Film and music are not just my business. They are my life.
Not a day goes by without songs by the likes of Beyoncé, Panic at the Disco, Depeche Mode, Harry Styles, and The Carpenters streaming through my headphones.
Not a night goes by without watching another film or TV series, from The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Prestige and Parasite, to The Mandalorian, The Split and Taskmaster.
All the composing and conducting I do aside, this means that I spend a lot of time breathing my practice as well as living it.
I enjoy composing film music, because I love storytelling and I believe music is an integral part of making storytelling personal. Film presents a narrative, but
music can present the emotion. Film explores the meaning of stories, but music helps us interpret why these stories and meanings matter to us. As an audience, it leads
us to become immersed, partisan and emotional. Film music leaves a moving legacy, it coaches and subverts our expectations.
For this reason, I’m always interested in discovering new and different sound worlds, including diverse international music styles, to create new colours and new feeling.
New projects are always challenging me to apply my Grade 8 performance skills to create something fresh, meaningful and bespoke.
By pushing the limits of my creativity, I can also push the limits of my audience emotionally.
This is a tantalising and unpredictable process, measured and rewarded in reactions. However, it does have one tenet: I cannot expect of my audience any more than I have expected of myself.
Therefore, when I immerse myself in a new project with humility and an open-mind, I know I have found the right way to start.
Biography
David Simkins is a Film Composer and Creative Entrepreneur at the National Youth Film Academy. His compositional portfolio in fusion music and comedy drama film already includes two feature-length films for Amazon Prime release. His soundtrack to Snake Hotel (2023) is for the producers of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023).
David's Grade 8 performance skills, key understanding of orchestration, and detailed research into different musical styles enables him to create stylish bespoke music. Previous works have included influences ranging from 90s acid house and electroacoustic music to Balinese Gamelan and West-African drumming. He’s producing a hauntological, plunderphonics album in alternative rock and electronic music.
To inform his music production, David takes leadership roles in orchestral ensembles. During his time as an MA Music with Innovation student at the University of Bristol, he has conducted the University Chamber and Philharmonic Orchestras, and worked as an assistant music director with operatic and music theatre groups. He has also collaborated with local artists, directors, and ensembles, including Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s Kokoro, Dorset Youth Orchestra, Richard Irwin Music, Red Hat Productions, and Sollywood Production House.
David has secured study in Composing for Film, TV & Games at the National Film and Television School and is always looking to network and collaborate with others in the creative industries.