J. Ralph(I)
- Music Department
- Composer
- Sound Department
J. Ralph (American born; 1975) is an Academy Award® nominated composer,
social activist, producer and singer/songwriter from New York City. He is the founder
of the internationally award winning music production company The Rumor
Mill, and has written and produced the music for numerous Grammy
winning artists, Orchestras, The President of The United
States, and the more Oscar winning/nominated documentaries then any other composer in history of the Academy Awards.
Considered by many to have had a profound impact on the documentary
medium, J. Ralph has helped elevate the experience of what it feels
like to watch a documentary through his scores. The Hollywood reporter called him the "go to producer of documentary scores" J. Ralph and over the last 7 years J. Ralph has
written and produced the music for 6 Oscar winning/nominated documentaries including Finding Vivan Maier, Virunga, The Cove, Man On Wire, Hell And Back Again, and Chasing Ice. In the 85 year history of the Academy Awards, J. Ralph's song "Before My Time", performed by
Scarlett Johansson and Joshua Bell from Chasing Ice, is one of only
four songs from a documentary ever to be nominated for an Oscar.
His professional career began at 22 with his signing to Atlantic
Records by label president Jason Flom in what was one of the biggest
record deals ever granted to a new artist. J. Ralph's debut album Music
To Mauzner By took over a year to record virtually by himself and was
released on February 23, 1999 under the nome de plume, SPY. A musical
Rorschach test, it was sonic blender of rock, hip-hop, mariachi,
electronic, blue eyed soul, funk, and classical. Notable music critic
Charles M. Young proclaimed the album "truly an important debut."
Weeks after the release, amidst critical acclaim and MTV billing him
the next big thing in pop music, J. Ralph disappeared into a
self-imposed exile. He took refuge in an abandoned vaudeville theater
in lower Manhattan, where he constructed a sonic laboratory and carried
out a full-scale excavation of what he calls "the orchestra's universal
language." Five years later he emerged with The Illusionary Movements
of Geraldine & Nazu, an orchestral memoir recorded with a 75-piece
orchestra, featuring players from the New York Philharmonic and Czech
Philharmonic. Master film composer Carter Burwell arranged and
conducted the first two chapters "Untitled 17" and "Where the Day Takes
You". Released in an unprecedented artist direct deal with Barnes and
Noble, the store sold every single copy of the limited edition.
J. Ralph believes the orchestra is the ultimate medium, boundless in
philosophy and universal in scope. He continues to focus on documentaries where he can raise critical awareness, money and change through the films and the music.Other notable work is the music for Jean Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child which he did along with
Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond of The Beastie Boys, and the score
for Marilyn Minter's installation Green Pink Caviar on exhibition at
the Museum of Modern Art in New York and featured in the Destricted
film series along with Matthew Barney, Richard Prince, Gaspar Noe,
Larry Clark, and Cecily Brown.
J. Ralph is the founder and creative director of scoring collective The
Rumor Mill. The production company creates scores, songs, and musical
identities for films, artists, and brands. Over their ten year history
they have scored over 1000 television commercials and created an
expansive catalog featuring thousands of songs and scores. Internationally recognized, they have won every major top honor and award including the Cannes Lion, Clio, AICP, LIAA,
The One Show and a Grandy. Their music has been featured in the biggest
television events of the world including the Olympics, the Academy
Awards, the Super Bowl, the Grammys, the Emmys, the Golden Globes, The
NBA playoffs, and the World Series.
In 2008, his fascination with acoustic instruments and live performers
continued when J. Ralph was commissioned to write the opening fanfare
for Columbus, Ohio's Pro-musica Orchestra. His resulting Fanfare for
the Uncommon Eli & Mr. Greene had its world premiere at the State
Theater on November 8 of that same year.
On September 21, 2011 J. Ralph was honored with the request to
score United States President Barack Obama's Open Government
Partnership Presentation which the president personally delivered to 50
heads of state from around the world.
His most recent works are the Sundance Film Festival's award-winning
documentary "Chasing Ice" for which he wrote and produced the score and
the Academy Award nominated song "Before My Time" performed by Scarlett
Johansson and Joshua Bell. In the entire history of the Oscars, "Before
My Time" is one of only three songs ever nominated for an Academy Award
from a documentary. Other recent projects include the score to the
experimental film "Maladies" starring James Franco, Catherine Keener,
David Straithern, and Alan Cumming as well as the score/soundtrack
album for the autism documentary Wretches & Jabberers by Academy Award
winning-director Gerradine Wurzburg. Recorded in New York, Los Angeles,
San Francisco, and London, J. Ralph wrote and produced 20 original
songs featuring collaborations with Antony (of Antony and the
Johnsons), Devendra Banhart, Paul Brady, Bonnie Bramlett, Vashti
Bunyan, Martin Carthy, Judy Collins, Lila Downs, Vincent Gallo, David
Garza, Ben Harper, Scarlett Johansson, Nic Jones, Norah Jones, Leah
Siegel, Carly Simon, Steven Stills, Ben Taylor, and Bob Weir.
In 2012 the reggae singer Matisyahu covered J. Ralph's song "One
Million Miles Away" which was produced in collaboration with Oscar
winning actor Adrian Brody.
