Daniel Frederick Hart is an American musician, composer and classically trained violinist.[1] He has released music as a soloist and with his bands The Physics of Meaning and Dark Rooms.[2][3][4] He has also toured and recorded with numerous bands, including St. Vincent, Other Lives, John Vanderslice, Swans, The Rosebuds, Annuals, Glasser, Broken Social Scene, Pattern Is Movement, Mount Moriah, The Polyphonic Spree and Sarah Jaffe.[3][5][6] In 2012, he wrote and recorded the score for David Lowery's film Ain't Them Bodies Saints, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2013.[7][8] He wrote the scores for Pete's Dragon (2016), A Ghost Story (2017)[9] and The Green Knight (2021). He lives in Los Angeles.[9]
Daniel Hart | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Daniel Frederick Hart |
| Born | August 1976 (age 48) Emporia, Kansas, U.S. |
| Genres | Chamber pop, Indie rock, indie, film score |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, violin |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Milan, Lakeshore, Walt Disney Records, Bu Hanan Records, Trekky, Varese Sarabande |
Early life
editHart was born in Emporia, Kansas, where his parents worked as church musicians.[10] He began playing the violin at age three.[2] He graduated from Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts.[4] After graduating college, he joined AmeriCorps and worked for a non-profit in New York City.[4][11][12]
Career
editMusic
editHart moved to North Carolina in 2002 and, along with David Karsten Daniels, John Ribo, Perry Wright and Alex Lazara, founded the Bu Hanan record label.[9][13] He formed the band The Physics of Meaning, releasing two studio albums,[13] and toured extensively with several bands. He played violin with The Polyphonic Spree, including opening for David Bowie in 2004.[14][9] He was also a member of St. Vincent's band from 2007 through 2010, and contributing to the albums Marry Me, Actor, and Strange Mercy.[5][6] He released his first solo record, The Orientalist, in 2011.[2] In 2013, his new band, Dark Rooms, released their eponymous debut album.[15] Hart also performed and recorded with the group Project Mastana, playing violin on their record Backroads to Bollywood.
Composing
editIn 2009, director David Lowery asked Hart to write two compositions for his first feature film, St. Nick. Since then, Hart has scored all of Lowery's films.[5][16][17]
In 2012, Hart scored Lowery's breakout feature Ain't Them Bodies Saints, and Hart was subsequently named one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 Faces of Independent Film" in 2013.[18] The score mixes chamber orchestral arrangements of strings and horns with more traditional folk instruments, such as the banjo, mandolin, knee slaps and handclaps.[19][5][7]
Following the release of Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Hart scored half a dozen independent feature films over the next two years, including Comet (2014), Return to Sender (2015), Uncertain (2015), and Lost in the Sun (2015), Tumbledown (2015), and The Girlfriend Game (2015).
Hart and Lowery next teamed up in 2016 for Disney's Pete's Dragon, an adaptation of the 1977 musical film of the same name.[20] Hart's score was written for a 94-piece orchestra and 32-person choir, by far the largest ensemble for which Hart has written music. Hart composed the score in three months, working "seven days a week, eleven to twelve hours a day" to finish it in time.[21]
Hart's next project was Season One of Fox's TV series The Exorcist, which debuted on September 23, 2016, and is based on the William Peter Blatty novel of the same name.[22][23]
In February 2017, Hart was nominated for IFMCA's Breakthrough Composer of the Year, for his work on Pete's Dragon and television series The Exorcist.[24]
On March 28, 2017, Daniel Hart released his composition for the soundtrack to the podcast "S-Town".[25] The music is moody and brooding, and contemplative, a perfect foil to the subject matter of the podcast itself.
Discography
editStudio albums
edit- The Physics of Meaning (2005)
- Snake Charmer and Destiny at the Stroke of Midnight (2008)
- Solo
- The Orientalist (2011)
- Dark Rooms
- Dark Rooms (2013)
- Distraction Sickness (2017)
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | St. Nick | Lead composer |
| 2013 | Ain't Them Bodies Saints | Composer |
| 2014 | Comet | Composer |
| The Sideways Light | Composer | |
| 2015 | Uncertain | Composer |
| Return to Sender | Composer | |
| Lost in the Sun | Composer | |
| Tumbledown | Composer | |
| 2016 | Half the Perfect World | Composer |
| Pete's Dragon | Composer | |
| 2017 | A Ghost Story | Composer (additional music provided by John Congleton) |
| Heroin(e) | Composer | |
| 2018 | The Old Man & the Gun | Composer |
| 2019 | Light of My Life | Composer |
| 2021 | The Green Knight | Composer |
| 2023 | Peter Pan & Wendy | Composer |
| TBA | Mother Mary | Composer |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Exorcist | Composer |
| 2017 | SMILF | Composer |
| 2018 | Strange Angel | Composer |
| 2019 | The Society | Composer |
| 2022 | Interview With the Vampire | Composer |
| 2024 | Sunny | Composer |
References
edit- ^ Ryding, Paul (August 25, 2012). "From Gurus to Tacos: Indie Violinist Daniel Hart". www.thebeijinger.com. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Album Review: Daniel Hart's The Orientalist is For Wanderlusting Lovers – D Magazine". D Magazine. July 11, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Critic, Mario Tarradell / Music. "Local Music Connection: Dallas-based singer-songwriter and violinist Daniel Hart". Pop Culture Blog. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Noted Indie Rock Musician Daniel Hart Found His Voice at Meadows – Meadows School of the Arts – SMU". www.smu.edu. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Macaulay, Scott. "Daniel Hart | Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "Daniel Hart | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "Daniel Hart on Scoring Ain't Them Bodies Saints". ANOBIUM. September 24, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ "Ain't Them Bodies Saints: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Raggio, Eva (July 19, 2016). "Daniel Hart, Dallas' Native Son, Is Riding a Dragon to L.A." Dallas Observer. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ Berlin, Joey. "Emporian returns home with band". Emporia Gazette. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
- ^ "Interview: Daniel Hart, composer for 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' and 'The Girlfriend Game' | Your Classical". www.yourclassical.org. December 29, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Currin, Grayson Haver. "The Physics of Meaning". Indy Week. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Currin, Grayson Haver. "Bu Hanan: Harmonic divergence". Indy Week. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Newspapers, Cary Darling Knight Ridder. "At 9:30 club Aug. 16 Polyphonic Spree is drowning out critics". The Frederick News-Post. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "Lone Star Sounds: New albums from Eisley and Dark Rooms, plus 'Dallas for Moore' | Star-Telegram.com". www.dfw.com. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "Q&A with composer Daniel Hart (Tumbledown) – Milan Records". Milan Records. January 27, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Ponsoldt, James. "In Dark Trees: David Lowery on Pete's Dragon | Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "25 New Faces of 2013 | Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "Ain't Them Bodies Saints director David Lowery on outlaws and '70s movies". The Dissolve. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "A Wondrous Remake of "Pete's Dragon"". The New Yorker. August 11, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Hussey, Allison. "Score One for Disney: Daniel Hart Discusses His Biggest Musical Project Yet". Indy Week. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "Daniel Hart to Score Fox's 'The Exorcist' TV Series | Film Music Reporter". Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "Exorcist TV Series Revealed as Direct Sequel to Original Movie". Pop Culture Now. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "IFMCA Award Nominations 2016 | IFMCA: International Film Music Critics Association". filmmusiccritics.org. February 9, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "Music From S-Town, by Daniel Hart". Daniel Hart. Retrieved August 8, 2018.