Antonius Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), known by his stage name Jun… Read Full Bio ↴Antonius Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), known by his stage name Junkie XL and occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer. Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing electronica and big beat music and film scores. Junkie XL is best known for his remix of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation", which became a worldwide hit in 2002.

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."

We Become One
Junkie XL Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tell me where you're from
Are there mountains?
Behind? the grande facade
Foundations for a flight
Tell me how do you feel
This time are you for real
Do you feel
Your sense of wrong is right

As if the same despite
Your earth-bound revival

Do you feel
As if? you've lost the fight
As if the same to-night
Or any other morning
Tell me does it hurt
And are there night-mares
Up above the grande facade
Your words are fallen apart
Won't you tell me who'd you'd be
This time you are for real

Do you feel
Your sense of wrong is right
As if the same despite
Your earth-bound revival
Do you feel
As if you've lost the fight
As if the same tonight
Or any? other morning
Do you feel (do you feel)
Do you Feel (Any-thing)
Do you Feel

Do you feel
And so we find
What it means to become
We are so very young, my love
Tho' seldom we spoke

We are? both on the road
We shall become my love

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Junkie XL's song "We Become One" portray a sense of searching for identity, belonging, and overcoming personal struggles. The song's speaker asks the listener about their roots and how they feel, questioning if they are being true to themselves. The "grande facade" symbolizes the fake exterior people present to hide their true selves, and the "earth-bound revival" signifying the need for new beginnings.

The lyrics delve deep into the emotions that one can feel when struggling with their identity, facing obstacles, losing hope, and dealing with nightmares. But the song also delivers a hopeful message about finding oneself and accepting one's true self. The lyrics indicate that true growth comes from overcoming personal struggles, and ultimately, we all become one, united in an understanding of ourselves and others.

Line by Line Meaning

Tell me where you're from
Can you share with me the place you call home?

Are there mountains?
Is there natural beauty that surrounds you?

Behind the grande facade
Beyond the surface level of your circumstances

Foundations for a flight
The basis for soaring towards greater heights

Tell me how do you feel
Can you express your emotions to me?

This time are you for real
Is what you're saying true and genuine?

Do you feel
Do you experience

Your sense of wrong is right
Even if it goes against common judgment, you believe you're correct

As if the same despite
Despite being the same as before

Your earth-bound revival
Your awakening despite being grounded in reality

As if you've lost the fight
Feeling defeated and unable to succeed

As if the same tonight
Tonight feels no different from other times

Or any other morning
Or any other day

Tell me does it hurt
Is there pain present?

And are there night-mares
Are there unpleasant dreams occupying your slumber?

Up above the grande facade
Beyond the surface level, high above

Your words are fallen apart
Your words lack coherence and logic

Won't you tell me who'd you'd be
Are you able to share with me who you aspire to become?

This time you are for real
This time what you say is genuine and authentic

Do you Feel (Any-thing)
Are you feeling any emotions?

And so we find
In this way we come across

What it means to become
The true essence of transformation

We are so very young, my love
Together we have much time to grow and learn

Tho' seldom we spoke
Although we have not conversed frequently

We are both on the road
We are both on a journey

We shall become my love
Together we will transform and improve ourselves

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: ANTONIUS J. B. TOM HOLKENBORG, LUCAS M. BANKER, NATHAN MADER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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