music.wikisort.org - Composer

Search / Calendar

Nicholas Gunn is a classically trained songwriter, lyricist, and music producer. He is known for his originating instrumental works and his current works featuring vocalists from the electronic music space across Trance, Melodic House, and Chill. He is also the owner of Blue Dot Studios, a record label and music publishing company, based in Los Angeles, California.

Nicholas Gunn
Producer/Musician Nicholas Gunn
Background information
Birth nameNicholas Graham Gunn
Born (1968-05-30) May 30, 1968 (age 54)
OriginRochester, Kent, England
GenresEDM, trance, world music
Occupation(s)Record Producer, Musician, Composer, Arranger
Instrument(s)Flute, percussion, drums, synthesizer, keyboard
Years active1992–present
LabelsArmada Music, Real Music, Gemini Sun Records, Spring Hill Music, Shotgunn Productions, Blue Dot Studios

Early life and education


Nicholas Graham Gunn was born in Rochester, Kent in South East England. He studied flute under a formal classical education from age seven till age eleven when his family moved to Southern California. After moving to Southern California Gunn continued his classical flute studies under private instruction. During junior high school and high school Gunn played wind ensemble in the band during concert season and drums and percussion during the marching season. After high school Gunn sidestepped music for a year, focusing his efforts towards modeling and acting which led to a small role on the national TV show Freddy's Nightmares as Monkey Puke Stone[1] on season 2 episode 11 "Dreams That Kill".[2]


Instrumental music career


Early on Gunn found himself immersed in a passion for recording his own instrumental style of music. Gunn shunned popular terms such as New Age and the connotation associated with his own music, preferring the term Instrumental or World Music. After unsuccessful attempts to obtain a recording deal from submissions, Gunn self-released his debut recording Afternoon in Sedona in 1992. With national radio starting to escalate and CD sales starting to occur, Gunn received interest from nature retail chain Natural Wonders, which led him to a record deal with Sausalito, California-based instrumental music label Real Music.[3]

Re-released under Real Music in 1993, Afternoon in Sedona became an instant best seller at national retail chains such as The Nature Company and Natural Wonders.[4] It was his second album, The Sacred Fire, released in 1994, that first landed Gunn on the Billboard charts for New Age Album, where it ran for five weeks and peaked at number ten.[5]

Taking part in Real Music's "National Park Series", Gunn's third album, The Music of the Grand Canyon, was released in 1995 and sold over 100,000 copies its first year. Once again Gunn found himself Top Ten on the Billboard charts and charted for fourteen weeks.[5] Outside of Real Music and the "National Park Series", Gunn has gone on to release numerous albums influenced by the beauty of America's landscape and parks, such as Return to Grand Canyon (1999), Through the Great Smoky Mountains (2002), Journey to Yellowstone (2003), and Beyond Grand Canyon (2006). Beyond Grand Canyon was also released as a DVD, in which Gunn paired his musical compositions with photography of the Grand Canyon taken by Michael Fatali, creating a unique audio-visual experience.[6]

On Crossroads, his fourth album released in 1996, Gunn began to incorporate a Latin influence into his sound, a theme which has subsequently embraced a number of his other albums, most notably Breathe (2004) and Encanto (2007), on which he collaborated with award-winning Latin guitarist Johannes Linstead. It was also on his 14th album, Thirty-One Nights, that he heavily incorporated this Latin influence working with Flamenco guitarist, Chris Fossek. Inspired by his trip to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula,[7] the album also features Spanish spoken word. Released on 11 September 2012, Thirty-One Nights charted No. 8 on the Billboard chart in its debut week.[8] It was also chosen by John Diliberto and Echoes as one of the Top 25 Albums for October 2012.[9]

Since 1991, Gunn has sold millions of copies of his instrumental music albums, an impressive feat considering that the marketing of his albums have mostly bypassed the traditional route of radio and mainstream outlets,[10] finding large success through niche retail chains such as the Nature Company, Natural Wonders, and gift stores throughout the National Parks.

Gunn began combining his electronic sound with his instrumental roots[11] in 2015 with the release of Under the Influence of Music. In his subsequent singles, Ibiza Sunset and Saint Lucia, one can hear his classic instrumental "Nicholas Gunn" sound moving into a more Ambient / Electronic space.

