Brian Crosby is an Irish composer and musician. Since 2009 he has been working and living in Berlin. This inspiring city has afforded him greater creative space to write, as well as the opportunity to build a dream studio worthy of the extensive collection of musical instruments he has collected over the years.
Brian spent the early part of his career as a founding member of Juniper (with Damian Rice) and BellX1. Between 2000 & 2007 he co-wrote four albums with BellX1 on Polygram and Island Records, and enjoyed success with the band in the United States with highlights including extensive touring of the country, two of the bands tracks featuring on an episode of the hit TV show The O.C. and live performances on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
In recent years Brian has become recognised for his minimalist and starkly evocative film scores. His work for feature films, shorts and visual art pieces shows a finely tuned and subtle sensitivity, with music that enhances the picture in an expressive yet nuanced way. His close creative relationship with video artist and filmmaker Paddy Jolley is perhaps one of the best examples of this affinity. Jolley’s hypnotic installations have been shown around the world at, for example, the Pompidou Centre, Paris, the Rotterdam Film Festival, Haus der Culture Die Welt, Berlin and Dublin Contemporary 2011.
Brian has also received recognition for the lavish and orchestral scores he created for Oscar nominated director Ruairi Robinson’s Silent City starring Cillian Murphy and Nick Ryan’s The German (which won Best Composition for a Short Movie at the Novarra Short Film Festival, Italy). His innovative score for the RTE radio drama Mayday by Veronica Coburn won him the Prix Europa.
His haunting minimal score for Juanita Wilson’s ‘astounding feature debut’ (Sunday Times) As If I Am Not There, has been highly received across the globe, with the film being screened at festivals including the Cairo International Film Festival (picking up the prestigious Silver Pyramid Award), the Palm Springs Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sarajevo Film Festival. Juanita was nominated as one of Variety Magazines top 10 directors to watch in 2011 and was previously Oscar-nominated for her debut short film The Door.
Beyond soundtrack work, Brian collaborates with various artists and bands on a range of other projects. He was the driving force behind The Cake Sale, curating and producing this double-platinum album featuring Glen Hansard, Gary Lightbody, Nina Persson, Lisa Hannigan, Damian Rice, The Divine Comedy, Gemma Hayes and The Thrills, which went on to raise over a quarter of a million euro for the charity Oxfam. The hit song Some Surprise was featured on US TV shows Grey’s Anatomy and The Protector. ‘The Cake Sale is not just the best charity record we've heard in years, it's one of the best records of the year ****’ The Irish Times.
Brian co-wrote and produced the collection of rich, finely textured songs on One Day International’s debut album Blackbird, and most recently he produced the excellently received debut album of The Man Whom, titled The Greatest Event. He is also on the board of IMRO – the Irish Music Rights Organisation.
