Clint Mansell
Watching David Bowie sing 'Starman' on Top of the Pops sent a nine-year-old Clint Mansell reaching for a guitar. The Ramones came next ("punk rock changed my life," he said), and at 19 he joined the outfit that became Pop Will Eat Itself, fronting it as their sound absorbed sampling, electronics and industrial grit.
When the band split in 1996, Mansell moved to America, where Trent Reznor mentored him and introduced him to Pro Tools. A friend connected him with Darren Aronofsky; the pair bonded over hip hop, and Pi launched their partnership. Requiem for a Dream followed, its relentless 'Lux Aeterna' spreading far beyond the film into trailers and adverts.
Lacking formal training in notation, he composes much as he writes songs, building from drums, bass and vocal lines, with an orchestrator alongside. That method carried through The Fountain, Black Swan, Duncan Jones's Moon and Ben Wheatley's High-Rise.
If you like Clint Mansell you should check out: Nine Inch Nails, Mogwai, Philip Glass, Max Richter, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Hildur Guðnadóttir, A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Hans Zimmer
