Atli Örvarsson: Fusing Musical Styles in Hansel and Gretel – Witch Hunters

After enjoying a successful music career in his native Iceland, composer Atli Örvarsson moved to the U.S. and studied music composition at Berkley. Örvarsson eventually landed a plum scoring position on the hit TV series NYPD Blue with veteran TV composer Mike Post (The Rockford Files, The Greatest American Hero, Hill Street Blues, Magnum P.I., Murder One, and Law and Order).

Orvarsson eventually joined Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Studios, learning the ropes of composing for a wide variety of genres until he eventually landed several auspicious solo ventures, where he delivered a heavy, percussive design for Vantage Point (2008), and epic orchestral sounds for Babylon A.D. (2008).

The Eagle [M] (2011) is perhaps his strongest work, in terms of scope and experimentation with natural sounds and folk instruments, and in his latest work, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters [M], Orvarsson creates a kinetic mélange of orchestral, folk, and rock styles to match the transposition of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale from wandering kids to a pair of adult bounty hunters, under the direction of Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow).

Released on his own label, the music from Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters will be available January 22nd online, including via Amazon.com.

Mark R. Hasan, Editor
Big Head Amusements