Biography
British composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Max de Wardener has earned recognition for both his film and television scores and his inventive solo projects, which at times incorporate instruments of his own making. Recordings by Plaid, Matthew Herbert, Róisín Murphy, Dani Siciliano, and additional artists have featured his contributions. Among his own releases stand the glitchy electro-acoustic works of 2004’s Where I Am Today and the 2020 album Music for Detuned Pianos. His scoring credits encompass two feature films by Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski as well as the 2021 production The Power, realized in collaboration with Gazelle Twin.
Based in London, de Wardener completed studies at York University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. During the late 1990s he supplied bass for sessions by the IDM duo Plaid, the dub project Mystic Red, the disco-house group Soul Ascendants, and further acts. He provided the score for Pawel Pawlikowski’s 2000 film Last Resort along with numerous television movies, documentaries, and short films. His debut EP, Stops, appeared on Matthew Herbert’s Accidental label in 2002; two tracks later surfaced on the 2004 full-length Where I Am Today, whose pieces employed self-made cloud chamber bowls together with pipe organs, reeds, glitchy electronics, and additional elements. De Wardener contributed to Dani Siciliano’s initial pair of solo albums and to Herbert’s 2007 release Score, while also collaborating with Efterklang, Elysian Quartet, Mara Carlyle, and others. He performed as a member of Zimbabwean musician Chartwell Dutiro’s ensemble Spirit Talk Mbira. Further scoring work included Pawlikowski’s 2011 film The Woman in the Fifth, and he received a Czech Radio Award for the 2012 documentary Village at the End of the World.
Under contract with London’s Village Green label, de Wardener delivered his second album, Kolmar, in 2019. Thomas Bloch, a specialist in uncommon instruments including the Ondes Martenot and Cristal Baschet, performed the record alongside jazz drummer Moses Boyd and electronic musician Simon James. The 2020 release Music for Detuned Pianos, performed by pianist Kit Downes and drawing inspiration from composers such as Harry Partch and LaMonte Young, followed; its compositions were subsequently reworked by Loraine James, Oliver Coates, Call Super, and others on the Detuned Reworks EP. Invada issued the soundtrack for the horror film The Power, jointly created by Gazelle Twin and de Wardener, in 2021.
Based in London, de Wardener completed studies at York University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. During the late 1990s he supplied bass for sessions by the IDM duo Plaid, the dub project Mystic Red, the disco-house group Soul Ascendants, and further acts. He provided the score for Pawel Pawlikowski’s 2000 film Last Resort along with numerous television movies, documentaries, and short films. His debut EP, Stops, appeared on Matthew Herbert’s Accidental label in 2002; two tracks later surfaced on the 2004 full-length Where I Am Today, whose pieces employed self-made cloud chamber bowls together with pipe organs, reeds, glitchy electronics, and additional elements. De Wardener contributed to Dani Siciliano’s initial pair of solo albums and to Herbert’s 2007 release Score, while also collaborating with Efterklang, Elysian Quartet, Mara Carlyle, and others. He performed as a member of Zimbabwean musician Chartwell Dutiro’s ensemble Spirit Talk Mbira. Further scoring work included Pawlikowski’s 2011 film The Woman in the Fifth, and he received a Czech Radio Award for the 2012 documentary Village at the End of the World.
Under contract with London’s Village Green label, de Wardener delivered his second album, Kolmar, in 2019. Thomas Bloch, a specialist in uncommon instruments including the Ondes Martenot and Cristal Baschet, performed the record alongside jazz drummer Moses Boyd and electronic musician Simon James. The 2020 release Music for Detuned Pianos, performed by pianist Kit Downes and drawing inspiration from composers such as Harry Partch and LaMonte Young, followed; its compositions were subsequently reworked by Loraine James, Oliver Coates, Call Super, and others on the Detuned Reworks EP. Invada issued the soundtrack for the horror film The Power, jointly created by Gazelle Twin and de Wardener, in 2021.
Albums
Dead Shot (Music from the Original Movie)
2023
The Power (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2021
Detuned Reworks
2020
Kolmar
2019
Singles
