Music / music
Bristol composers win Ivor Novello award
The work of four Bristol-based artists has been recognised with a prestigious Ivor Novello award.
Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow and The Insects (Tim Norfolk & Bob Locke) won the category of Best Television Soundtrack at the 66th annual awards for the American sci-fi thriller Devs.
Salisbury is particularly well known for his involvement with BBC Natural History productions, having scored David Attenborough’s The Life of Mammals and Life In The Undergrowth.
is needed now More than ever
He and Geoff Barrow also won Best Original Film Score for Ex Machina back in 2016.
The Ivor Novello awards are recognised as the “pinnacle of achievement” for music artists and celebrate “creative excellence by British and Irish songwriters and screen composers”.
Other winners from the ceremony at Grosvenor House include Harry Styles, Dave and Fraser T Smith.
Barrow, a member of Portishead and Beak, who co-founded the award-winning Invada Records in Bristol, said that the award night was a “great night for Bristol musicians all round”.
“There lots of musicians who play locally on these scores, so it’s always been a prominent industry in the city,” he told Bristol24/7.
“We’re now working on a new Alex Garland film and a TV show for Netflix.”
Salisbury tweeted a picture of his trophy after the ceremony on Tuesday night, when he also described Bath-based Tears for Fears, who received the Outstanding Song Collection Award for multiple albums and hit singles over the years, as “fuckign legends”.
Previous winners of an Ivor Novello award have included Amy Winehouse, Radiohead, George Michael and Madonna.
The soundtrack for Devs, which is available to watch on BBC iPlayer, was also shortlisted earlier this year for the UK Original Score Recording of The Year at the MPG Awards.
The TV series by British director Alex Garland tells the story of a “young woman caught up in a struggle between fate and human nature”.
“When her partner doesn’t return from a secretive tech firm, Lily uncovers a conspiracy that could change the world.”
Main photo courtesy of R Cleal (left) and Matt Smith (right)
Read more: K*ners: ‘why are we still talking about massive attack and portishead?’
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
