Gustavo Santaolalla | Artist
Gustavo Santaolalla is an Argentinian musician, composer, and producer, born 1951 in Ciudad Jardín Lomas del Palomar, Buenos Aires. His name is synonymous with soul-stirring melodies and captivating soundscapes that transcend language and culture. His musical career encompasses a wide range of genres, from rock and pop to traditional Latin American music and film scoring. Starting out in 1967 at the age of Sixteen, he co-founded the group Arco Iris, a rock band that pioneered the fusion of rock and Latin American folk known as "rock nacional". The band adopted the lifestyle of a yoga commune guided by Danais "Dana" Winnycka and her partner, musician Ara Tokatlian. He left the group in 1975 and assembled Soluna, a band in which he played alongside teenage pianist and singer Alejandro Lerner and his then-girlfriend Monica Campins. He then moved to Los Angeles, and adopted a rock and roll sound, forming the band Wet Picnic with ex-Crucis member Aníbal Kerpel. He briefly returned to Argentina in 1981 to record his first solo album Santaolalla. As a solo artist he has recorded three albums, the third being the superb Ronroco from 1997. Ronroco contains his solo piece for Iguazu Falls "Iguazu," which was later used in films such as The Insider, Collateral and Babel, as well as a 2007 Vodafone TV commercial and TV series such as Deadwood, 24, and Top Gear. It also contains the track "De Ushuaia a La Quiaca" used by Walter Salles in his The Motorcycle Diaries. With his atmospheric music ideally suiting film soundtracks, Santaolalla was soon in demand as a big budget film composer, with credits such as The Motorcycle Diaries, Brokeback Mountain, Babel, Biutiful, On the Road, The Last of Us, and many more. As a composer, Santaolalla, who does not know how to read or write musical notation, nor does he use an orchestra for his soundtracks, has the ability to evoke powerful emotions through his compositions. Whether it's the hauntingly beautiful guitar melodies in his solo albums or the atmospheric soundscapes in his film scores, the artist has a gift for capturing the essence of human experience through music. Beyond his musical accomplishments, Santaolalla is a humanitarian and environmental activist, using his platform to raise awareness about issues like climate change and social justice. Santaolalla received the 2006 Academy Award for Original Score for Brokeback Mountain. In 2007 he received his second Academy Award for the film score to Babel which he dedicated to his father and his home country Argentina.
Artist Website: wikipedia/Gustavo_Santaolalla
Featured Albums: Gustavo Santaolalla
Related Artists: Arco Iris, Soluna
