Nathan Johnson
As a composer, director, and producer, Nathan Johnson's innovative film scores and hybrid media performances have consistently blurred the lines between stage, screen, music, and narrative. Best known for his unconventional work in film music, Nathan favors modified, organic instrumentation combined with unique approaches to recording and performing.
Beginning with his critically acclaimed work on the neo-noir film Brick, Nathan has made a practice of combining unorthodox audio sources such as filing cabinets, cheese graters, and tuned wine glasses with traditional instrumentation. A similar approach has underpinned all of Nathan's work, perhaps most famously in the vast sonic palette of the Looper score, which he constructed using field recordings of industrial detritus and tuned treadmills to create a hybrid, found-sound orchestra.
Nathan continues to compose and produce while directing short films and music videos, many of which employ a similarly painstaking approach. He is the recipient of numerous film and music awards, and his work has been featured extensively by NPR, Wired, the AV Club, and Rolling Stone. When he is not creating music or videos, he works as an art director with The Made Shop, a boutique design firm that specializes in graphic and architectural projects.
He lives in Los Angeles with the help of his friends.
Awards
IFMCA Breakthrough Composer of the Year - Looper
UKVMA Best Alternative Video - Budget
Digital Graffiti - Best In Show
CamerImage - Video of the Year (Nominated)
SXSW - Video of the Year (Nominated)
COFCA - Best Original Score - Brick (Nominated)
Satellite Awards - Best Original Score - Brick (Nominated)
Select Press
NPR - 'Looper': A World Of Musical Clicks And Pops
NPR - Son Lux’s New Video Is Kinda Mind-Blowing
NPR - The Madness Behind Making The Lucius Video, “Gone Insane”
Rolling Stone - Premiere: Behind the Scenes of the ‘Looper’ Score
Wired - Video: Pistol Clicks Become Killer Drum Sounds in Looper
Wired - Video: Looper Is a Sci-Fi Mashup Scored by New Orleans Noise
Wired - Video: Rian and Nathan Johnson talk Looper
Vice - Rotoscoped Music Video Weaves a Story Out of Yarn and Pins
Pitchfork - Son Lux's Creepy "You Don't Know Me" Video
Film School Rejects - Explore the Score of ‘Looper’ With Composer Nathan Johnson
Designing Sound - Nathan Johnson on creating a sound-based score for Looper
Birth Movies Death - Closing The Loop With LOOPER Composer Nathan Johnson