Giles Martin
Giles Martin (born 9 October 1969) is an English record producer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. His studio recordings, stage shows, TV and film works have been critically acclaimed and commercially successful around the globe. He is the son of Beatles producer George Martin and half-brother of actor Gregory Paul Martin.[1]
Giles Martin | |
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Martin backstage at the show LOVE | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Giles Martin |
Born | 9 October 1969 |
Labels | C.A. Management |
Education
Martin was educated at Stowe School,[2] a boarding independent school in the civil parish of Stowe in Buckinghamshire, leaving its boarding house, Lyttelton, in 1988,[2] followed by the University of Manchester.
Life and career
Giles Martin grew up without much awareness of The Beatles, and was discouraged by his father from pursuing a career in music lest the inevitable comparisons should be made between father and son. However, Giles carried on, first playing in the band Velvet Jones, then writing jingles in college. In 1995, he was appointed music co-director for the television and radio music countdown show, The Great Music Experience. He worked on the Party at the Palace concert to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, for which he also produced the subsequent album and DVD.
In 2004 he produced Hayley Westenra's multi-platinum album Pure, the UK's fastest-selling classical album of all time. Other acts Martin has worked with include Kula Shaker, Jeff Beck, Elvis Costello, INXS, Kate Bush, Elton John and The Rolling Stones.
In 2006 Martin collaborated with his father to remix, rearrange, and recombine the music of the Beatles into a soundscape for Love, a theatrical production of Cirque du Soleil, which opened at The Mirage in Las Vegas. His use of digital music production and manipulation techniques allowed him to create Love's musical mash-ups which he updated in 2016 for the show's 10th Anniversary. He produced the music for the final Broadway performance of Rent and worked with Martin Scorsese on his George Harrison film documentary Living in the Material World. Further film collaboration includes working with Ron Howard on his Beatles documentary feature Eight Days A Week and the British action franchise Kingsman. Martin was music director for the Elton John bio-pic Rocketman.
In 2009 Martin returned to the Beatles' catalogue with The Beatles: Rock Band, a video game that allows players to simulate performing Beatles songs with plastic instruments. Martin produced the title's music, cleaning and reworking the audio to suit the game's mechanics. In 2013, Martin produced tracks and served as executive producer on Paul McCartney's New album. He was the producer in charge of the 50th anniversary Beatles remix/deluxe reissue packages of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the White Album, and Abbey Road, released respectively in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Martin has served as Head of Sound Experience since 2014 at Sonos Inc., a company that builds wireless home audio systems. In late 2018, Martin was appointed as Head of Audio & Sound of the Universal Music Group.[3] The role was specifically created for Martin where he is based at UMG's Abbey Road Studios.
Personal life
He is married to Melanie Gore-Grimes, with whom he has two children. They live in London, England.
Awards
Giles Martin received two Grammy awards, both in 2007 for the Love soundtrack album, as a producer of the Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media and as a surround producer of the Best Surround Sound Album.[4]
Selected works
- 1994 The K's (also known as Kula Shaker) (GUT)
- 1994 My Life Story (Mother Tongue)
- 1995 The Glory of Gershwin (Mercury)
- 1995 The Choir (BBC)
- 1995 The Great Music Experience
- 1995/96 The Beatles Anthology (EMI/Apple)
- 1996 Monorail – Hairdressing (Edel)
- 1996/97/98 Velvet Jones (Naked)
- 1996/97 In My Life (Echo/MCA)
- 2000/01 The Alice Band (Instant Karma/Sony)
- 2002 Party at the Palace – Live show, CD and DVD releases (EMI/Virgin)
- 2003 Hayley Westenra – Pure (Universal/Decca)
- 2004 Willard White – My Way (Sony/BMG)
- 2004/05 Hayley Westenra – Odyssey (Universal/Decca)
- 2004/05/06 – Love (Apple/Cirque du Soleil/MGM/EMI)
- 2007 Kim Richey – Chinese Boxes (Vanguard)
- 2007 Paco Peña – Requiem
- 2008 RENT – Live on Broadway (Sony Pictures)
- 2008/09 The Beatles Rock Band (MTV Networks)
- 2009/10/11 George Harrison: Living in the Material World
- 2012 George Harrison - Early Takes: Volume 1 (UMe)
- 2013 Paul McCartney – New (Hear Music)
- 2015 The Beatles - 1+ (Apple)
- 2016 The Beatles - Live at the Hollywood Bowl
- 2017 The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - 50th anniversary editions
- 2018 The Beatles - The Beatles (album) - 50th anniversary editions
- 2019 Rocketman - music director for Elton John biopic, directed by Dexter Fletcher
- 2019 The Beatles - Abbey Road - 50th anniversary editions
- 2020 The Rolling Stones - Goats Head Soup - new stereo, 5.1 and Atoms mixes
References
- Espiner, Mark (27 November 2001). "Sounds and vision". The Guardian. London.
- "The Column - Issue 7 (page 11 - Giles Martin)". Stowe School, Buckinghamshire. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- "Universal Music Group Appoints Giles Martin as Head of Audio & Sound - UMG". UMG. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- "Awards". GRAMMY.com. 30 April 2017.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Giles Martin |
- Giles Martin – Management biography
- Giles talks to Matt Everitt about the Paul McCartney "NEW" album
- Giles talks to Alexis Petridis about producing "LOVE"
- Interview with both Martins regarding "LOVE"
- Technical article on production, Giles Martin talks to Harvey Kubernik
- Giles Martin video interview
- Giles talks with NPR about the Sgt.Pepper remix
- Rolling Stone Sgt.Pepper remix review
- The Beatles Eight Days A Week
- Giles Martin working with Sonos