JOHN GÜRTLER
John Gürtler is a multiple award-winning film composer currently based in Berlin. He has written over 50 film scores, produces electronic music, songs and orchestral work and has won numerous awards, including ‘Best Song in a Film’ at the 2014 German Film Music Awards for „What Love Is“, the ‘German Documentary Music Award’ for „Above and Below“ at DOK.fest München in 2015 and a „Camille Award 2021“ as well as the ‘European Original Score 2019’ for „System Crasher“ by Nora Fingscheidt, presented by the European Film Academy. In 2022 Recently, John received „Best Score 2022“ with his co-composer Jan Miserre, presented by the German Film Critics Association for „A Pure Place“ by Nikias Chryssos, as well a a LOLA (German Film Award) for best sound for „No One’s With the Calves“ by Sabrina Sarabi.
Raised in London by Portuguese-German parents, he moved to Germany after living in the U.S. and Portugal and studied Saxophone at the University of Arts in Berlin. During his studies, he increasingly turns towards the piano, vocals and any instrument he could get his hands on. After touring internationally with different bands and orchestras, John studied film music at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg. Ever since, John had the chance to work with the diverse Berlin music scene at his studio Paradox Paradise, always in close collaboration with Jan Miserre, co-composer and producer. Together they’ve handled a very diverse roster of production styles for a multitude of different genres, their approach being an individually tailored sound for each new project. Both perform extensively on their scores, often weaving in international soloists and ensemble residing in Berlin. Their recent film projects include the multiple award-winning documentary „Space Dogs“, the German television drama series „Charité at War“, the features „Veins of the World“, „A Pure Place“ and „A Mouthful of Air“ starring Amanda Seyfried. An adamant improviser, John uses the studio as a room for electro acoustic (sound) experimentation, straying away from standardized sounds whenever possible and finding an individual language for each project where the borders between score, sound and source music start to dissolve.
Venturing out and returning to his roots as an experimental improviser and producer, John has released on Dial Records remixing Efdemin under his moniker The Borderland State, on Sky Walking with the Sollmann & Gürtler project and the latest release of his Field Kit project with composer Hannah von Hübbenet on Nonostar Records. John is associate lecturer for music and sound design at the Film Academy Baden Württemberg, the Deutsche Film und Fernsehakademie Berlin and Filmuniversität Babelsberg.
JAN MISERRE
Jan Miserre (*1981) grew up in Erlangen, Bavaria as the son of a Jazz saxophone player and therefore was introduced to various kinds of music such as Debussy, Coltrane and the Beatles at an early age. He began to learn the piano at age 4 and the drums at age 12. His strong interest in different types of music showed quickly, when he gave a number of „Neue Musik“ Concerts as interpreter and developed his improvisation skills in several bands.
Since his Studies of Jazz-Piano at the University of Arts in Berlin he has toured almost every continent with many bands as sideman and musical director. The last years he worked much on Composing and Producing for cross-genre projects with artists such as Till Brönner, Nils Landgren, Nils Wülker, Bayrisches Rundfunkorchester, Curtis Stigers and China Moses. In 2013 he won the GEMA Musik Author’s Prize in the category New Talent together with Torsten Goods and the second prize at the Instant Composing Contest at the Transatlantyk Film Festival as well as the ‘German Documentary Music Award’ for „Above and Below“ at DOK.fest München in 2015. In 2022 he was nominated by the GEMA as best audio-visual composer with his studio partner and co-composer John Gürtler, as well as winning „Best Score 2022“, presented by the German Film Critics Association for „A Pure Place“ by Nikias Chryssos.
AWARDS
GERMAN FILM AWARDS 2022 - LOLA IN GOLD FOR BEST SOUND FOR "NO ONE’S WITH THE CALVES"
(with Dominik Leube, Jonathan Schorr, Gregor Bonse)
CAMILLE AWARDS 2021 - BEST ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC SCORE/ JOHN GÜRTLER FOR "SYSTEM CRASHER"
GERMAN FILM CRITICS’ AWARDS - BEST MUSIC: JOHN GÜRTLER & JAN MISERRE - "A PURE PLACE“
„Without music there would hardly be an atmospheric space: it intensifies or softens the moods shown in the pictures by dominantly overlaying them or subtly undermining them. The musical color space of emotion is set in motion here and constantly newly accentuated: from gentle bells in painful suppression, which yearn for freedom, to fine experimental disharmony, which – not only, but also – underline pathological desires, to hard bass of a reality that still exists. The sounds themselves are sometimes ludicrously caught between dark and pure. In mysteriously floating intertwinings, which together with „Hansel and Gretel“ make the fairytale atmospheric landscapes experienceable in a variety of ways.“ Laudation: Tina Waldeck (Frankfurter Rundschau)“
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE 2019 FOR "SYSTEM CRASHER" AT THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS
The jury states: „The music in SYSTEM CRASHER is modern, virtuosic, impulsive and surprising. John Gürtler has transformed the unspeakable into music. Where words are no longer possible, his film music manages to function as a non-verbal language, reflecting the inside of the protagonist and carrying the viewer along with it“.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE AND SOUND DESIGN FOR "SYSTEM CRASHER" - FILMKUNST MV 2019
1ST TALENT AWARD AT DOK.FEST MUNICH 2016 FOR THE PROJECT "STRAY DOGS"
GERMAN FILM MUSIC AWARD 2014
BEST SONG IN A FILM FÜR "WHAT LOVE IS" (PARTY OF EIGHT)
The jury states: „The nominated song appears at the end of the film, as an epilogue of sorts. It has everything you might look for in this category, „Best song in a film soundtrack“: Its tone, its vibe hits us right where the film left us off; it sounds wonderful and it’s very well produced, without ever losing its edginess. It has all the qualities of a catchy tune, enrichening the film and blowing a breath of fresh air into it.“
"GERMAN DOCUMENTARY MUSIC AWARD" 2015 FOR "ABOVE AND BELOW"
The jury states: „The film music by John Gürtler, Jan Miserre and Lars Voges is striking in its complexity and dramatic potency. The musical element develops the emotional strength that arises from the narrative and creates discrete dramatic structures that don’t just support the narrative but produce their own narration. In its own way, the work plays on American musical traditions and breathes new life into them. It is versatile, innovative and modern and impressively produced without being ostentatious.“