Mikael Karlsson (1975- )
Mikael
Karlsson was born in Sweden, and moved to New York in 2000 after
abandoning a stalled career in liquor retail.Karlsson holds a
Masters Degree in composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music
and graduated Summa Cum Laude with departmental honors in June of 2005.
He has received numerous awards for his compositions and his music has
been performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Cathedral of St. John
the Divine, Galapagos Art Space, The Tank, Issue Project Room, The
Stone, LeFrak Concert Hall and many other lovely venues in New York. He
has been featured by WNYC's Soundcheck with John Schaefer and by the New York Times. The sheet music to his widely performed piece Nasty Fucker was
published in Butt Magazine. He has collaborated with Lykke Li, Kleerup,
Bruce LaBruce, Claire Chase, Joshua Rubin, Alan Pierson, David Taylor,
Othon Mataragas, Wolfram Koessel, Black Sun Productions, Lydia Lunch,
Benoit-Swan Pouffer, Maria Beatty, Victoria Bergsman (Taken By Trees),
Cory Smythe, Wolfram Koessel, Francois Rousseau, ASS (Andreas
Söderström), Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Swedish TV4, Rob
Stephenson, Christopher McDonald and many more. In 2007, he was an
honoree of the 2007 OUT100 top 100 influential people, listed as that
year's composer. In 2011, the listeners of Q2 radio
(NY public radio) voted Mikael as one of their favorite 100 composers
under 40. His music is on the soundtrack of films by acclaimed
experimental filmmakers Barbara Hammer, Maria
Beatty, Christopher Young and Bruce LaBruce. His music is
moving on to video games with his Tobias Wagner / Roman Vinuesa
collaboration, Battlefield - Bad Company. He
teaches at the Aaron Copland School of Music in NYC. In 2003, he
co-founded film scoring collective Please MusicWorks LLC, which has
grown to include more than 100 of New York’s best performers.COMPOSITIONS Karlsson Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre
Motions of the Mouth [not officially released - early works] (1998)
Unreligion [not officially released - early works] (2000)
Insensitive [string arrangement for Katie Eastburn's interpretation of the song] - ????
WORKS BY GENRE Karlsson Links ~ top of page ~
[under construction]
Dramatic/Theater
Seconds Away, dance piece [choreographed by Starr Foster] [using "Songs of Sorrow", 2007]
On This Planet, ballet (2010) [commission from Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet]
Orchestra
Warning, chamber orchestra (2006)
Chamber
Presence of the Normal, trumpet and piano (2002
For the First Dancer, violin and piano (2003)
Land, clarinet and 2 pianos (2004)
Nothing Twice, violin, viola and bass clarinet (2006)
Nilon, violin and viola (2006)
Twenty Waters, violin and bass clarinet (2006)
Hecto, violin and bass clarinet (2006)
Trigger, cello and bass clarinet (2008)
Desperate Contract, violin and piano (2008)
Nattvittje, string quartet (2011)
Hi Heart in the Middle, arr. for string quartet (????) [originally for 8 clarinets/4 soprano, 4 bass]
Watching Salò, string quintet (????) [hints at original theme from Pasolini’s film "Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom"]
Breathing, string quartet (????) [from soundtrack to Maria Beatty’s film "Bandaged"]
Solo Instrument
Nasty Fucker, flute and electronics (2004) [also arr. for clarinet (or horn) and electronics]
- Loop
- Antiphonal
- Lower
Three movements, musicbox (2004)
- Chimes
- Flow
- Aria
Sovereign (3 mvts), violin (2004)
Comet Home, cello (2007)
Suite from Battlefield Bad Company, string quartet (2007; arr. 2011)
Piano
Slowest Possible Fade to Black, piano (2004)
- Rhapsody
- Pavane
- Toccata
In Case of Brahms (3 mvts), piano (2005)
Vocal
Until We Bleed, song (????) [with Lykke Li and Kleerup]
Supplica a Mia Madre, tenor and chamber orchestra (2004) [text: Pier Paolo Pasolini]
Incidental/Film/Video
History Lessons, documentary film score (2000) [director: Barbara Hammer]
Orpheus and Eurydice, film score (2001) [director: Christopher Young]
Bosse & ABC-monstren, animated film score (2002) [director: Anna Högberg]
Ghost, [film score] (2003) [director: Levan Akin]
Dolores the Tattoo Lady, short film score (2005) [director: Christopher Young] [collectively composed w/Please Musicworks]
De Sista Sakerna, film soundtrack (2007) [director: Levan Akin] [music used in soundtrack: "A Sinking Feeling"]
Marquesa, [film score] (2006) [director: Christopher Young]
Red Carpet, [film score] (2006) [director: Christopher Young]
Battlefield - Bad Company, video game score (2007) [w/Roman Vinuesa and Tobias Wagner]
Labyrint, TV series score (for SF/TV4 Sweden) (2008???) [12 part drama series]
Otto; or, Up With Dead People, [film score] (2008) [director: Bruce LaBruce]
Battlefield Bad Company 2, video game score (2010) [w/Tobias PWagner]
Bandaged, [film score] (????) [director: Maria Beatty]
L.A. Zombie, [film score] (????) [director: Bruce LaBruce]
Electronic
Dog, experimental sounds and compositions (2006) [with Rob Stephenson]
Xenoglossia (????) [remix of "In C" by Terry Riley, for the GVSU New Music Ensemble]
KARLSSON LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
[under construction]
Mikael Karlsson Interview (Jim Gladstone, Passport Online)
The Music of Battlefield: Bad Company - An Interview with Mikael Karlsson (Game Revolution)
The Music of Battlefield: Bad Company: Entering "The War Chamber" with Composer Mikael Karlsson (IGN Music)
Nagging Questions for . . . Mikael Karlsson (Jim Gladstone, Used Wigs)
Composer's website . . . contact Mikael Karlsson: here
Karlsson @ Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
Karlsson @ Composers & the Voice
Karlsson @ Facebook
Karlsson @ Gamocracy
Karlsson @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Karlsson @ InstantEncore
Karlsson @ MySpaceMusic
Karlsson @ The New York Times
Karlsson @ Used Wigs
Karlsson @ Vimeo
Publisher
Karlsson @ Composer's website
Streaming Audio
Karlsson @ Composer's website
Karlsson @ last.fm
Karlsson @ MySpaceMusic
Karlsson @ Rhapsody.com
Recordings
Karlsson @ Composer's website
Karlsson @ Amazon.com
Karlsson @ itunes
Video
Karlsson @ YouTube
Karlsson @ Google Video
Karlsson @ Vimeo
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HOME ABOUT RESOURCES COMPOSERS PERFORMANCES 20/21 ENSEMBLE CONTACT US
HOME ABOUT RESOURCES COMPOSERS PERFORMANCES 20/21 ENSEMBLE CONTACT US