Mark Rutherford (composer)

Mark Joseph Rutherford is a London born musician, composer and producer. He started out as a classical guitarist and moved on to become a session musician performing on records, commercials and feature films starring Steve Martin, Daniel Day-Lewis^[1] and Jeff Goldblum.^[2] Rutherford worked extensively in the music industry, as a record producer, songwriter and remixer, collaborating with artists including Malcolm McLaren, Peter Gabriel,^[3] William Orbit, Mike Oldfield and Goldie. He gained his experience and knowledge as a record producer by working with Grammy Award-winning producers: Steve Levine (Culture Club) and William Orbit (Madonna). He has scored the soundtracks for a number of award-winning feature films including: The Lighthouse, Panic Button, This Is Not A Love Song and Dust. Additionally, Rutherford has composed and produced music for video games, including Aliens vs. Predator, Batman: Arkham Origins, Assassin's Creed Chronicles and the Sniper Elite series. Rutherford has given the Sniper Elite series an unmistakable musical identity that is now synonymous with the game.

Early years

From the age of nine, Rutherford studied classical guitar and classical music theory. He studied the Segovia Technique under the guidance of tutor Leslie Nicholls (LGSM BA Hons), a former pupil of the highly acclaimed Professor Adele Kramer. He learned to play the piano while studying composition and classical music history. He also won a number of classical music competitions with his playing.

Records

Rutherford was a guitarist and songwriter with Jimmy The Hoover, a band managed by Malcolm McLaren.^[4] As well as having a top 20 hit,^[5][6] they toured with bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and Bow Wow Wow. Following this, he travelled to Central and Eastern Africa to live with, and record, the native tribes people. In total he spent a year and a half there.

Under the mentorship of Grammy Award Winning Record Producer, Steve Levine,^[7] Rutherford learned the techniques of record production, working alongside artists and musicians such as Dave Gilmoure, Boy George, Bonnie Tyler, Labi Sifri, Motorhead's Lemmy and Barrington Levy.

In 1991 Rutherford secured a studio space at William Orbit’s Guerrilla Studios in Crouch End London^[8] he shared this with friend and DJ, John Gosling, aka Sugar J.^[9] There were collaborations with Orbit on many projects including remixes for Peter Gabriel, The Christians, Psychic TV and Yothu Yindi. The relationship with Orbit developed, achieving co-production and co-writing credits on projects including Bassomatic, Strange Cargo and Beth Orton.^[10]

Also In 1991, Rutherford started collaborating with artist and friend Goldie. Together they started working under the name of Rufige Kru and Metalheads, in total they wrote and produced 14 tracks together. The first record they did together, along with DJ Freebase was "Krisp Biscuit/Killa Muffin", released on Reinforced Records in 1992. Goldie’s desire to push the boundaries of sound along with Rutherford’s expertise in production and programming proved to be a winning combination.^[11][12]

Following this was the “Dark Rider EP”, featuring four tracks; "Darkrider", "Believe", "Menace" and "Jim Skreech". The EP had a much darker sound, something that suited Rutherford well, allowing him to demonstrate what he could write and produce in the darker realm. It was at this time that Goldie gave Rutherford the nickname “Darkus”.^[11][13]

After the “Darkrider EP” Goldie and Rutherford were asked by Synthetic Hardcore Phonography Records^[14] in Camden to write and produce a new record, which would become the first Metalheads track “Terminator”. For this track, Rutherford brought an Eventide H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer^[15] to the studio, a piece of equipment that he had previously been experimenting with at Steve Levine’s studio. The H3000 was unique, in that it could time-stretch in real time,^[16] meaning you could change the pitch of any sound while keeping its original tempo. They wrote and produced three more tracks; "Kemistry", "Knowledge" and "Sinister". The end result was the “Terminator EP” by Metalheads.^[11][17][18]

Before moving on Rutherford did one more record with Goldie, “Ghosts of My Life/Terminator 2” EP. Many of the tracks they did together have been re-released and remixed many times. One example is Kemistry which featured on the album “Timeless”.^[11][19]

Peter Gabriel invited Producer, Mark Rutherford,^[3] DJ Sugar J and Engineer, Robert Hill, to create an album using contributions from a variety of artists who had gathered together at one of the "Real World Recording Weeks"^[20] at Gabriel's Real World Studios in Box. The result was the world music crossover album "Way Down Below Buffalo Hell" by Jam Nation. The Recording Week events were spontaneous gatherings of some of the world's finest artists and musicians, living and working together each summer at Gabriel's Real World Studios. The album includes contributions from numerous artists including Ayub Ogada, Alex Gifford (Propellerheads), Peter Gabriel, Galliano, Jocelyn Pook, Daniel Lanois, Billy Cobham, Karl Wallinger, Jah Wobble and the late Lucky Dube among many others.^[21][22]

Mike Oldfield invited Rutherford down to his studio to work on the album “Songs Of Distant Earth”. For this, Rutherford utilised field recordings he had previously made in Africa. Following the release of the album Oldfield asked Rutherford to remix the single “Let There Be Light”.^[11]

Einsturzende Neubauten are pioneers of the industrial music scene (the band’s trademark is the use of custom-built instruments, predominantly made out of scrap metal and building tools) their music contains many unorthodox elements. The early albums were unremittingly harsh, with Blixa Bargeld's vocals shouted and screamed above a din of banging and scraping metal percussion. Einsturzende Neubauten’s producer Jon Caffery became aware of Rutherford’s experimental style of production and as a result asked him to remix the band’s forthcoming single NNNAAAMMM.^[23][24] After the release of the remix, the band invited Rutherford to rehearse with them in preparation for their upcoming tour.^[11]

Video Games

Rutherford’s first game score in 2010 was for the 20th Century Fox, number one selling, Aliens vs. Predator. This was 70 minutes of live orchestral score recorded in Slovakia with the Istropolis Philharmonic Orchestra. For this score Rutherford made his own percussion kits constructed from bits of metal and various tools which were then scraped and hit with nails, sticks, brushes and mallets.^[25][26][27]

In 2013, Rutherford composed and produced the live orchestral score for Batman: Arkham Origins this time from Warner Brothers. The score was a combination of extreme synthesised elements and full live orchestral score performed by the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra.^[28][29] 2015 saw him scoring Assassin's Creed Chronicles, a major franchise from Ubisoft, he collaborated on the music with Chris Jolley and Aaron Miller. The game features settings in three countries; China, India and Russia. Rutherford used his world music experience that he gained when working at Peter Gabriel’s “Real World Studios”.^[30][31][32]

The soundtrack for Dirty Bomb from Splash Damage is a combination of processed orchestral elements, electronica and abstract sounds made from a collection of bespoke instruments that Rutherford made. One of the instruments was made from a three-metre steel girder sitting on a galvanised metal box with various straps and bungee cords attached, he used a collection of vintage microphones to record the instrument, including an AKG D12 from the 1960s placed inside a metal box and an AKG D190 from the 1970s.^[33][29]

Rutherford has composed and produced the scores for the, number one selling, award-winning Sniper Elite series. The Sniper Elite scores have an unmistakable musical identity that is now synonymous with the game.^{[34][35][36][37][38]}

Film & TV

Rutherford’s introduction to feature Films and TV came when Grammy award-winning producer Steve Levine offered him the opportunity to work in his studio in London. During this time his roles were engineering and programming. He also performed as an instrumentalist whilst working on feature films including the award-winning Planes, Trains & Automobiles, starring Steve Martin and the late John Candy, Eversmile, New Jersey starring Daniel Day-Lewis^[39][40] and Mister Frost starring Jeff Goldblum.^[39][41]

Following this, Rutherford composed music for the film This Is Not A Love Song,^[42][43] written by the Oscar Nominated Simon Beaufoy (Slum Dog Millionaire)^[44] and directed by Bille Eltringham.^[45] This was the first ever film to be simultaneously streamed on the internet with its cinema premiere at London’s Leicester Square.^[44]

