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Benjamin Speed

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Benjamin Speed
Background information
Birth nameBenjamin Peter Speed
Also known asMister Speed
Born (1979-06-27) 27 June 1979 (age 45)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Genresfilm music, Indie pop, hip hop, electronica, alternative, experimental
Occupation(s)Film composer, songwriter, record producer
Instrument(s)Guitar, bass, vocals
Years active2000–present
LabelsCreative Vibes, Groovescooter, ABC
Websitewww.benjaminspeed.com

Benjamin Peter Speed is an Australian musician who composes scores for film and television. He previously performed and recorded as Mister Speed or Mr Speed, and was vocalist and songwriter in the Australian alternative, electronic, and hip hop band The New Pollutants.

Early life

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Benjamin Peter Speed says that he was "named by [his] brother and sister after Beatrix Potter's books The Tale of Benjamin Bunny and The Tale of Peter Rabbit.[1][2]

He studied music at university.[3]

Career

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Speed says that his dreams have often inspired his music as well as guiding his life choices.[1]

The New Pollutants and Mister Speed

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Speed formed The New Pollutants in 2001 with Australian musician Tyson Hopprich (DJ Tr!p).[4][5]

They released a full-length album, Hygene Atoms, a 12" EP Urban Professional Nightmares and a 7" single Sid-Hop.[6] The New Pollutants sound traversed through a number of different genres, including lo-fi, trip hop, electro, Commodore 64 music, 1950s and 1960s pop, comedy, alternative hip hop and electronica.[7]

The New Pollutants played at Australian music festivals such as the Falls Festival and Big Day Out, and were headliners of the 2004 Adelaide Fringe Festival opening concert.[7][8]

In 2007, Speed released his debut solo album The Dreamer. The Sydney Morning Herald reviewed the album, describing it thus:"The opening sounds like a scene from The Godfather; it closes with a hybrid of hip-hop rock. In between there are snippets of 1950s French soundtracks, moody trip-hop and multiple samples. The vocals sway between Beck and Buck 65, moving from the philosophy of art to observations of love".[9]

Metropolis Rescore

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In 2005 The New Pollutants composed and produced Metropolis Rescore, a new soundtrack to the silent film Metropolis, which they premiered live at the 2005 Adelaide Film Festival[10] and other music and film festivals,[11][12] including the 2006 Edinburgh International Film Festival. ACMI described the soundtrack as "an infectious and unique approach ranging from Germanic trip hop and lo-fi electronica to unforgettable classical and breathtaking cinematica".[13]

In 2011, a newly updated score was composed to the 2010 restoration version, which has an extra 30 minutes of footage originally thought lost.[14]

Film

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In 2005, Speed began composing film scores and collaborated with The People's Republic of Animation. He received the Best Original Score award at the 2006 St Kilda Film Festival for the animated short Carnivore Reflux.[15]

In 2009, he composed the music for The Cat Piano, narrated by Nick Cave, which was shortlisted for the 2010 Academy Awards[16] and features Nick Cave as narrator.[17] In 2010 he won an APRA/AGSC Award for his work on the series Itty Bitty Ditties.[18]

Speed has also worked with Closer Productions on their films and television series. In 2013 he composed the music for Sundance and Berlin Film Festival award-winning film 52 Tuesdays[19] which was directed by Sophie Hyde. He also composed for their TV series The Hunting, and Aftertaste, for which he was nominated for best score at the 12th AACTA Awards.[20]

Speed composed for the feature documentaries The Snowman in 2010, which won the Australian Documentary Prize[21] and was nominated for an AFI Award.[22] and Embrace, directed by 2023 Australian of the Year, Taryn Brumfitt.[23]

In 2023, Speed composed the score for the film The Portable Door starring Christoph Waltz and Sam Neill. It won Feature Film Score of the Year at the 2023 Screen Music Awards,[24] in which his "Monos Lithos" from Monolith was also nominated, for Best Original Song Composed for the Screen.[25][26]

