Composer Information

Name:
Stewart Copeland
Born:
July 16, 1952
Alexandria, Virginia
Manager:
Power Company, The Derek

Additional Albums

Dila Teer Bija>

Dila Teer Bija
Crotale

Year Released: 2010

Format: Digital Download

Biography

The former drummer from THE POLICE has been responsible for some of the most innovative and groundbreaking scores of the 80's and 90's. His career as founder and drummer of that band included the sale of more than 40,000,000 records worldwide, and won him five Grammy Awards. His musical travels have taken him around the world in search of exotic rhythms and musical celebrations from the jungles of Brasil to the Australian outback.

Stewart Copeland's output in 1998 and 1999 has included the number one teen hit of 1999- "SHE'S ALL THAT'; "SIMPATICO', a taut drama with Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone and Nick Nolte, written by Sam Shepard released in the late fall of "99, and rock'n roll production assignments with 'PRIMUS', Interscope Records' platinum alternative band from the Bay Area. Earlier but still recent work included John Waters' 'PECKER', Peter Berg's hilarious ultra black comedy for Interscope Pictures 'VERY BAD THINGS', and 'GRIDLOCK'D' for Vondie Curtis Hall (also for Interscope). Over the past decade, Stewart Copeland has enjoyed successful collaborations with some of Hollywood's most acclaimed and eclectic directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Oliver Stone, Kevin Reynolds, Bruce Beresford and John Hughes. He has written several films for UK cult director Ken Loach, and is enjoying a new and productive relationship with Brazilian auteur Bruno Barretto with 'FOUR DAYS IN SEPTEMBER', nominated for Academy Award as Best Foreign Film in 1998. Copeland began his move beyond the rock arena in 1984, creating the memorable score to Francis Ford Coppola's 'RUMBLEFISH'. The Coppola film's soundtrack featured a striking mixture of percussion, an electronically sampled cacophony of car horns and ticking clocks and was completely novel, and in fact pioneered the whole field of sound-designed scores.

It earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Score. This unique musical style brought him to the attention of Oliver Stone, to whose soundtrack of the dog-eat-dog world of 'WALL STREET' he added eerie howls and ringing bells. The music to Stone's 'TALK RADIO' and its doomed disc jockey was another Copeland tour-de-force. Some of Stewart's collaborations in 1998 have included John Waters' 'PECKER', Peter Berg's hilarious ultra black comedy for Interscope 'VERY BAD THINGS', and 'GRIDLOCK'D' for Vondie Curtis Hall (also for Interscope).

Outside of the recording and film worlds, Copeland has been involved in a diverse group of projects. Copeland's newest "serious' works include a world premiere of three pieces at the 1999 Catania Festival in Sicily, featuring compositions for orchestra and percussion. He composed 'King Lear' for the San Francisco Ballet, and completed a commission for the Cleveland Opera: 'Holy Blood and the Crescent Moon'. The latter was performed with a 90-piece orchestra and a 60 member chorus. Commissioned by UK Channel 4 as part of that network's new opera series: 'Horse Opera' was his next work. Based on the original play 'Cowboys' by Anne Caufield, with a libretto written by British opera director Jonathan Moore, 'Horse Opera' was filmed on location in Arizona. He also wrote the music for a one-act opera (libretto by David Bamberger): 'The Cask of Amontillado', based on the short story by Edgar Allen Poe.

Stewart added a further dimension to his live performance career by making his first appearance as a "Featured Guest Percussionist" with a major symphony orchestra, the Seattle Symphony. He performed a number of original compositions, including two world premieres entitled 'Solcheeka' , and 'The Stars That Played with Lucky Joe's Cards', as well as excerpts from 'Holy Blood and the Crescent Moon'. Following this he was commissioned by the Ballet Oklahoma to create a new piece'Prey', to be choreographed by their artistic director, Brian Pitts.

Stewart headlined a national tour of "Stewart Copeland and the Rhythmatists', and plans a new tour in the spring of 2001, to promote his next solo album. The last tour roster featured Stewart performing with a diverse group of international musicians including UAKTI (Point Music) from Brazil; Percussion de Guinea, a leading drum group from Africa; Vinx (Pangea), and Ray Lema, an original performer on The Rhythmatist album and video. A collection of Copeland's compositions were performed and recorded in Albany with the Albany Symphony Orchestra under the direction of David Alan Miller, as well as with Miller's smaller, avant-garde ensemble, The Dogs of Desire.