Score to Screen with Tom Holkenborg (Army of the Dead)

Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL is the featured guest on this Score to Screen podcast. The Army of the Dead composer opens up about crafting the epic score alongside Zack Snyder for the zombie heist film. Beyond the score, Holkenborg speaks upon his past musical influences, working with esteemed Hollywood names and his passion towards music education. From filmmaker Zack Snyder, Army of the Dead takes place following a zombie outbreak that has left Las Vegas in ruins and walled off from the rest of the world. When Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), a former zombie war hero who’s now flipping burgers on the outskirts of the town he now calls home, is approached by casino boss Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada), it’s with the ultimate proposition: break into the zombie-infested quarantine zone to retrieve $200 million sitting in a vault beneath the strip before the city is nuked by the government in 32 hours. With little left to lose, Ward takes on the challenge, assembling a ragtag team of experts for the heist. With a ticking clock, a notoriously impenetrable vault, and a smarter, faster horde of Alpha zombies closing in, only one thing’s for certain in the greatest heist ever attempted: survivors take all. Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL, is a Grammy nominated multi platinum producer, musician, composer and educator whose versatility puts him on the cutting edge of contemporary music, and whose thirst for innovation is helping to reimagine the world of composition. A full contact composer, Holkenborg is hands on at every stage of the composing process, a multi-instrumentalist who combines a mastery of studio engineering, classical musical training and an innate sense of curiosity. He is as adept working with a 50 piece philharmonic orchestra as he is with a wall of modular synths, playing a bass guitar or building his own physical and digital instruments. His drive to reimagine what’s possible and share that knowledge with the next generation of composers is what makes Holkenborg a unique force, and one of the most in-demand film composers in the world. He has worked with directors including Peter Jackson, Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron, George Miller, Christopher Nolan, Zack Snyder and Tim Miller among many others. An educator as well as a creator, Tom is committed to breaking down the barriers of entry in the world of film composition, creating the free SCORE Academy program in Los Angeles, a music composition program at the ArtEZ conservationism in his home country of the Netherlands and on YouTube, where he hosts his educational series StudioTime, which has been watched millions of times. The Score to Screen podcast series is produced and hosted by Crossover Media's Max Horowitz. Listen to the Army of the Dead Soundtrack here. Listen to the official Junkie XL playlist here. Learn more about Sony Soundtracks here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices