Coming from a musical background (he is Benjamin Britten’s godson), Martin read drama at Manchester University – fortunately for the acting world, he decided to concentrate his energies on writing music. Martin's music is consistently innovative, and strikes at the emotional heart of the drama.
Following the early critical success of Eureka Street he went on to score the BBC period dramas North and South and Elizabeth - The Virgin Queen; an enchanting score, in which he incorporated the wonderful voices of the Medieval Babes to excellent effect, and for which he was recognised with the Ivor Novello Award 2007 and an RTS Award for Best Original Score.
Martin scored the gripping drama Low Winter Sun, for Channel 4, starring Mark Strong and Brian McCardie and Ruby In The Smoke, the first of the Sally Lockhart Mysteries adapted and written by Phillip Pullman for the BBC. He scored Persuasion, the most recent ITV adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, and Grow Your Own, a feature for Warp Films. He also scored the BBC's adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Andrew Davies. Martin was then commissioned to score the BBC's most recent Oliver Twist adaptation, for which he was recognised with the Ivor Novello Award 2008 for Best Television Soundtrack.
Martin most recently finished scoring the Rowan Joffe helmed drama Hurndall for Talkback Thames, as well as Whitechapel alongside Ruth Barrett for Carnival Films. He also scored Wallander for Yellow Bird/Left Bank Pictures, starring Kenneth Branagh, for which he was recognised with the BAFTA Craft Award 2009 for Best Original TV Music. He most recently scored the film feature Endgame, starring William Hurt, Derek Jacobi, Mark Strong, Johnny Lee Miller and Chiwitel Ejiofor, which chronicles the breakdown of 'apartheid' in S. Africa, and was directed by Pete Travis. It has been entered into competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Martin recently completed scoring Small Island for Ruby Films/BBC.
In the summer of 2005 Martin wrote a haunting score to the film Pierrepoint, directed by Adrian Shergold. Other credits include The Wife of Bath from the BBC’s contemporary adaptation of the Canterbury Tales, the acclaimed contemporary drama Dirty Filthy Love, as well as the thriller She’s Gone which starred Ray Winstone. Martin also scored the British feature film, The Flying Scotsman, and the BBC adaptation of the 2004 Man Booker prize winning The Line Of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst. He most recently completed scoring the new feature film, Harry Brown for Cutting Edge/Marv Films, starring Michael Caine.
MOVIESCORE MEDIA ALBUMS BY MARTIN PHIPPS:
