Sam Slater - Bio 2026
Sam Slater is a British composer, sound designer, and record producer whose work bridges contemporary classical composition, experimental electronics, and sound for screen. Based in Berlin, Slater studied Experimental Composition at Leeds University before moving to Germany, where he collaborated extensively with the late Jóhann Jóhannsson.
He has twice won Grammy Awards for his role as score producer and musical sound designer on Oscar winning Joker and Emmy winning Chernobyl, and has worked extensively with Hildur Guðnadóttir, co-composing the soundtrack to Battlefield 2042. That project earned him the Icelandic Music Award for Producer of the Year and the Society of Composers & Lyricists Award for Outstanding Original Score for Interactive Media.
Slater’s own work is characterised by use of unconventional sound sources and the design of new instruments, often blurring the boundary between composition and sonic engineering. He has constructed custom electroacoustic devices, altered acoustic instruments for new tonal possibilities, and used extended recording techniques to capture unusual resonance, distortion, and texture. These methods inform both his solo releases—Wrong Airport Ghost (2018), I Do Not Wish To Be Known As A Vandal (2022) and most recently Lunng (2026) —and collaborative works.
In 2022, Slater formed Osmium, a collaborative experimental ensemble with Guðnadóttir, James Ginzburg, and Rully Shabara. Known for its use of bespoke electroacoustic instruments and extended vocal and percussive techniques, Osmium merges heavy, metallic sonics with intricate rhythmic structures and immersive live performance.
In 2024, Slater composed the score for 2000 Meters to Andriivka, a documentary by Mstyslav Chernov chronicling the war in Ukraine. The film premiered at Sundance in January 2025, where Chernov received the Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary. Slater’s restrained but impactful score deepened the film’s emotional resonance.
In 2025, he founded Mt. Brings Death with American guitarist Mason Lindahl, a label for experimental and cross-media projects. New solo and collaborative releases are scheduled for later this year.
Sam Slater - CV 2026
2026 – Saros - Upcoming Computer Game – Composer
2025 – 2000 Meters to Andriivka – Composer – Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary (Sundance); F:ACT Award – Best Investigative Documentary (CPH:DOX)
2025 – Mt. Brings Death – Founder / Label Director
2024 – The River Between Us – Composer
2024 – Divia – Composer
2023 – The Railway Men – Composer - Filmfare Award – Best Original Soundtrack
2023 – A Haunting in Venice – Score Producer
2023 – I’m Not a Monster (Series 2) – Additional Music & Titles
2022 – Osmium – Co-founder / Performer
2022 – I Do Not Wish To Be Known As A Vandal – Composer / Performer
2022 – Vandals – Co-creator (with Theresa Baumgartner)
2022 – Battlefield 2042 – Composer – Producer of the Year (Icelandic Music Awards); Outstanding Original Score for Interactive Media (Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards)
2021 – Battlefield 2042 – Composer – Guild of Music Supervisors Award – Best Music Supervision in a Video Game
2020 – Joker – Score Producer – Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival); Academy Award – Best Original Score; BAFTA – Best Original Music; Golden Globe – Best Original Score; Critics’ Choice Award – Best Score; Hollywood Music in Media Award – Best Score in a Feature Film; Satellite Award – Best Original Score; Premio Soundtrack Stars Award; Grammy Award – Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
2020 – Wrong Airport Ghost – Composer / Performer
2019 – Chernobyl – Score Producer / Musical Sound Designer – Grammy Award – Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
2019 – Chernobyl Live – Live Performance / Electronics
2018 – Subway Lion (EP) – Composer / Performer
2018 – Mandy – Musical Sound Designer
2018 – Mary Magdalene – Programming / Mix Engineer
2017 – Mother! – Score Producer / Musical Sound Designer
2017 – Valgeir Sigurðsson – Dissonance – Engineer
2017 – Julia Reidy – Brace, Brace – Recording / Mix Engineer
2017 – Ryuichi Sakamoto – Solari (Jóhann Jóhannsson Rework) – Musical Sound Design / Mix Engineer
2017 – Ben Frost – The Centre Cannot Hold – Additional Musical Sound Design
2017 – Nadia Sirota – Tessellatum – Engineer
2017 – Mica Levi & Eliza McCarthy – Slow Dark Green Murky Waterfall – Mix Engineer
2017 – Jóhann Jóhannsson – Englabörn & Variations – Programming / Musical Sound Design / Mix Engineer
2017 – Jóhann Jóhannsson European Tour – Tape Machines & Electronics Development