Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. He is the head of the film music division at DreamWorks studios and works with other composers through the company that he founded, Remote Control Productions, formerly known as Media Ventures. His studio in Santa Monica, California has an extensive range of computer equipment and keyboards, allowing demo versions of film scores to be created quickly.
Zimmer's works are notable for integrating electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral arrangements. He has received four Grammy Awards, three Classical BRIT Awards, two Golden Globes, and an Academy Award. He was also named on the list of Top 100 Living Geniuses, published by The Daily Telegraph.
Zimmer was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on 12th September 1957, and moved to London as a teenager. While he lived in London, Zimmer wrote advertising jingles for Air-Edel Associates. Zimmer began his musical career playing keyboards and synthesisers. In 1980 he worked with The Buggles, a New Wave band formed in 1977 with Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, and Bruce Woolley, appearing briefly in the video for "Video Killed the Radio Star" (1979).
In the 1980s, Zimmer worked with film composer Stanley Myers, a prolific film composer who composed scores for over sixty films. Zimmer and Myers co-founded the London-based Lillie Yard recording studio. Together, Myers and Zimmer worked on fusing the traditional orchestral sound with state-of-the-art electronics. Some of their first movies with this new sound include "Moonlighting" (1982), "Success is the Best Revenge" (1984), "Insignificance" (1985), and "My Beautiful Launderette" (1985). In 1986, Zimmer joined David Byrne and Ryuichi Sakamoto on their Oscar-winning score for "The Last Emperor" (1988).
Soon afterwards, Zimmer began working on his own solo projects. During his solo career years, Zimmer experimented and combined the use of old and new musical technologies. His first solo score was for Chris Menges’s film "A World Apart" (1988). However, the turning point in his career came later that year when he was asked to compose a score for Barry Levinson’s film "Rain Man" (1988). In the score, Zimmer uses synthesizers mixed with steel drums. The score was nominated for an Academy Award in 1989. A year later Zimmer was asked to compose a score for Bruce Beresford's "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), which won a Grammy Award 1991.
In 1994, Zimmer won his biggest commercial hit for Disney’s "The Lion King" (1994). He wanted to go to South Africa himself to record the soundtrack, but couldn't because he had a police record there for making subversive films. "The Lion King" soundtrack won numerous awards, including an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and two Grammys. It was then adapted for the Broadway musical version, which won the Tony for Best Musical in 1998.
Since the success of "The Lion King", Zimmer has written numerous film scores. His hundredth composition was for "The Last Samurai" (2003), for which he won both a Golden Globe and a Broadcast Film Critics nomination in 2004. After composing over a hundred film scores, Zimmer finally performed live for the first time in concert with a hundred-piece orchestra and a hundred-person choir at the twenty-seventh Annual Flanders International Film Festival.
He has received numerous honours and awards, including: Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in Film Composition from the National Board of Review, Frederick Loewe Award in 2003 at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, ASCAP’s Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement, and BMI's prestigious Richard Kirk Award for lifetime achievement in 1996. Today, Zimmer is considered to be the father of integrating the electronic musical world with traditional orchestral arrangements.
Zimmer's first wife was a model, Vicki Carolin, with whom he has a daughter, model Zoe Zimmer. Zimmer lives in Los Angeles with his second wife Suzanne Zimmer with whom he has an additional three children.
Quattro grammy, tre golden globe, due oscar; le sue colonne sonore sono tra le più amate della storia del cinema!
Dune, Spider-Man 2, Il Cavaliere Oscuro, Interstellar, Il Codice Da Vinci, Pearl Harbor, Il Gladiatore, Mission Impossible, Inception, Pirati dei Caraibi, Spirit, Wonder Woman, Madagascar – tutti i più grandi successi di Hans Zimmer – verranno eseguiti dalla famosa orchestra sinfonica di Kiev, Lords Of The Sound, riconosciuta in tutta Europa per la sua professionalità e bravura.
Nella sua carriera Hans Zimmer ha vinto quattro Grammy, due Oscar alla migliore colonna sonora su dodici candidature, tre Golden Globe e un Brit Award: è uno dei compositori contemporanei più influenti che ha trovato la sua fama dopo l’uscita del film cult “Rain Man”.
“Quando ho ideato la musica per Rain Man, ho continuato a pensare: non cercare di soffocare i personaggi. Non venire in primo piano. Raymond, il personaggio principale, non capisce davvero dove si trova. Vede il mondo in modo diverso da noi… Perché non creare “musica del mondo” per un mondo che esiste solo nella sua testa?” ricorda il compositore.
Da quel film e quella prima candidatura all’Oscar i migliori registi di Hollywood si sono messi in fila per lavorare con lui. La sua musica ha impressionato così tanto la Disney che gli ha commissionato la colonna sonora per il cartone animato “Il Re Leone”: il tema musicale del cartone animato ha portato al compositore tre dei premi più prestigiosi: “Oscar”, “Golden Globe” e “Grammy”.
Nella sua carriera Zimmer ha continuato ad essere premiato per i suoi lavori, diventando davvero il numero uno a Hollywood, tanto che ormai una cerimonia degli Oscar è rara senza una sua candidatura: anche nel 2022 ha vinto con il film Dune.
La straordinaria bravura dell’orchestra Lords of the Sound e le migliori composizioni di Hans Zimmer, faranno vivere al pubblico sensazioni indimenticabili, in un’atmosfera fiabesca e piena di bellezza.
