David Helpling

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{{Infobox musical artist

| image =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1969}}

| birth_place = Chula Vista, California, United States

| occupation = Composer, producer

| years_active = 1997–present

| label = Spotted Pecary

| website = http://www.davidhelpling.com

}}

David Helpling is a California based guitarist and keyboardist, recording artist and film composer specializing in ambient music and electronic music. He started his solo career with Between Green and Blue and Sleeping On The Edge Of The World. After composing the soundtrack to the film Trade Offs in 2003 Helpling released four albums, collaborating with fellow ambient recording artist Jon Jenkins, before releasing several solo tracks and three new solo albums: A Sea Without Memory (made exclusively with electric guitars, 2018), Rune (2019), and IN (2022).

Musical career

Helpling is a self-taught musician, whose debut release, Between Green and Blue, was a finalist for the 1997 INDIE Album-Of-The-Year award.{{cite web|url=http://spottedpeccary.com/shop/between-green-and-blue/ |title=Between Green And Blue | Spotted Peccary Music |publisher=Spottedpeccary.com |date= |accessdate=August 28, 2015}} In 1999, Helpling released his second album, Sleeping on the Edge of the World.{{cite web|url=http://www.davidhelpling.com/ |title=The Official David Helpling Website |publisher=Davidhelpling.com |date= |accessdate=August 28, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.deepexile.com/ |title=The Music of David Helpling and Jon Jenkins |publisher=Deep Exile |date= |accessdate=August 28, 2015}} Among other musical influences such as U2 and Björk, one of Helpling's main inspirations is film music. Elliot Goldenthal, Edward Shearmur and David Julyan are among his favorites.{{cite interview|date=July 26, 2023|title=Ambient-Electronic Artist 'David Helpling' Tells Us His Story..|url=https://musicotfuture.com/2023/07/26/ambient-electronic-artsit-david-helpling-tells-us-his-story-about-how-music-came-into-his-life-influences-and-the-release-of-his-new-song-living-like-a-ghost-featuring-heartracer-full-ch/|website=Musicotfuture.com}} As a full-time composer, Helpling has written music for several films, one of which, Trade Offs, immersed him in the music of India. The score features several guest artists, including vocalist Nidhi Bhatmuley, who also performs on his 2022 album, IN. Other film assignments include Cold Storage (2009), directed by Tony Elwood, for which Helpling scored a fully orchestral soundtrack using only computers.

Collaboration

Helpling and Jon Jenkins initially became a working partnership after being contacted by filmmaker Chris Cumming via Helpling's record company Spotted Peccary.{{cite web|url=http://www.ambientvisions.com/helplingjenkinstreasure.htm |title=Ambient Visions Presents an Interview with David Helpling and Jon Jenkins about Treasure |publisher=Ambientvisions.com |date= |accessdate=August 28, 2015}} After working on the score to Cumming's film "False Summit" the pair discovered they had a mutual respect for and interest in each other's music. Starting with Treasure the two worked as true collaborators; both contributing equally to composing, arranging the tracks and engineering the recordings. This collaboration continued as the two embarked on completing two follow-up albums, The Crossing and Found winning the 2013 ZMR Music Award for Best Electronic Album;,{{cite web|url=http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/admin/2013award_finalists.asp |title=2013 ZMR Music Award Winners |publisher=Zonemusicreporter.com |date=May 17, 2014 |accessdate=August 28, 2015}} the three albums constituting a sonic trilogy. He continued his collaboration with Indian musicians on the album IN (2022), which involves vocalist Nidhi Bhatmuley and esraj player Benjy Wertheimer. Loop cellist Matthew Schoening also features on the album.

File:DH-Bio-Pic.jpg

Film composition

Helpling is also a composer for film, and has also provided several themes, scores, and ambient beds for numerous television, corporate, and interactive projects. His production company is named DHM Music Design.

Other projects

"As the World Falls Away" is a time-lapse video filmed and produced by Shawn Malone and set to Helpling's music. According to WILX, it "went viral" in 2014.{{cite news | url=http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/WATCH-Time-Lapse-Video-of-Upper-Michigan-Goes-Viral-280941332.html | title=Time Lapse Video of Upper Michigan Goes Viral | work=WILX News | date=October 30, 2014 | accessdate=August 22, 2015}}

The video "North Country Dreamland", shot and produced by Malone, was set to "Lifted" from the album The Crossing.{{cite news | url=http://up.secondwavemedia.com/features/timelapsevideo51513.aspx | title=North Country Dreamland video captures imaginations of many | work=UP Second Wave | date=May 15, 2013 | accessdate=August 22, 2015}} The video "Radiance", shot and produced by Malone, was set to Helping's music.{{cite web | url=http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/see_stunning_overhead_video_of.html | title=See stunning video of overhead Northern Lights in Upper Peninsula | work=MLive | date=October 14, 2013 | accessdate=August 22, 2015 | author=Klug, Fritz}}

The animated video "You Already Are", produced by Joe Abreu, was set to the track of the same name from the album IN.

Discography

year	title	label
class="wikitable"
1996	Between Green and Blue	Spotted Peccary
1999	Sleeping On The Edge Of The World	Spotted Peccary
2003	Trade Offs	Deep Exile
2006	Cold Storage	Deep Exile
2007	Treasure	Spotted Peccary	with Jon Jenkins
2009	Beyond Words	Deep Exile	with Jon Jenkins
2010	The Crossing	Spotted Peccary	with Jon Jenkins
2013	Found	Spotted Peccary	with Jon Jenkins
2017	A Sea Without Memory	Spotted Peccary
2019	RUNE	Spotted Peccary
2022	IN	Spotted Peccary