Simon Russell is an award-winning composer based in London. He is known for his work using found sounds, sampling, and electronics.
In 2023, Simon scored the BBC docu-series Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland (2023) for which he won an RTS award for ‘Best Original Score – non-scripted’. Other recent projects include the two-part Channel 4 documentary Spacey Unmasked, the Panorama documentary episode The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool (2023), and Emmy-nominated The Trapped 13: How We Survived The Thai Cave (2022).
Further projects include documentary series Outbreak: The Virus That Shook The World (2021), Secrets Of The Salisbury Poisonings (2021), and twice BAFTA nominated PBS/Channel 4 documentary, Battle for Hong Kong (2020). In 2022, he scored the docuseries Ghislaine Maxwell: The Making of a Monster, which aired on Channel 4.
In 2016 Simon wrote the music for the remarkable BBC documentary series Exodus; Our Journey to Europe. The series won 2 Prix Italia awards, 2 RTS awards, 2 BAFTA’s, a Grierson & an Emmy.
Other credits include Iran Unveiled; Taking on the Ayatollahs which told the story of the Girls Of Revolution Street women’s movement in Iran, and was BAFTA, Grierson & Emmy nominated; Inside Europe: 10 Years Of Turmoil, a 3-part documentary for BBC2, Once Upon A Time In Iraq for BBC and PBS and, for C4, The Curry House Kid, about world-renowned choreographer Akram Khan on his journey back to the curry houses of his childhood, including a cello composition written for Akram‘s choreography.
Other notable documentary works include Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, which won a Sundance Award and the Best Documentary Prize at the British Independent Film Awards 2013, Smash & Grab (dir. Havana Marking), an innovative documentary about the notorious diamond thieves, the Pink Panthers; Vote Afghanistan! (dir. Martin Herring & Havana Marking), about the country’s first free elections; 2 series fronted by Waldemar Januzczak: The Dark Ages – An Age Of Light, a 4-part series looking at art and architecture in the Middle Ages, and the 4-part Renaissance Unchained, both for BBC4, and 52 episodes of the animated show Canimals, for Aardman.
Simon Russell est un compositeur primé basé à Londres. Il est connu pour son travail avec des sons trouvés, samples et électroniques.
En 2009, Simon a composé la musique pour le documentaire long-métrage de Havana Marking, Afghan Star, qui a gagné 2 prix Sundance, the Grierson Awards 2009, et un Prix Italia. La même année, Simon a composé la bande-son de From St Peter’s To St Paul’s qui a gagné le prix RTS pour Best Arts Documentary. Plus récemment, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer a gagné un prix Sundance et le prix Best Documentary au British Independent Film Awards 2013.
D’autres documentaires à noter comprennent We Are Many l’année dernière (dir. Amir Amirani), à propos des démonstrations contre la guerre en Irak en 2003 (une bande-son sur laquelle Simon a collaboré avec Alex Baranowski), Smash & Grab (dir. Havana Marking), un documentaire innovateur sur les fameux voleurs de diamants les Pink Panthers; Vote Afghanistan! (dir. Martin Herring & Havana Marking), sur les premières élections libres du pays en 2009; The Dark Ages – An Age Of Light de Waldemar Januzczak, une série en 4 parties pour BBC Four à propos d’art et architecture au Moyen Age, et 52 épisodes du programme animé Canimals pour Aardman.
En 2016, Simon a composé la musique pour la série documentaire BBC remarquable Exodus: Our Journey To Europe, et a composé la musique pour le documentaire long-métrage pour Storyville sur le scandale Ashley Madison.
Simon a récemment composé la musique pour la deuxième saison très attendue de Exodus, et compose actuellement la musique pour plusieurs documentaires (sans titre pour le moment) pour la BBC et ITV.