Un concerto sinfonico, che riproporrà quelle che sono tra le colonne sonore più amate della storia del cinema, impreziosito dalla presenza di una rock band e una stupefacente produzione visual con luci e effetti speciali, potenti parti vocali di solisti e coristi e soprattutto un’energia inarrestabile che conquisterà il pubblico in sala.
The Kraken
Hans Zimmer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That?s ghostly gray and grand
He?s doomed to sail the seven seas and ne'er set foot on land
And if you chance to see him
You will soon be dead from fright
So sailors tell their children on a dark and stormy night
Oh forty fathoms deep he walks
Just like he?s half asleep he stalks
Forty fathoms deep
Forty fathoms deep he owns
Each sleeping sailor's soggy bones
The legend they call Davey Jones
At forty fathoms deep
Nor east we sail to brimstone head the captain crew and I
At 16 knots we fairly flew
Beneath a darkening sky
Atop the main mast I rode
Near 10 stories high
When up there blew an icy squall and over board went I
Oh forty fathoms deep he walks
With rusty keys his locker locks
Just like he?s half asleep he stalks
Forty fathoms deep
Forty fathoms deep he owns
Each sleeping sailor's soggy bones
The legend they call Davey Jones
At forty fathoms deep
I hold my breath, I say prayer for all the mates who died
I turn my back on Davey Jones and cast my fears aside
Raise up my head and kick my feet
And toward the light I go
The heartless jailer left behind the locker far below
Oh forty fathoms deep he walks
With rusty keys his locker locks
Just like he?s half asleep he stalks
Forty fathoms deep
Forty fathoms deep he owns
Each sleeping sailor's soggy bones
The legend they call Davey Jones
At forty fathoms deep
The lyrics to Hans Zimmer's song, The Kraken, are a chilling tale of a terrifying figure, Davy Jones, who is said to sail the seven seas aboard a spectral ship. According to legend, sighting Davy Jones is a sure sign of imminent death, so sailors often warn their children of his existence during stormy nights. The imagery in the song is haunting, with references to Davy Jones walking forty fathoms deep with rusty keys, and owning the soggy bones of sleeping sailors. These lines allude to the belief that Davy Jones is the keeper of the dead, and that his locker symbolizes the underwater graveyard for those who perished in the sea.
The second verse takes us on the journey of the singer and his crew, who sail to Brimstone Head at a breakneck speed of 16 knots. However, they encounter an icy squall that throws the singer overboard, sending him plummeting into the depths of the ocean. Here, the lyrics repeat the earlier refrain of Davy Jones walking forty fathoms deep, indicating that the singer has entered Davy Jones' realm. However, the singer refuses to give in to his fears and instead, turns his back on Davy Jones and looks towards the light, leaving the heartless jailer and his locker far below.
Overall, The Kraken is a powerful song that speaks to the human spirit's resilience in the face of terror and uncertainty. The lyrics are a testament to the age-old belief in the supernatural realm and the importance of facing one's fears to emerge victorious.
Line by Line Meaning
Some say he steers a spectral ship
There are legends about a person who sails a ghostly and impressive gray ship
That?s ghostly gray and grand
The ship is ghostly, imposing, and incredibly big
He?s doomed to sail the seven seas and ne'er set foot on land
This individual is cursed to navigate oceans for eternity without the opportunity to ever set foot on land
And if you chance to see him
If someone happens to catch sight of him
You will soon be dead from fright
The person who encounters him will die from fear
So sailors tell their children on a dark and stormy night
Sailors use the legend of the person to scare children on dark and stormy nights
Oh forty fathoms deep he walks
He walks at a depth of 240 feet in the ocean
With rusty keys his locker locks
He uses rusty keys to lock his storage areas
Just like he?s half asleep he stalks
He moves like a tired individual was stalking others
Forty fathoms deep
He roams at a depth of 240 feet underwater to ensure nobody can capture him
Forty fathoms deep he owns
At the depth of 240 feet, he possesses
Each sleeping sailor's soggy bones
The bones of every drowned sailor who has sunk to the bottom of the sea are claimed by him
The legend they call Davey Jones
This person who claims drowned sailors and roams the ocean at a depth of 240 feet is known as Davy Jones
Nor east we sail to brimstone head the captain crew and I
The captain, the crew, and I sail to Brimstone Head to the northeast
At 16 knots we fairly flew
We were moving quickly at a speed of 16 knots
Beneath a darkening sky
Underneath a sky that has started to become darker
Atop the main mast I rode
I was on top of the largest mast of the ship
Near 10 stories high
Nearly 100 feet high off the water level
When up there blew an icy squall and over board went I
Suddenly, a cold gust of wind blew, and I fell overboard from that height
I hold my breath, I say prayer for all the mates who died
I am underwater and holding my breath while praying for all the dead crew members
I turn my back on Davey Jones and cast my fears aside
I deliberately ignore the fear and turn my back on Davy Jones.
Raise up my head and kick my feet
I lift my head and feet while swimming
And toward the light I go
I swim towards the light on the water's surface, indicating my hope for survival
The heartless jailer left behind the locker far below
Davy Jones, the cruel jailer who keeps drowned sailors' bones, is left behind in his locker far below the surface of the ocean.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: KLAUS BADELT, GLENNIE-SMITH NICK, HANS FLORIAN ZIMMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Yuri Man
on Iris And Jasper
What it the meaning of "Iris and Jasper" for the title of the song in the movie ...The Holiday