Personal life

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Speed is married to Spanish film producer Blanca Lista, whom he met in 2011 when he was living in Sydney but on holiday in Los Angeles . After she visited Sydney in 2012, romance blossomed and a few days later he flew to LA and they decided to get married. They were married a week later by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas, with Speed returning soon afterwards for work in Sydney. Later that year they both flew to Spain to spend Christmas with Lista's family. Speed was granted visa to live in the US in August 2014, and they reside in LA with their son, with Speed flying back to Australia regularly for work.[27]

Awards and nominations

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APRA Music Awards

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The APRA Music Awards are sets of annual awards to celebrate excellence in contemporary music, which honour the skills of member composers, songwriters and publishers who have achieved outstanding success in sales and airplay performance. They are presented by APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society), which commenced in 1982.[28] The related annual Screen Music Awards were first presented in 2002 by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC).[29]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2009 The Cat Piano (Benjamin Speed) Best Music for a Short Film Nominated [30]
[31]
2010 Itty Bitty Ditties (Thomas Bettany, Speed) Best Music for Children's Television Won [32]
[33]
The Snowman (Speed) Best Music for a Documentary Nominated
2014 Time Tremors – Series 1 Best Music for Children's Television Nominated [34]
[35]
2023 The Portable Door (Speed) Feature Film Score of the Year Won [36]
[37]
"Monos Lithos" from Monolith Best Original Song Composed for the Screen Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Mister Benjamin Speed". ABC. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Benjamin Speed composer". Soundtrack Tracklist. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  3. ^ Speed, Peter (17 January 2016). "So You Want To Be A Composer? Meet Benjamin Speed". The Void with Christina (Interview). Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Metropolis Rescore, by The New Pollutants". The New Pollutants. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Metropolis with live score by The New Pollutants at Fed Square". www.acmi.net.au. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  6. ^ The New Pollutants releases
  7. ^ a b "Metropolis @ Adelaide Film Festival". Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
  8. ^ "The New Pollutants Biography" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
  9. ^ Sasson, Chloe (8 March 2007). "The Dreamer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  10. ^ "AFF Metropolis Rescore". Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
  11. ^ "metropolis". 5 September 2007. Archived from the original on 5 September 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Revelation Film Festival 2007 : Metropolis". 9 September 2007. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Metropolis Rescore @ ACMI". Archived from the original on 5 September 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
  14. ^ "Metropolis Rescore @ 2011 AFF". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  15. ^ 2006 St Kilda Film Festival Winners Archived 3 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ pssadm (23 March 2017). "Nick Cave Narrates Oscar-Nominated "The Cat Piano" In 2010". That Eric Alper. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  17. ^ The Cat Piano AFF premiere
  18. ^ 2010 APRA Screen Music Awards Archived 25 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ 52 Tuesdays (2013) - IMDb, retrieved 8 February 2023
  20. ^ "AACTA Announces Nominees for 2022 Technical Craft Award Categories". www.aacta.org. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Australian Documentary Prize Winner 2010". Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  22. ^ "Animal Kingdom leads menagerie of AFI nominations". The Age. 27 October 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016.
  23. ^ Embrace (2016), retrieved 9 February 2023
  24. ^ "2023 Screen Music Awards winners announced". APRA AMCOS. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  25. ^ "2023 Screen Music Awards nominees announced". FilmInk. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  26. ^ Knox, David (10 November 2023). "Screen Music Awards 2023: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  27. ^ Cernik, Lizzie (22 March 2021). "How we met: 'My sister and my dad were freaked out when I said I was getting married'". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  28. ^ "History". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  29. ^ "Categories". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Winners – Screen Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  31. ^ "Nominations – Screen Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  32. ^ "2010 Winners - Screen Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  33. ^ "2010 Nominations - Screen Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  34. ^ "Screen Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) | Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC). 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  35. ^ "Best Music for Children's Television". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) | Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC). 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  36. ^ "2023 Screen Music Awards Nominees Revealed". APRA AMCOS. AGSC. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  37. ^ "2023 Screen Music Awards Winners Announced". APRA AMCOS. AGSC. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
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