasjon Mørkemann and Operasjon Tordensky) has been published in 2013. For this release, I’ve written and produced a catchy and playful jazz big-band soundtrack in the vein of Henri Mancini’s works. The title theme, dubbed Tiril & Oliver’s Theme, is also being featured in the international and Norwegian advertisement trailers for the book series, and has consequently been nominated for Best Music in Advertisement at the 2013 Jerry Goldsmith Awards, one of Europe’s largest film music festival competitions.

Listen to Tiril & Oliver’s Theme on SoundCloud:

Directed by CG veteran Pablo Vazquez and made by a small team of professional Blender artists, Caminandes is a fun 3D short film in the vein of classic Chuck Jones Cartoons. It was released in February 2013 and is currently partaking in several animation festivals. I wrote a playful, jazz-infused orchestral score for the short, and provided the sound design and mixing.

You can find more information on the project’s website or watch the short on YouTube.

Fresh from the cutting room of my studio (which I assure you totally has a cutting room), here’s a brand new, just-short-of-8-minutes demo reel showcasing some of my work from recent years. If you want to get a quick and focused impression of what I’ve been up to and what I have in stock, please do check it out. Featuring slick motion graphics from Sintel artist Soenke Maeter and some never-heard-before opening and closing music! Head over to the Showreel page or watch the reel in crisp HD resolution on Vimeo, and let me know what you think!

In order to call attention to the national law symposium Juristkongress 2012, which will take place in November 2012 in Lillestrøm, Norway, animation company Sandnes Media AS has produced a commercial trailer in their trademark hand-drawn cartoon style. I was responsible for the music and sound design. You can watch the trailer on my References page, or directly on Vimeo.