J. Ralph is a fellow of Yale University and the only composer ever to
win two consecutive AICP awards. His scores are included in the Museum
of Modern Art's Permanent Collection of Film and Media in New York
City.
social activist, producer and singer/songwriter from New York City. He is the founder
of the internationally award winning music production company The Rumor
Mill, and has written and produced the music for numerous Grammy
winning artists, Orchestras, The President of The United
States, and the more Oscar winning/nominated documentaries then any other composer in history of the Academy Awards.
Considered by many to have had a profound impact on the documentary
medium, J. Ralph has helped elevate the experience of what it feels
like to watch a documentary through his scores. The Hollywood reporter called him the "go to producer of documentary scores" J. Ralph and over the last 7 years J. Ralph has
written and produced the music for 6 Oscar winning/nominated documentaries including Finding Vivan Maier, Virunga, The Cove, Man On Wire, Hell And Back Again, and Chasing Ice. In the 85 year history of the Academy Awards, J. Ralph's song "Before My Time", performed by
Scarlett Johansson and Joshua Bell from Chasing Ice, is one of only
four songs from a documentary ever to be nominated for an Oscar.
His professional career began at 22 with his signing to Atlantic
Records by label president Jason Flom in what was one of the biggest
record deals ever granted to a new artist. J. Ralph's debut album Music
To Mauzner By took over a year to record virtually by himself and was
released on February 23, 1999 under the nome de plume, SPY. A musical
Rorschach test, it was sonic blender of rock, hip-hop, mariachi,
electronic, blue eyed soul, funk, and classical. Notable music critic
Charles M. Young proclaimed the album "truly an important debut."
Weeks after the release, amidst critical acclaim and MTV billing him
the next big thing in pop music, J. Ralph disappeared into a
self-imposed exile. He took refuge in an abandoned vaudeville theater
in lower Manhattan, where he constructed a sonic laboratory and carried
out a full-scale excavation of what he calls "the orchestra's universal
language." Five years later he emerged with The Illusionary Movements
of Geraldine & Nazu, an orchestral memoir recorded with a 75-piece
orchestra, featuring players from the New York Philharmonic and Czech
Philharmonic. Master film composer Carter Burwell arranged and
conducted the first two chapters "Untitled 17" and "Where the Day Takes
You". Released in an unprecedented artist direct deal with Barnes and
Noble, the store sold every single copy of the limited edition.
J. Ralph believes the orchestra is the ultimate medium, boundless in
philosophy and universal in scope. He continues to focus on documentaries where he can raise critical awareness, money and change through the films and the music.Other notable work is the music for Jean Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child which he did along with
Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond of The Beastie Boys, and the score
for Marilyn Minter's installation Green Pink Caviar on exhibition at
the Museum of Modern Art in New York and featured in the Destricted
film series along with Matthew Barney, Richard Prince, Gaspar Noe,
Larry Clark, and Cecily Brown.
J. Ralph is the founder and creative director of scoring collective The
Rumor Mill. The production company creates scores, songs, and musical
identities for films, artists, and brands. Over their ten year history
they have scored over 1000 television commercials and created an
expansive catalog featuring thousands of songs and scores. Internationally recognized, they have won every major top honor and award including the Cannes Lion, Clio, AICP, LIAA,
The One Show and a Grandy. Their music has been featured in the biggest
television events of the world including the Olympics, the Academy
Awards, the Super Bowl, the Grammys, the Emmys, the Golden Globes, The
NBA playoffs, and the World Series.
In 2008, his fascination with acoustic instruments and live performers
continued when J. Ralph was commissioned to write the opening fanfare
for Columbus, Ohio's Pro-musica Orchestra. His resulting Fanfare for
the Uncommon Eli & Mr. Greene had its world premiere at the State
Theater on November 8 of that same year.
On September 21, 2011 J. Ralph was honored with the request to
score United States President Barack Obama's Open Government
Partnership Presentation which the president personally delivered to 50
heads of state from around the world.
His most recent works are the Sundance Film Festival's award-winning
documentary "Chasing Ice" for which he wrote and produced the score and
the Academy Award nominated song "Before My Time" performed by Scarlett
Johansson and Joshua Bell. In the entire history of the Oscars, "Before
My Time" is one of only three songs ever nominated for an Academy Award
from a documentary. Other recent projects include the score to the
experimental film "Maladies" starring James Franco, Catherine Keener,
David Straithern, and Alan Cumming as well as the score/soundtrack
album for the autism documentary Wretches & Jabberers by Academy Award
winning-director Gerradine Wurzburg. Recorded in New York, Los Angeles,
San Francisco, and London, J. Ralph wrote and produced 20 original
songs featuring collaborations with Antony (of Antony and the
Johnsons), Devendra Banhart, Paul Brady, Bonnie Bramlett, Vashti
Bunyan, Martin Carthy, Judy Collins, Lila Downs, Vincent Gallo, David
Garza, Ben Harper, Scarlett Johansson, Nic Jones, Norah Jones, Leah
Siegel, Carly Simon, Steven Stills, Ben Taylor, and Bob Weir.
In 2012 the reggae singer Matisyahu covered J. Ralph's song "One
Million Miles Away" which was produced in collaboration with Oscar
winning actor Adrian Brody.
J. Ralph is a fellow of Yale University and the only composer ever to
win two consecutive AICP awards. His scores are included in the Museum
of Modern Art's Permanent Collection of Film and Media in New York
City.