Rutherford works closely with writer-director Chris Crow, he has scored four feature films for Crow: Devil's Bridge, a stark, brutal thriller that was dubbed a "British Deliverance" by critics. Panic Button,^[46][47][48] this cult horror, premiered at Film 4 Frightfest at the Odeon Leicester Square London and was described by Sky Movies as "British horror at its bloody best", A Viking Saga: The Darkest Day, a brutal tale set against the first Viking attack on Lindisfarne in 793 A.D. and The Lighthouse an award-winning period thriller based on the notorious Smalls Island incident of 1801.^[39][49]

Rutherford’s music has featured in many other film projects including, Hell’s Kitchen (starring Rosanna Arquette and Angelina Jolie), Blood Brothers (by director Jon Woo), Sacred Planet and Jeremy Gilley’s Peace One Day.^[39] He has also composed the music for some award-winning short films including Fish Can’t Fly written and directed by Richard Murphy^[50][51] and Dust directed by Ben Lavington-Martin. More recently he worked on the post-apocalyptic action-satire, Get Some written and directed by The Horton Brothers, starring Warren Brown and John Hannah.^[39]

Rutherford’s music can also be heard on many TV shows and documentaries including Channel 4’s Body Shock series, The Twins Who Share a Brain, Horizon, 5th Gear, Minds Eye, Trading Spaces, Perfect Proposal, Visions Of The Future, Horizon Space Tourists, Formula One and WWE Smackdown/Raw.^[39]

Selected Film Scores

• This Is Not A Love Song^[52]
• Devils Bridge^[53][54]
• The Darkest Day^[55][54]
• Dust.^[56][57]
• Panic Button^[55][58]
• Get Some^[59]
• The Lighthouse^[60][61]

Selected Video Game Scores

• Aliens vs. Predator – SEGA^[62] which at the time of its release became Sega's fastest selling game in the company's history. Chart position #1.^[63]
• Assassins Creed Chronicles - Climax Studios - Ubisoft
• NeverDead – Konami.^[64]
• Sniper Elite V2 – Rebellion Developments – 505 Games – Develop Audio Award Nominee^[65] Chart position #1
• LittleBigPlanet PS Vita Marvel Arcade – Sony Interactive Entertainment
• LittleBigPlanet DC Comics - Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Sniper Elite 3 – Rebellion Developments – 505 Games. Chart position #1
• Kill Zone Mercenary - Trailer - Guerrilla Games^[66]
• Dirty Bomb - Splash Damage^[67]
• Batman: Arkham Origins (mp) – Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment.^[68] Chart position #1
• Sniper Elite 4 - Rebellion Developments - Develop Audio Award Nominee^[69] Chart position #2

Selected Discography

• William Orbit – Strange Cargo 3William Orbit – Strange Cargo 3^[11]
• Steve Levine – Life Aid Armenia^[11]
• Mike Oldfield – Songs of Distant Earth^[11]
• Peter Gabriel & Carl Wallinger – La Visite Est Terminée^[11]
• Peter Gabriel – Mercy Street^[11]
• Metalheadz – Dark Rider EP^[11]
• Metalheadz – Ghost of My Life EP^[11]
• Metalheadz – Krisp Biscuit/Killa Muffin^[11]
• Metalheadz – Terminator EP^[11]
• Jam Nation – Way Down Below Buffalo Hell^[11]
• Arthur Baker – Zone Rock^[11]
• Bassomatic – Science & Melody^[11]
• Beth Orton – Super Pinky Mandy^[11]
• Daniel Lanois – 454^[11]
• Einsturzende Neubauten – NNNAAAMMM^[11]
• Galliano – Meeting of the People^[11]
• Jah Wobble – Prehistoric Gran Prix^[11]
• Jane Sibery – Harmonix^[11]
• Lucky Dube – First Time^[11]
• Psychic TV – God Star^[11]

References

External links

• Official website
• Mark Rutherford on IMDb
• Mark Rutherford discography at Discogs
• Mark Rutherford at AllMusic