Michael Brook

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Michael Brook

| image =

| caption =

| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist

| birth_name =

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1951}}

| death_date =

| origin = Toronto, Ontario, Canada

| instrument = Guitar, Infinite Guitar, sequencer, keyboards, bass guitar, djembe, surdo, percussion

| genre = Post-rock, folk rock, electronic rock, experimental rock, soundtrack

| occupation = Musician, inventor, film score composer

| years_active =

| label = Real World, E.G., 4AD

| associated_acts = Brian Eno, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Robert Fripp, The Edge, David Sylvian, Trey Gunn

| website = {{URL|michaelbrookmusic.com}}

| current_members =

| past_members =

}}

Michael Brook (born 1951) is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer.{{cite web |last=Brook |first=Michael |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5586671 |title=Michael Brook's Eclectic Rock Tribute |publisher=NPR |access-date=2016-02-02 |archive-date=2018-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818214411/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5586671 |url-status=live }} He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the world have made him "one of the most sought-after producers in the music industry." Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Brook lives in Los Angeles. He is the creator of the Infinite Guitar.{{Cite journal|last=Kane|first=Peter|date=5 March 1991|title=Stories|journal=Q Magazine|volume=55|pages=11}}

Career

Brook studied music and electronics at York University and worked as an engineer at the Grant Avenue studios, then owned by the Lanois brothers.{{Cite news|date=2016-10-21|title=40 years of musical history at Grant Avenue|language=en|work=The Hamilton Spectator|url=https://www.thespec.com/entertainment/music/2016/10/21/40-years-of-musical-history-at-grant-avenue.html|access-date=2021-11-14|issn=1189-9417|archive-date=2021-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114142128/https://www.thespec.com/entertainment/music/2016/10/21/40-years-of-musical-history-at-grant-avenue.html|url-status=live}} Here he worked with Brian Eno, The Edge, Jon Hassell and Harold Budd. In 1985 he released his first solo album Hybrid, containing instrumental tracks with Indian and African elements.

Another notable collaboration was Sleeps with the Fishes with Clan of Xymox member Pieter Nooten (4AD, 1987). He worked on the album Set by Youssou N'Dour, Miss America by Mary Margaret O'Hara and collaborated with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the album Mustt Mustt.

He toured as a member of the Sylvian and Fripp tour group, with the final concert at the Royal Albert Hall in December 1993 documented on the album Damage: Live.{{cite web |author=Biography by Jason Ankeny |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/michael-brook-mn0000456423/biography |title=Michael Brook | Biography & History |website=AllMusic |access-date=2016-02-02 |archive-date=2016-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131025017/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/michael-brook-mn0000456423/biography |url-status=live }} He also opened the concerts with a solo set, featuring the Infinite Guitar with effects and sequencer backing. In 1998, he produced the album "Volcán: Tributo a José José", a tribute album to singer Jose Jose. In 2006, the solo album RockPaperScissors was released, with an ambient remix version following in 2007. Brook toured small venues in Canada and the United States in late January/early February, 2007. In writing about his score for the film 2015 film Brooklyn, Variety said the film was "buoyed along by a beautiful Michael Brook score{{cite web |author=Peter Debruge |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/sundance-film-review-saoirse-ronan-in-brooklyn-1201419559/ |title='Brooklyn' Review: Saoirse Ronan Embodies Immigrant Experience |work=Variety |date=2015-01-30 |access-date=2016-02-02 |archive-date=2018-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113093220/https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/sundance-film-review-saoirse-ronan-in-brooklyn-1201419559/ |url-status=live }} and The Hollywood Reporter praised his "evocative scoring."{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/brooklyn-sundance-review-767488 |title='Brooklyn': Sundance Review |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2015-01-27 |access-date=2016-02-02 |archive-date=2019-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328042308/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/brooklyn-sundance-review-767488 |url-status=live }}

Awards and honors

He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1996 for his production work and as a co-artist on Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's album Night Song.Ahmad, Salman. Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution. New York: Free Press, 2010. 127.

Brook's soundtrack to Into the Wild was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2008.

He also contributed a track to The Edge's soundtrack for the film Captive (1986). Brook's Infinite Guitar was later utilized by The Edge on U2's The Joshua Tree (1987).

Two films that he scored, Brooklyn and Aloft, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015.{{cite web |url=http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/sundance/2015/composers/michael-brook.aspx |title=Michael Brook |publisher=Ascap.com |date=2014-06-25 |access-date=2016-02-02 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110111/http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/sundance/2015/composers/michael-brook.aspx |url-status=live }}

He won ASCAP awards in 2011 for The Fighter and 2013 for The Vow. He won the Havana Film Festival award for best music in 2011 for El Infierno.{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0111649/|title=Michael Brook|website=IMDb.com|access-date=2020-03-04|archive-date=2013-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221050713/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0111649/|url-status=live}}

