Vik Sharma is an English film and television composer best known for his soundtracks to the TV series An Idiot Abroad, The Moaning of Life, and Hello Ladies. He composed the original score for the film Fighting with My Family,[1] written and directed by Stephen Merchant.[2] Sharma worked with Blur's guitarist and founder member Graham Coxon along with Jason Cooper of The Cure to create a 'quintessentially British' soundtrack for the film.[3] In July 2021 he released Listen Without Listening, a binaural ambient album, incorporating sounds of nature.
Career
[edit]In 1997, Sharma joined Asian Underground collective Joi,[4] contributing electric guitar and bass on their 1999 album, One and One is One,[5] released on Peter Gabriel's Real World Records.[6]
From 2010, Sharma composed the soundtrack for three series of the television programme, An Idiot Abroad, which featured Karl Pilkington, Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, and a spin-off series, The Moaning of Life. Both shows engendered a cult following.[7] 'Constantly hilarious... part travelogue, part social experiment, part practical joke, 'An Idiot Abroad' is easily the best thing you’ll ever see on a Saturday night for seven weeks'.[8]
In 2013 and 2014, Sharma composed the music for Hello Ladies, an American series and feature film created by Stephen Merchant for the network HBO. The soundtrack references the blue-eyed soul of the 1970s and 1980s.[9]
Sharma collaborated with Merchant again, as he wrote an original score for Merchant's Fighting with My Family, described as "a movie that puts your heart in a headlock."[10] The story centres around a real-life family of professional wrestlers,[11] with Florence Pugh starring as WWE professional wrestler Paige and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as himself.[12]
Sharma provided the soundtrack for the International Emmy award-winning comedy Hoff the Record,[13] starring the actor David Hasselhof as himself.[14]
Sharma has previously composed incidental and title music for Channel 4 documentary series The Undateables,[15] Mary Queen of Frocks (presented by Mary Portas), The World's... and Me, Bleach, Nip, Tuck : The White Beauty Myth, What's Killing Darcus Howe?, The Family: Teen Stories and a short starring Christopher Eccleston entitled The Happiness Salesman.[16]
Sharma was a contributor to The Steve Show, Stephen Merchant's Sunday afternoon BBC Radio 6 Music radio show.[17]
The album Listen Without Listening was released in 2021, is an ambient exploration into the perception and representation of space and place- experimenting with the enhancement of listener mood using binaural recordings of sounds of nature.[non-primary source needed]
References
[edit]- ^ Moore, Dan (23 January 2019). "Composer Vik Sharma Discusses "Fighting with My Family" Score". Tvovermind.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "Fighting With My Family Review - IGN". Ign.com. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "Exclusive Interview – Composer Vik Sharma discusses his score for WWE Studios' Fighting with My Family". Flickeringmyth.com. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "Joi - One And One Is One". Discogs.com. 12 April 1999.
- ^ "Pop: One and one is one: Joi simplify the maths". Independent.co.uk. 8 April 1999. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022.
- ^ "Vik Sharma". Discogs.com.
- ^ Paquette, Danielle. "'Idiot Abroad' unimpressed by world's wonders". Edition.cnn.com.
- ^ "TV REVIEW: Ricky Gervais' 'An Idiot Abroad' Is a Constantly Hilarious Practical Joke". Hollywoodreporter.com. 21 January 2011.
- ^ "Hello Ladies - Music from the HBO series". SoundCloud.com.
- ^ Trenholm, Richard. "WWE comedy Fighting With My Family puts your heart in a headlock". Cnet.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "Vik Sharma Talks To Wrestling Inc. About Composing Paige "Fighting With My Family" Biopic". Wrestlinginc.com. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (29 January 2019). "'Fighting With My Family' Review: Florence Pugh Makes Even Non-Fans Care About Wrestling". Indiewire.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "Hasselhoff show wins Best Comedy at International Emmy Awards". News.sky.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Hogan, Michael (18 June 2015). "Hoff the Record, episode one, review: 'pluck and chutzpah in spades'". Telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Monkey (26 January 2015). "Channel 4's The Undateables: five series and a wedding". The Guardian.
- ^ "Event List - Edinburgh International Film Festival". Edfilmfest.org.uk.
- ^ "BBC - 6 Music - Stephen Merchant". Bbc.co.uk.
External links
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