Daniel Blumberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daniel Blumberg
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Blumberg in 2024
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Oupa, Hebronix |
| Born | 1990 (age 34–35) |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Experimental, indie rock, slowcore, electronic, film score |
| Occupation(s) | Visual artist, musician, composer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, guitar, harmonica, clarinet |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Mute Records, Fat Possum, XL, ATP, RecoOtoRoku, Boiled Egg |
Daniel Blumberg, born in 1990, is a talented artist, musician, and composer from England. He is well-known for creating the music for the 2024 movie The Brutalist. His work on this film earned him important awards, including the BAFTA Award for Best Original Music and the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
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Daniel Blumberg's Music Journey
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Daniel Blumberg grew up in a Jewish family. When he was just 15 years old in 2005, he helped start the band Cajun Dance Party. He was the singer for this group. They released their only album, The Colourful Life, in 2008.
From 2009 to 2013, Blumberg was the lead singer and guitarist for the indie rock band Yuck. Their first album, Yuck, came out in 2011 and received good reviews. While in Yuck, Blumberg also worked on a solo project called Oupa. He released the album Forget in 2011 under this name.
New Music Projects
Blumberg left Yuck in 2013 to work on other music. His first new project was called Hebronix. He released the album Unreal in 2013. This album was produced by Neil Michael Hagerty. After that, Blumberg released a special single with Neil Michael Hagerty.
Since 2013, Blumberg has often worked at Cafe Oto, a music venue. He frequently collaborates with other musicians there. These include Seymour Wright, Billy Steiger, Tom Wheatley, Ute Kanngiesser, Ross Lambert, and Elvin Brandhi.
He once explained in an interview that live music should be truly live. He said that what happens in one concert might be different in the next. The sound changes with different groups of musicians. He enjoys how the music is never the same because the place and situation are always new.
Solo Albums and Performances
Mute Records released Blumberg's first solo album, Minus, in May 2018. This album was recorded by Scott Walker's producer, Peter Walsh. Blumberg worked with musicians he met at Cafe Oto. These included Billy Steiger on violin and Tom Wheatley on double bass. Minus received very positive reviews. The Times newspaper gave it a perfect score. Billboard magazine called it a "unique and exquisite record." Rough Trade even named it the sixth best album of 2018.
In April 2018, Cafe Oto's label, OtoRoku, released a live album. It was recorded in February with Billy Steiger, Tom Wheatley, and Ute Kanngiesser. In June 2018, Blumberg, Steiger, and Wheatley performed two songs from Minus on the TV show Later... with Jools Holland.
Another album, Liv, was released by Mute Records in December 2018. It was recorded live in 2014. Blumberg performed across Europe to support this album. He played at places like the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie.
In March 2020, he performed a live online concert at Cafe Oto. This concert helped raise money for the venue. It included live drawing and live versions of his songs.
His second album on Mute Records, On&On, came out in July 2020. It featured the same main musicians as Minus. Peter Walsh also returned as the producer. Reviews for On&On were very good. The Financial Times gave it five stars. The Independent called it an "extraordinary work." Uncut magazine said it was "another superb LP."
His third studio album, GUT, was released in May 2023. This album was also released through Mute Records. Before the album, he released a single called "CHEERUP" in April 2023.
Working with Other Artists
Blumberg performs with saxophonist Seymour Wright. Their group is called GUO. Their first release, GUO1, came out in 2016. GUO2 was released in 2017 by Cafe Oto's label. GUO4 was released on Mute Records in September 2019. This release included a short film by director Peter Strickland.
Blumberg also works with Elvin Brandhi in a group called BAHK. They have done concerts, special projects, and made music, drawings, and films together. BAHK released their first song in May 2020. They also created a video and drawings for Blumberg's Silver Dinner series. For this series, Blumberg worked with Japanese musician Keiji Haino.
Music for Movies
In 2018, Curzon Cinemas and the British Film Institute (BFI) asked Blumberg to create music. This music was for the launch of their film season about Agnès Varda.
In 2019, GUO worked with British director Peter Strickland. Strickland made a short film called GUO4. This film was shown at the Venice International Film Festival in August 2019. It also debuted in the UK at the London Film Festival in October 2019.
In October 2019, GUO worked with American film director Brady Corbet. They created a short film and performance called GYUTO. It premiered in London.
In July 2020, it was announced that Blumberg composed the music for the film The World to Come. This movie starred Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston. It premiered at the 77th Venice Film Festival. Other musicians like Peter Brötzmann and Josephine Foster played on the score. After the premiere, The Observer called Blumberg's work "superbly original." IndieWire voted it their top film score of 2021. They said the music was very important to the story. Mute Records released the score in January 2022. In May 2022, Blumberg won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Film Score for The World To Come.
Blumberg also composed the music for Brady Corbet's 2024 film The Brutalist. This movie stars Adrien Brody. The Hollywood Reporter called it a "mighty score." Vogue said the music moved from jazz to powerful brass sounds. The music plays a very important part in the film. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Blumberg's work honored Scott Walker. His score for The Brutalist has been recognized as one of the best scores of 2024. It earned him a BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
Daniel Blumberg's Visual Art
Blumberg is also a visual artist. He mainly creates drawings. He makes detailed drawings using an old technique called silverpoint. He also uses watercolour and graphite. In 2015, he received a scholarship to study drawing at London's Royal Drawing School.
In 2019, he showed a large graphite drawing at the Hyper! Exhibition in Hamburg. He also displayed ten small watercolours and two video works. A famous art curator, Hans Urlich Obrist, wrote that Blumberg moves "delicately between the two worlds - between music and art."
He had his first solo art show in 2019 called UN-ERASE-ABLE. It was at Union Gallery in London. He showed small silverpoint drawings he calls "micrograms."
In 2020, he continued his silverpoint work for the MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome. He also made drawings for MK Gallery in Milton Keynes. He created a series called SILVER DINNER for Homecooking. This series combined drawing with music, performance, and video. He worked with Keiji Haino and Elvin Brandhi on this project.
He composed music for Marianna Simnett's video piece "Dance, Stanley Dance." This video premiered in London in May 2020. From June 2020 to January 2021, Blumberg's large graphite drawing was shown at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. It was part of an exhibition called Black Album, White Cube.
