Michael Brook (born 1951) is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the world have made him "one of the most sought-after producers in the music industry."

Career

Brook studied music and electronics at York University and worked as an engineer at the Grant Avenue studios, then owned by the Lanois brothers. Here he worked with Brian Eno, The Edge, Jon Hassell and Harold Budd. In 1985 he released his first solo album Hybrid, containing instrumental tracks with Indian and African elements. He also opened the concerts with a solo set, featuring the Infinite Guitar with effects and sequencer backing. In 1998, he produced the album "Volcán: Tributo a José José", a tribute album to singer Jose Jose. In 2006, the solo album RockPaperScissors was released, with an ambient remix version following in 2007. Brook toured small venues in Canada and the United States in late January/early February, 2007. In writing about his score for the film 2015 film Brooklyn, Variety said the film was "buoyed along by a beautiful Michael Brook score and The Hollywood Reporter praised his "evocative scoring."

Awards and honors

He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1996 for his production work and as a co-artist on Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's album Night Song.

Brook's soundtrack to Into the Wild was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2008.

He also contributed a track to The Edge's soundtrack for the film Captive (1986). Brook's Infinite Guitar was later utilized by The Edge on U2's The Joshua Tree (1987).

He won ASCAP awards in 2011 for The Fighter and 2013 for The Vow. He won the Havana Film Festival award for best music in 2011 for El Infierno.

Selected discography

Studio and live albums

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!|Year

!|Artists

!|Title

!|Details

|-

|1985

| Michael Brook with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois

|Hybrid

  • Released: 26 July 1985
  • Label: Editions EG <small>(EGED 41)</small>
  • Formats: LP, CD

|

|-

|1986

| Jon Hassell

|Power Spot

  • Released: 29 September 1986
  • Label: ECM <small>(ECM 1327)</small>
  • Formats: LP, CD

| Brook plays infinite guitar on three tracks

|-

|1987

| Pieter Nooten and Michael Brook

|Sleeps with the Fishes

  • Released: 12 October 1987
  • Label: 4AD <small>(CAD 710)</small>
  • Formats: LP, CD

|

|-

|1990

| Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

|Mustt Mustt

  • Released: 14 February 1990
  • Label: Real World <small>(RW 15)</small>
  • Formats: LP, CD

| First collaboration with Khan; credited only to Khan

|-

|rowspan="2"|1992

|rowspan="2"|Michael Brook

|Cobalt Blue

  • Released: 1 June 1992
  • Label: 4AD <small>(CAD 2007)</small>
  • Formats: CD

|rowspan="2"|Reissued together in 1999 as a 2-CD set titled Cobalt Blue & Live at the Aquarium

|-

|Live at the Aquarium - London Zoo 21 May 1992

  • Released: 21 September 1992
  • Label: 4AD <small>(TAD 2011)</small>
  • Formats: limited edition CD

|-

|1994

| David Sylvian and Robert Fripp

|Damage: Live

  • Released: 1 October 1994
  • Label: Virgin <small>(DAMAGE 1)</small>
  • Formats: CD

| Featuring Michael Brook

|-

|rowspan="2"|1995

| U. Srinivas and Michael Brook

|Dream

  • Released: 29 August 1995
  • Label: Real World <small>(RW 47)</small>
  • Formats: CD

| Featuring Trey Gunn

|-

| Michael Brook

|Shona

  • Released: 1995
  • Label: Sine <small>(SIN002)</small>
  • Formats: CD

| Unofficial release, recorded live during the Lanzarote Music Festival, December 1989

|-

|1996

| Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook

|Night Song

  • Released: 20 February 1996
  • Label: Real World <small>(RW 50)</small>
  • Formats: CD

| Second collaboration with Khan

|-

|rowspan="2"|1997

| Iarla Ó Lionáird with Michael Brook

|The Seven Steps to Mercy (Seacht gCoiscéim Na Trocaire)

  • Released: 22 September 1997
  • Label: Real World <small>(RW 67)</small>
  • Formats: CD

|

|-

| Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook

|Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook Remixed: Star Rise

  • Released: 6 October 1997
  • Label: Real World <small>(RW 68)</small>
  • Formats: CD, 2LP

| Last collaboration with Khan; features remixes of tracks from Mustt Mustt and Night Song

|-

|1998

| Djivan Gasparyan and Michael Brook

|Black Rock

  • Released: 7 September 1998
  • Label: Real World <small>(RW 73)</small>
  • Formats: CD

|

|-

|2001

| Hukwe Zawose and Michael Brook

|Assembly

  • Released: 29 October 2001
  • Label: Real World <small>(RW 100)</small>
  • Formats: CD

|

|-

|2006

|rowspan="2"|Michael Brook

|RockPaperScissors

  • Released: 18 July 2006
  • Label: Canadian Rational/bigHelium Entertainment <small>(CRBHE002)</small>
  • Formats: CD

|

|-

|2007

|BellCurve

  • Released: 23 October 2007
  • Label: Canadian Rational/bigHelium Entertainment <small>(CRBHE010)</small>
  • Formats: CD

| Remix album of RockPaperScissors by James Hood

|-

|2008

| Djivan Gasparyan and Michael Brook

|Penumbra

  • Released: 23 September 2008
  • Label: Canadian Rational <small>(CR 1011)</small>
  • Formats: CD

| Second collaboration with Gasparyan

|}

Soundtracks

  • Captive (1986) – co-writer/producer with The Edge.
  • Heat (1995)
  • Albino Alligator (1996)
  • Affliction (1997)
  • Crime and Punishment in Suburbia (2000)
  • Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
  • Black Hawk Down (2001) - music composed by Hans Zimmer
  • Charlotte Sometimes (2002)
  • India: Kingdom of the Tiger (2002)
  • An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
  • Tre (2007)
  • Into the Wild (2007)
  • Americanese (2008)
  • Road, Movie (2009)
  • Morning (2010)
  • 9500 Liberty (2010)
  • The Fighter (2010)
  • Country Strong (2010)
  • El Infierno (2010)
  • Darwin (2011)
  • Undefeated (2011)
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
  • Cas and Dylan (2013)
  • Aloft (2015)
  • Brooklyn (2015)
  • Tallulah (2016)
  • Stronger (2017)
  • My Days of Mercy (2017)
  • Le Brio (2017)
  • Giant Little Ones (2019)

See also

  • List of ambient music artists

References

  • Michael Brook's Official Website