Selected discography

=Studio and live albums=

class="wikitable"
\|Year !\|Artists !\|Title !\|Details
1985 \| Michael Brook with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois \|*Hybrid* Released: 26 July 1985 Label: Editions EG (EGED 41) Formats: LP, CD \|
1986 \| Jon Hassell \|*Power Spot* Released: 29 September 1986 Label: ECM (ECM 1327) Formats: LP, CD \| Brook plays infinite guitar on three tracks
1987 \| Pieter Nooten and Michael Brook \|*Sleeps with the Fishes* Released: 12 October 1987 Label: 4AD (CAD 710) Formats: LP, CD \|
1990 \| Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan \|*Mustt Mustt* Released: 14 February 1990 Label: Real World (RW 15) Formats: LP, CD \| First collaboration with Khan; credited only to Khan
rowspan="2"\|1992 \|rowspan="2"\|Michael Brook \|*Cobalt Blue* Released: 1 June 1992 Label: 4AD (CAD 2007) Formats: CD \|rowspan="2"\|Reissued together in 1999 as a 2-CD set titled *Cobalt Blue & Live at the Aquarium*
*Live at the Aquarium - London Zoo 21 May 1992* Released: 21 September 1992 Label: 4AD (TAD 2011) Formats: limited edition CD
1994 \| David Sylvian and Robert Fripp \|*Damage: Live* Released: 1 October 1994 Label: Virgin (DAMAGE 1) Formats: CD \| Featuring Michael Brook
rowspan="2"\|1995 \| U. Srinivas and Michael Brook \|*Dream* Released: 29 August 1995 Label: Real World (RW 47) Formats: CD \| Featuring Trey Gunn
Michael Brook \|*Shona* Released: 1995 Label: Sine (SIN002) Formats: CD{{cite web \|title=Michael Brook - Shona (CD, Album) at Discogs \|website=Discogs \|date=1995 \|url=http://www.discogs.com/release/229244 \|access-date=20 November 2015 \|archive-date=9 January 2016 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109013027/http://www.discogs.com/release/229244 \|url-status=live }} \| Unofficial release, recorded live during the Lanzarote Music Festival, December 1989
1996 \| Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook \|*Night Song* Released: 20 February 1996 Label: Real World (RW 50) Formats: CD \| Second collaboration with Khan
rowspan="2"\|1997 \| Iarla Ó Lionáird with Michael Brook \|*The Seven Steps to Mercy (Seacht gCoiscéim Na Trocaire)* Released: 22 September 1997 Label: Real World (RW 67) Formats: CD \|
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook \|*Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook Remixed: Star Rise* Released: 6 October 1997 Label: Real World (RW 68) Formats: CD, 2LP \| Last collaboration with Khan; features remixes of tracks from Mustt Mustt and Night SongReighley, Kurt B. "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook: Remixed" CMJ New Music Monthly 55 (Mar 1998): 40.
1998 \| Djivan Gasparyan and Michael Brook \|*Black Rock* Released: 7 September 1998 Label: Real World (RW 73) Formats: CD \|
2001 \| Hukwe Zawose and Michael Brook \|*Assembly* Released: 29 October 2001 Label: Real World (RW 100) Formats: CD \|
2006 \|rowspan="2"\|Michael Brook \|*RockPaperScissors* Released: 18 July 2006 Label: Canadian Rational/bigHelium Entertainment (CRBHE002) Formats: CD \|
2007 \|*BellCurve* Released: 23 October 2007 Label: Canadian Rational/bigHelium Entertainment (CRBHE010) Formats: CD \| Remix album of RockPaperScissors by James Hood
2008 \| Djivan Gasparyan and Michael Brook \|*Penumbra* Released: 23 September 2008 Label: Canadian Rational (CR 1011) Formats: CD \| Second collaboration with Gasparyan

class="wikitable"

|Year

!|Artists

!|Title

!|Details

1985

| Michael Brook with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois

|Hybrid

Released: 26 July 1985
Label: Editions EG (EGED 41)
Formats: LP, CD

1986

| Jon Hassell

|Power Spot

Released: 29 September 1986
Label: ECM (ECM 1327)
Formats: LP, CD

| Brook plays infinite guitar on three tracks

1987

| Pieter Nooten and Michael Brook

|Sleeps with the Fishes

Released: 12 October 1987
Label: 4AD (CAD 710)
Formats: LP, CD

1990

| Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

|Mustt Mustt

Released: 14 February 1990
Label: Real World (RW 15)
Formats: LP, CD

| First collaboration with Khan; credited only to Khan

rowspan="2"|1992

|rowspan="2"|Michael Brook

|Cobalt Blue

Released: 1 June 1992
Label: 4AD (CAD 2007)
Formats: CD

|rowspan="2"|Reissued together in 1999 as a 2-CD set titled Cobalt Blue & Live at the Aquarium

Live at the Aquarium - London Zoo 21 May 1992

Released: 21 September 1992
Label: 4AD (TAD 2011)
Formats: limited edition CD

1994

| David Sylvian and Robert Fripp

|Damage: Live

Released: 1 October 1994
Label: Virgin (DAMAGE 1)
Formats: CD

| Featuring Michael Brook

rowspan="2"|1995

| U. Srinivas and Michael Brook

|Dream

Released: 29 August 1995
Label: Real World (RW 47)
Formats: CD

| Featuring Trey Gunn

Michael Brook

|Shona

Released: 1995
Label: Sine (SIN002)
Formats: CD{{cite web |title=Michael Brook - Shona (CD, Album) at Discogs |website=Discogs |date=1995 |url=http://www.discogs.com/release/229244 |access-date=20 November 2015 |archive-date=9 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109013027/http://www.discogs.com/release/229244 |url-status=live }}

| Unofficial release, recorded live during the Lanzarote Music Festival, December 1989

1996

| Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook

|Night Song

Released: 20 February 1996
Label: Real World (RW 50)
Formats: CD

| Second collaboration with Khan

rowspan="2"|1997

| Iarla Ó Lionáird with Michael Brook

|The Seven Steps to Mercy (Seacht gCoiscéim Na Trocaire)

Released: 22 September 1997
Label: Real World (RW 67)
Formats: CD

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook

|Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook Remixed: Star Rise

Released: 6 October 1997
Label: Real World (RW 68)
Formats: CD, 2LP

| Last collaboration with Khan; features remixes of tracks from Mustt Mustt and Night SongReighley, Kurt B. "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook: Remixed" CMJ New Music Monthly 55 (Mar 1998): 40.

1998

| Djivan Gasparyan and Michael Brook

|Black Rock