Angelo
Badalamenti was born in Brooklyn on 22 March 1937 and studied at the Eastman
School of Music and Manhattan School of Music in New York. A few small scores in
the 1970s (when he used the pseudonym "Andy Badale") notwithstanding,
Badalamenti entered the world of film music in 1986 when his friend, director
David Lynch, asked him to act as actress Isabella Rossellini's vocal coach for
her role in the film "Blue Velvet". Lynch was so impressed with
Badalamenti's work in arranging Rossellini's performance of "Mysteries of
Love", he asked him to score the film as well. Since then, Badalamenti has
struck up an enduring working relationship with Lynch that continues to this
day, with the composer lending a jazzy, darkly ironic musical edge to Lynch's
skewed filmic perception.
Their collaborations to date include cult films such
as "Wild at Heart" (1990), "Twin Peaks" (1990), "Lost
Highway" (1997), "The Straight Story" (1999) and "Mulholland
Drive" (2001), the latter of which gained Badalamenti two Golden Globe
nominations.
Other high-profile Badalamenti works include "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" (1987), "Cousins" (1989), "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (1989), "The Comfort of Strangers" (1990), "The City of Lost Children" (1995, for which he was nominated for a César Award), "Arlington Road" (1999), "The Beach" (2000), "Secretary" (2002), and the theme to the popular Bravo TV series "Inside the Actor's Studio".
Away from the cinema, Badalamenti has written a number of classical and performance pieces, including "Industrial Symphony #1" for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and is a popular and respected recording artist, having undertaken successful collaborations with (among others) Barry Adamson, Julee Cruise, Jocelyn West, Tim Booth and Marianne Faithfull.
Links:
Badalamenti
Interview
Interview Film
Score September 2001
Angelo Badalamenti on working with David Lynch