In film scores, he is best known for his work in the DC Extended Universe beginning with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Hans Zimmer, contributing to the theme song for Wonder Woman, as well as the scores for Deadpool and Mad Max: Fury Road.
Holkenborg was born in Lichtenvoorde, Gelderland, Netherlands. Classically trained by his mother – herself an accredited music teacher – Holkenborg started playing piano when he was four years old, drums when he was eight, and guitar at 12. Influenced by the psychedelic-pop of Pink Floyd and King Crimson, he took up the bass by age 14. After taking a job at a local music store selling keyboards and other digital gear, he began to have an appreciation for the combination of electronic and organic sounds. It was shortly after he discovered synthesizers that he joined the Dutch New Wave ensemble Weekend at Waikiki as a multi-instrumentalist and producer, touring extensively with the band, including through parts of the former Soviet Union, from 1988 to 1991. He also contributed to their final album, Sputnik. In 1993, Holkenborg produced Almost a Dance by Dutch metal band The Gathering, and later that year went on to form the industrial rock band Nerve with Phil Mills. After signing with label Play It Again Sam in 1992 and releasing two LPs – Cancer of Choice (1993) and Blood & Gold (1994) – he continued as a producer, working with hardcore and metal bands like Sepultura, Fear Factory, and Dog Eat Dog, while simultaneously licensing some of his instrumental electronic tracks for racing video games like The Need For Speed and Test Drive 5. It was during this time that he also began scoring the Dutch feature film, Siberia, which would be released by Warner Brothers Netherlands.
In collaboration with Harry Gregson-Williams, he contributed additional music to the Tony Scott film Domino (2005), and served as the composer on the Dutch film Blind, which was nominated for Best Original Music Score at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2007 and received the Grand Prix award for Best Original Music Score at the 2008 Aubagne International Film Festival. Holkenborg continues to work in the film and television industry, collaborating with composer Hans Zimmer on Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. The film marks the fourth scoring collaboration between Holkenborg and Zimmer, including Megamind (2010), Inception (2010) and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012). Since moving into Zimmer's Remote Control Productions studio, the two have worked together on many other musical projects, including Man of Steel, the reboot of the Superman franchise, and a remix of that year's Academy Awards theme song. Holkenborg has provided music for the films Kingdom of Heaven, Domino, DOA: Dead or Alive, Shark Tale, The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, The Animatrix, and Resident Evil, and has had his original music featured in a number of major motion pictures, including Blade ("Dealing with the Roster") and The Beach ("Synaesthesia"). In 2013, he composed the music for the Relativity Media film Paranoia. Shortly after, he was brought in by Zack Snyder, the producer of 300: Rise of an Empire, to create the score for the film. He is credited as the composer for the 2014 film Divergent, with Hans Zimmer credited as "Executive Producer" for the soundtrack. He is a member of the Magnificent Six, a collaborative group of five other musicians, consisting of Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Johnny Marr (from The Smiths), Michael Einziger (from Incubus), Andrew Kawczynski, and Steve Mazzaro. The "supergroup" of artists ranging from diverse backgrounds teamed up to compose the score for the Marvel comic reboot's second feature film of the original Spider-Man trilogy The Amazing Spider-Man 2. He was the primary composer for the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road and the 2016 film Deadpool, and was co-composer for the film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, along with Zimmer. Holkenborg's theme music for Wonder Woman was used in the film of the same name. Zimmer was replaced by Junkie XL to write and compose the music for Justice League releasing in 2017. Holkenborg was later replaced by Danny Elfman, brought up by Joss Whedon.[2] On 8 December 2017 Holkenborg was revealed to be composing the score for the 2018 film Alita: Battle Angel, based on the manga Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro.
To go along with his numerous artist albums and EPs, Holkenborg has been creating original music for video games since the mid-90s. In addition to composing the soundtrack for Xbox racing games Forza Motorsport and Quantum Redshift, Holkenborg is responsible for the SSX Blur soundtrack. He has also licensed a number of his album tracks for video game use. "Future in Computer Hell (Part 2)", "Synasthesia", and "Dance USA"—all taken from his album Big Sounds of the Drags—were licensed to the racing video game TD Overdrive: The Brotherhood of Speed (2002). The title track for Today is featured on the soundtrack for the video games Burnout Legends and Burnout Revenge, while "More"—taken from his fifth album, Booming Back at You—is featured on the soundtrack to EA Games' Need for Speed: ProStreet, which also includes a full score from Holkenborg. His cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Cities in Dust" is featured on Electronic Arts' Burnout Paradise. He has written additional music for and licensed music to The Matrix: Path of Neo, Destroy All Humans!, The Sims 2: Nightlife, The Sims 3, Need for Speed: Underground, Need for Speed: Carbon, FIFA 08, and FIFA Street 3, among others. He composed the soundtrack for EA's Darkspore.
Holkenborg is an associate professor at the ArtEZ Conservatorium, one of the major art institutes in the Netherlands, where he teaches producing, remixing, and music composition. He resides in Venice, Los Angeles, California. He uses the name JXL in cases where the term "Junkie" might cause offense. Holkenborg says of his name: "I called myself Junkie XL from the point of view that once you're completely overworked, you never want to go there again. The 'XL' stands for expanding limits; broadening up your vision."
