Clint Mansell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Clint Mansell
Mansell with the Sonus Quartet, playing at the Union Chapel, London, 20 July 2009
Background information
Birth name	Clinton Darryl Mansell
Born	(1963-11-07) 7 November 1963 (age 61)
Origin	Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Genres	Film score, alternative rock, grebo rock, electronic, industrial rock, classical
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, composer
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, piano, guitar, bass
Years active	1981–present
Associated acts	Pop Will Eat Itself

Clint Mansell (/ˈmænsəl/; born November 7, 1963) is an English musician, singer, and composer. He is well-known for creating music for movies, also called film scores. Before becoming a famous film composer, he was the lead singer of a band called Pop Will Eat Itself.

After his band broke up, Mansell moved to the United States. There, he started his career writing music for films. He has worked closely with American director Darren Aronofsky, creating music for many of his movies. These include Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan, and Noah.

Clint Mansell is perhaps most famous for the music he wrote for the movie Requiem for a Dream. A special song from this movie, "Lux Aeterna", became very popular. A new version of this song, called "Requiem for a Tower", was even used in the trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Both songs have been used in many advertisements, movies, and video games.

He has also composed music for films by Ben Wheatley, such as High-Rise and Rebecca. Other movies with his music include Sahara and Moon. Mansell has also written music for TV shows and video games. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his work on The Fountain and for several Grammy Awards for Black Swan.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Clint Mansell was born in Coventry, England. His father worked for the electricity board, and his mother prepared school meals.

When he was nine, he saw David Bowie perform "Starman" on TV. This inspired him to start playing the guitar. Later, he discovered punk music, especially the Ramones, which changed his life. He played in rock bands when he was young. At 19, he joined the band that would become Pop Will Eat Itself.

Music Career: From Band to Film

Rock Band Days

From 1986 to 1996, Mansell was a key member of the band Pop Will Eat Itself (PWEI). He was the lead singer, guitarist, and one of the main songwriters. The band started using computers to make music in 1988. Their sound changed to include sampling and electronic music. They mixed in styles like hip hop and industrial music.

After PWEI broke up in 1996, Mansell moved to New York City. He hoped to start a solo career but found it difficult. He then moved to New Orleans, where he was helped by Trent Reznor from the band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor taught him about music software like Pro Tools. Mansell also sang backing vocals on Nine Inch Nails' 1999 album, The Fragile.

In 2005, Mansell reunited with PWEI for a "Reformation" tour. They played shows in cities like Nottingham, Birmingham, and London.

Becoming a Film Composer

While in New York, Mansell met director Darren Aronofsky. They both loved hip hop music and felt that movie music at the time wasn't very good. Aronofsky asked Mansell to write the opening music for his first movie, Pi. Because of a lack of money, Mansell ended up writing all the music for the film. His work on Pi won him an award at the Birmingham Film Festival in 2000.

Mansell then wrote the music for Aronofsky's next film, Requiem for a Dream. This movie became very popular, and its main song, "Lux Aeterna", became famous on its own. A new version of the song, "Requiem for a Tower", was created for the trailer of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Both songs have been used in many movie trailers, video games, and commercials.

In 2006, Mansell won an award for his music in the film Sahara. The next year, his music for The Fountain won "Best Original Film Score of the Year" at the World Soundtrack Awards. The Fountain's music was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Mansell's music for Aronofsky's Black Swan earned him many nominations. He was nominated for a Grammy Award and several World Soundtrack Awards. However, the music for Black Swan could not be nominated for an Academy Award. This was because it used some of Tchaikovsky's original music from "Swan Lake".

Mansell also created the music for Moon, directed by Duncan Jones. He won an award for "Best Technical Achievement" for Moon's music. His music from Moon was even used in trailers for the movie The Iron Lady and the video game Aliens: Colonial Marines.

He composed music for Stoker and Filth, both released in 2013. Director Ben Wheatley was a fan of Mansell's music. He asked Mansell to score his film High-Rise in 2015. Mansell has continued to work with Wheatley on films like Rebecca and In the Earth.

Other musicians like Lil Jon and A$AP Rocky have used parts of Mansell's film music in their own songs.

Clint Mansell never had formal training in writing music notes. He creates his film scores like he writes rock music: starting with drums, bass, guitar, and vocals. He then works with an orchestrator to arrange it for a full orchestra. He is inspired by composers like Philip Glass and bands like Mogwai.

Live Performances and Publishing

Mansell has performed some of his film music live with the Sonus Quartet in the US, UK, and Australia. The Kronos Quartet, who played "Lux Aeterna" for the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack, have also performed his work live.

In 2019, Mansell signed a deal with Decca Publishing. This brought all his music, including his work with Pop Will Eat Itself, under one company.

Awards and Nominations

Discography

with Pop Will Eat Itself

• Box Frenzy (1987)
• This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This! (1989)
• Cure for Sanity (1990)
• The Looks or the Lifestyle? (1992)
• Dos Dedos Mis Amigos (1994)

Live albums

• Weird's Bar and Grill (Live) (1993)
• The Radio 1 Sessions 1986-87 (1997)
• Reformation: Nottingham Rock City 20.01.05 (2005)
• Reformation: Birmingham Carling Academy 22.01.05 (2005)
• Reformation: Birmingham Carling Academy 23.01.05 (2005)
• Reformation: London Shepherds Bush Empire 24.01.05 (2005)
• Reformation: London Shepherds Bush Empire 25.01.05 (2005)

Film Scores and Soundtracks

Film

Television

Video games

Short films

See also

In Spanish: Clint Mansell para niños