Giles Martin

About

From Wikipedia:

Giles Martin (born 9 October 1969) is an English record producer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. His studio recordings, stage shows, TV and film works have been critically acclaimed and commercially successful around the globe. He is the son of Beatles producer George Martin and half-brother of actor Gregory Paul Martin. […]

Career

Giles Martin grew up without much awareness of The Beatles, and was discouraged by his father from pursuing a career in music lest the inevitable comparisons should be made between father and son. However, Giles carried on, first playing in the band Velvet Jones, then writing jingles in college. In 1995, he was appointed music co-director for the television and radio music countdown show, The Great Music Experience. He worked on the Party at the Palace concert to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee, for which he also produced the subsequent album and DVD.

In 2004 he produced Hayley Westenra’s multi-platinum album Pure, the UK’s fastest-selling classical album of all time. Other acts Martin has worked with include Kula Shaker, Jeff Beck, Elvis Costello, INXS, Kate Bush, Elton John and The Rolling Stones.

In 2006 Martin collaborated with his father to remix, rearrange, and recombine the music of the Beatles into a soundscape for Love, a theatrical production of Cirque du Soleil, which opened at The Mirage in Las Vegas. His use of digital music production and manipulation techniques allowed him to create Love’s musical mash-ups which he updated in 2016 for the show’s 10th Anniversary. He produced the music for the final Broadway performance of Rent and worked with Martin Scorsese on his George Harrison film documentary Living in the Material World. Further film collaboration includes working with Ron Howard on his Beatles documentary feature Eight Days A Week and the British action franchise Kingsman. Martin was music director for the Elton John bio-pic Rocketman.

In 2009 Martin returned to the Beatles’ catalogue with The Beatles: Rock Band, a video game that allows players to simulate performing Beatles songs with plastic instruments. Martin produced the title’s music, cleaning and reworking the audio to suit the game’s mechanics. In 2013, Martin produced tracks and served as executive producer on Paul McCartney’s New album. He was the producer in charge of the 50th anniversary Beatles remix/deluxe Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the White Album, and Abbey Road, released respectively in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Martin has served as Head of Sound Experience since 2014 at Sonos Inc., a company that builds wireless home audio systems. In late 2018, Martin was appointed as Head of Audio & Sound of the Universal Music Group. The role was specifically created for Martin where he is based at UMG’s Abbey Road Studios.

Awards

Giles Martin has received two Grammy awards, both in 2007 for the Love soundtrack album, as a producer of the Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media and as a surround producer of the Best Surround Sound Album. […]

Paul’s trust in you is something that’s been not handed down exactly, but earned, over the course of everything you’ve done. That has got to be a great, great feeling, when he comes to you repeatedly, and now especially on “Now and Then,” and says, “Work with me on this.”

Yeah, and I love him. I’ve known him all my life, and he’s always been consistently kind to me, Paul. He knows I love him. And he knows that I don’t do this so I can go to the cocktail bar and tell people I’m doing it. I do this because I want it to be good, and there’s a sense of protection within it. But I’m consistently surprised by and don’t take for granted his trust. It’s funny, when someone trusts you, it does add pressure.

Giles Martin – From variety.com, November 2, 2023

Last updated on November 3, 2023