Mad Pursuit
Junkie XL Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
aiming for the heart
doll headache
this is just the start
of a mad pursuit
chasing down the telephone wire
racing down the road
try to skip town
(she'll find you)
track you like a hound
(behind you)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
catch you on the fly
(you're easy)
she knows you're her guy
(so safely)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
closing in
see her in the mirror
here it goes again
the object's closer than it appears to be
but a crash
of your getaway car
drive like that
and you won't get too far
try to skip town
(she'll find you)
track you like a hound
(behind you)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
catch you on the fly
(you're easy)
she knows you're her guy
(so safely)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
crash
and burn
this will be your thing
hold you tight
you just lost control
of a mad pursuit
chasing down the telephone wire
racing down the road
you can't lose her
try to skip town
(she'll find you)
track you like a hound
(behind you)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
catch you on the fly
(you're easy)
she knows you're her guy
(so safely)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
The lyrics of Junkie XL feat. Electrocute's song "Mad Pursuit" describe a pursuit by an unknown person, who is following the singer recklessly. The singer is on the run, but the pursuer tracks them down relentlessly, almost in a hounding manner. The lines "closing in, see her in the mirror, here it goes again” explain how the singer can see their pursuer’s reflection in the mirror, and the object is closer than it appears to be, indicating that the singer understands the daunting situation they are in.
The phrase "catch you on the fly, she knows you're her guy, so safely" suggests that the singer is not making a conscious effort to escape the pursuit and is an easy target. The lyrics further describe a car chase where there is a risk of crashing and burning. The singer is warned that they won't get too far driving recklessly. The words "crash and burn, this will be your thing, hold you tight, you just lost control of a mad pursuit" suggest an eventual fate of the singer where they are caught and will eventually succumb to the pursuer's grip.
Overall, the lyrics of "Mad Pursuit" depicts a tense chase where the singer is pursued relentlessly by an unknown person. The singer realizes the gravity of the situation and the risk of crashing and burning, but is unable to escape or shake off the pursuer.
Line by Line Meaning
run don't break
Move fast, don't hesitate
aiming for the heart
Going for the essential part of something
doll headache
Some kind of discomfort or annoyance
this is just the start
Beginning of something bigger
of a mad pursuit
Crazy chase
chasing down the telephone wire
Following the signal from a phone line to locate someone
racing down the road
Driving very fast
you can't lose her
She's a determined pursuer
try to skip town
Attempt to escape by moving to another place
(she'll find you)
But she'll track you down
track you like a hound
Pursue relentlessly like a hunting dog
(behind you)
On your trail
recklessly
Without regard for safety or consequences
in pursuit of you
Trying to catch you
catch you on the fly
Intercept you in motion
(you're easy)
She knows how to catch you
she knows you're her guy
She believes you're the one for her
(so safely)
Without a doubt
closing in
Getting closer
see her in the mirror
Notice her reflection
here it goes again
The chase starts anew
the object's closer than it appears to be
The target is nearer than it seems
but a crash
Sudden impact
of your getaway car
Collision of the vehicle used to escape
drive like that
If you drive recklessly
and you won't get too far
You won't succeed
crash
Impact
and burn
Suffer a disastrous end
this will be your thing
This will be your style, what you always do
hold you tight
Don't let go
you just lost control
You can't steer any longer
of a mad pursuit
From the crazy chase
Contributed by Isabelle H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
5th Crusader
run don't break
aiming for the heart
doll headache
this is just the start
of a mad pursuit
chasing down the telephone wire
racing down the road
you can't lose her
try to skip town
(she'll find you)
track you like a hound
(behind you)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
catch you on the fly
(you're easy)
she knows you're her guy
(so safely)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
closing in
see her in the mirror
here it goes again
the object's closer than it appears to be
but a crash
of your getaway car
drive like that
and you won't get too far
try to skip town
(she'll find you)
track you like a hound
(behind you)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
catch you on the fly
(you're easy)
she knows you're her guy
(so safely)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
crash
and burn
this will be your thing
hold you tight
you just lost control
of a mad pursuit
chasing down the telephone wire
racing down the road
you can't lose her
try to skip town
(she'll find you)
track you like a hound
(behind you)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
catch you on the fly
(you're easy)
she knows you're her guy
(so safely)
recklessly
in pursuit of you
You're welcome
Lazy Animations
This song is no longer available on my Spotify, I'm in pain😔
blue music
s a m e
Greg Benavides
Been 12 years since this came out and I’m still listening to this song. What a banger!
Jon Pope
This is just the ultimate chill song, I could quite easily doze off forever listening to this on repeat. It's so awesome! :D
WHITEMANE
Dude,do you still alive?
Karolina Zawada
This song relaxes me when Im getting angery.also this song was in FIFA 09,my first and most favourite FIFA game ever!Awesome!
Sayem Khan
Hey same here can i add u anywhere social likr fb/ig/whats app?
Joshua Gevaert
yeah same man, it was the first game I ever played. Time back then was my life was so relaxing as a kid, crazy how times can change...
Karolina Zawada
@Sayem Khan course. Sorry did not see the message
thebeast
My first fifa and i played it to death untill i got fifa 13. After 13 i have managed to get 14-22 but I don’t really play anymore