Ambassador Nick Samuel is an award-winning composer and arranger. Born in California, he now lives and works in London. His work spans film, TV, radio and video games and is driven by music’s relationship with the narrative, with a between-the-lines approach to storytelling that draws influence from across the board of genres. An early-life love of animation and studies in visual art also played a role in Nick’s musical interpretation of visuals, and how melodies ‘speak’ with an image.

Beginnings in the live arena provided a cornerstone to Nick’s career. As a saxophonist and keyboard player, he worked with bands and projects ranging from London’s Jazz scene, to Classical, Rock and Metal; delivering performances onstage and in the studio. A natural transition to composing, as songwriter and band-leader, first saw him forming the group ‘Hopper’, which went on to receive a finalist accolade for ‘Best Alternative Act’ at the Indy Awards in 2007. In 2009, Nick made the gear-shift to composing, his experience in live music and improvisation heavily influencing the language of his music, and how it moves and communicates with both image and audience.

Nick started out by treading the well-worn path of scoring short films, before working within TV and advertising with clients including ITV (Text Santa), Tesco Books, Against Breast Cancer (for DCM), Pearl & Dean (receiving the 2013 Music + Sound Award for ‘Best Composition in Cinema Advertising’); and Tesco’s 2017 Christmas TV spot ‘Save The Day’, recorded with a 55-piece orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.

His experience in feature-length film and TV began as a sound designer, before scoring feature films, TV shows and multimedia series; working with production companies, studios and directors worldwide. Recent film releases include the acclaimed ‘Max Payne: Retribution’ and medieval fantasy / horror ‘Knights Of The Damned’. 

Nick composed the theme music for our AIB-nominated Mental Ideas Podcast and will take part as a guest in s2.

www.nicksamuelmusic.com