Dustin O’Halloran (b. 1971) is a Californian-raised pianist and composer now based in Berlin. Influenced by classical composers like Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Frédéric Chopin amongst others, Dustin O’Halloran is also associated with modern musicians like Arvo Pärt, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nils Frahm or Peter Broderick. Originally part of the band Devics where he plays guitar and keyboards, the musician released his first piano solo album in 2004. In a recent interview, Dustin O’Halloran elaborated nicely on his post-classical minimalist approach to music and composition:
I think it’s just me trying to find my own space, my own focus, my own place where I can go and be totally present. I guess it just translates in that way through the music. But space is very important to me, and I try to use that as a part of the composition. I think that’s what a lot of the minimalists, obviously, do so well. I think [Estonian composer] Arvo Pärt used space the most, and I think that’s why his compositions have such a timelessness about them. Ultimately, that’s what I’m most interested in: timelessness. That idea that whatever you create has this ability to live in its own space out of time.
Dustin O’Halloran’s elegant minimalist pieces for the piano have obvious cinematic qualities too. In 2011, he scored the music for Drake Doremus’ Like Crazy, an independent American romantic drama exploring the challenges of long-distance relationships. The film went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2011. Several pieces, including the beautiful Opus 37, originally appeared on Dustin O’Halloran’s second solo album Piano Solos Vol.2 (2006). Dustin O’Halloran has also scored the music for Drake Doremus’ new film Breathe In scheduled to be released in July 2013 (UK).
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