2 languages
Nick Phoenix
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Nick Phoenix, born on 25 August 1967 in London, is a British composer and pianist and co-founder of the production music company Two Steps from Hell. Since 1997 he has been making music for film trailers and producing virtual instrument libraries for EastWest Sounds. In total he has more than twelve hundred scores and placements to his name, most of them for trailers.
Music and breakthrough
In 2006 he founded Two Steps from Hell together with his business partner Thomas Bergersen. In 2010 the two released the album Invincible, after which further releases followed, including Archangel and SkyWorld. Both albums reached the iTunes top 100 in the Soundtracks category. In 2013 Phoenix performed with Bergersen in a live concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The same year saw the release of his solo album Speed of Sound, a hybrid of electronic music and orchestra. With his band Crater Mountain he released the classic rock album Hillbilly Starship in 2014. He also wrote a book, Colin Frake on Fire Mountain, with an accompanying soundtrack, and a sequel in 2017, Colin Frake Asclepius.
Influence
Phoenix is important for the way film music sounds today: big, orchestral and built for a short, spectacular edit. His work shows how trailer music has become a branch of pop and film music in its own right, with listeners who seek out the music apart from the film.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 2004Drumscores
- 2005300 Years Later
- 2013Speed of Sound
- 2021King of One
- 2022Wide World
- 2024Heart of the Ocean
- 2024Underdog
- 2025Dawnstar
- 2025It Starts At Zero
- 2026Five
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 7NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Trailer music and epic music Genre
Two Steps from Hell, founded in 2006 by Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, at first supplied only film studios.