"Babel" composer wins award

OSCAR AWARD WINNING MUSIC COMPOSER AND SONGWRITER GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA RECEIVES
CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR SCORE OF “BABEL”
Santaolalla Recently Received “Public Choice Award” at
World Soundtrack Awards During Flanders Film Festival
Los Angeles, CA November 30, 2006—Oscar Award winning music composer, songwriter and producer Gustavo Santaolalla continues to receive an overwhelming amount of critical acclaim for the inventive original score he composed for director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s award-winning Babel which stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.
Gene Shalit of The Today Show calls Santaolalla’s score for Babel “marvelous, engulfing music” and Bob Strauss of the Los Angeles Daily News hails it a “career-best contribution.”
Ray Bennett of The Hollywood Reporter predicts “the film, which also features exceptional work by…composer Gustavo Santaolalla, is headed for major prizes.”
This past year, the prolific musical artist received an Oscar for his original score for the critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain. This marked the first Oscar nod for Santaolalla, who also won a Golden Globe for the film's original song, "A Love That Will Never Grow Old," performed by Emmylou Harris and co-written by legendary lyricist Bernie Taupin.
In addition, Santaolalla received numerous other accolades for his work on Brokeback Mountain including a nomination for Best Original Score and Best Original Song from the Golden Globes, two Critics’ Choice Award Nominations for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, a BAFTA award nomination, winning awards for Best Score from the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, as well as a nomination from the International Press Academy for Best Original Score and the Satellite Award from the International Press Academy for Best Original Song. Most recently, Santaolalla was again recognized for his work on Brokeback Mountain with the Public Choice Award at the World Soundtrack Awards for the Flanders Film Festival.
Santaolalla's music career started at the age of 16, when he wrote, recorded and produced his first single in his native Argentina. He founded the band Arco Iris in 1967 and made history as the pioneer in the fusion of rock and Latin American Folk. He relocated to Los Angeles in the late 70's. His success continued with the launch of his highly successful record label, Surco, where he has produced records for Juanes, Molotov, Bajofondo Tango Club and other premiere Latin acts. Santaolalla is a GRAMMY® and NINE-TIME LATIN GRAMMY® winner, including the prestigious 2005 “Producer of the Year” LATIN GRAMMY AWARD. Santaolalla was also featured as one of Time Magazine's 25 Most Influential Hispanics in August 2005. For a sampling of Santaolalla's career production work, visit iTunes’ recently launched “Gustavo Santaolalla Essentials” collection.