In 2018, Gunn continued this transition towards a more electronic sound and began introducing his own style of vocals and lyric writing. Older (feat. Alina Renae), released in 2018, showcases his first vocal-driven track under his Nicholas Gunn solo career. This was followed by the album, Riding the Thermals, which features four vocal tracks by the vocalist Alina Renae. Riding the Thermals went on to peak at #6 on the USA iTunes Electronic Albums and #22 on Brazil's iTunes Best Selling Albums,[12] amongst others. On April 24, 2020, Gunn continued to shape his vocal ambient/electronic sound with the release of his 20th studio recording, Pacific Blue, which again features four vocal tracks by singer Alina Renae, and on February 12, 2021, he released Sound Condition, a compilation of 10 new songs, also featuring Renae's vocals.


Electronic music career


Gunn quickly immersed himself into electronic music by founding the musical act Limelght with then collaborator and partner, Tanner Wilfong. The duo released music under the moniker Limelght from 2017 through 2019 until the act was retired. In 2020 Gunn then began transitioning his ambient sound towards a more electronic House and Chill sound, featuring vocalists from around the globe. Gaining attention from electronic music label giant, Armada Music, Gunn expanded his reach and musical style by releasing music on this trend setting label. His track Higher with musical act York featuring world renowned vocalist Sam Martin as well as California featuring Chris Howard and Sensing You with AVIRA all debuted on Armada Music in 2021. Remixes from industry dance legends such as Richard Durand and Giuseppe Ottaviani have gone on to become favorites on A State of Trance which is followed by over 40 million listeners per week.


Songwriter and lyricist career


Gunn has emerged as one of the leading songwriters and lyricists within the electronic music space, writing music behind the scenes for such renowned artists as Armin van Buuren, Aly & Fila, Luke Bond and many more. In 2021 Gunn's song, For All Time (feat Kazi Jay)[13] was voted Tune of the Year[14] by fans on A State of Trance.


Entrepreneur


In January 2019, after a hiatus from owning and operating his own label, Gunn saw an opportunity to remerge as a label owner and entrepreneur and started Blue Dot Studios, a record label focused on individuality and artistry based in Los Angeles, CA. The labels' first release, in 2019, was Gunn's own album Riding the Thermals. This was followed by the release of artist Little Warrior, and her album Lovesick, and then a single titled Time for Peace by artist Anna B May.

In 2020, Gunn released his album Pacific Blue which won several accolades including the Zone Music Reporter Best Chill/Groove Album[15] of the year. In 2021 Gunn released Sound Condition which continued to express his continued desire to work with lyrics and vocalists.

In 2020, Blue Dot Studios expanded upon its relationship with Sony The Orchard and entered into an exclusive publishing administration deal with Sony / ATV. Today, Blue Dot Studios continues to thrive distributing several labels with many releases each month.


Philanthropist


Over the course of his career, Gunn has consistently monetarily contributed to the National Park systems.[16] Along with record label Real Music, Gunn donated a portion of the proceeds from each sale of The Music of the Grand Canyon to the Grand Canyon Association. To date, in excess of $130,000 has been donated from sales.[17] Gunn also named the American Lung Association as a beneficiary of a portion of sales from his album Breathe.[18]


Discography



Albums and singles



Songwriting credits


YearArtistSongAlbum
2021Armin van Buuren, Aly & Fila"For All Time" feat. Kazi JayNon-album single
Luke Bond"Our Anthem" feat. Kazi JayNon-album single

See also



References


  1. "IMDb Characters". IMDb.
  2. "IMDb Full Credits". IMDb.
  3. "Artist Profile: Nicholas Gunn". www.realmusic.com.
  4. "Chicago Gourmets". Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  5. "Billboard". Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  6. "Beyond Grand Canyon Audio-Visual". Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  7. Review, Thirty-One Nights. "New Age Music World". Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  8. Billboard. "New Age Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  9. Echoes. "Top 25 for August". Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  10. "eNotes Reference". Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  11. "Welcome to clubhead.tv". ClubHead.TV. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  12. iTunes Charts http://www.itunescharts.net/bra/artists/music/nicholas-gunn/albums/riding-the-thermals/. Retrieved 26 April 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. "ASCAP ACE Repertory".
  14. "Aly & Fila Win ASOT Tune Of The Year for 2nd Consecutive Year". edmtunes.com. 28 December 2021.
  15. "2020 Award Finalists". Zone Music Reporter.
  16. "Dakota Nature and Art". Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  17. "Rock River Times". Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  18. "Creative Ways to Give" (PDF). American Lung Association of Florida. Retrieved 12 April 2012.




Текст в блоке "Читать" взят с сайта "Википедия" и доступен по лицензии Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike; в отдельных случаях могут действовать дополнительные условия.

Другой контент может иметь иную лицензию. Перед использованием материалов сайта WikiSort.org внимательно изучите правила лицензирования конкретных элементов наполнения сайта.

2019-2024
WikiSort.org - проект по пересортировке и дополнению контента Википедии