Producer, performer and composer David Long has made many diverse contributions to the New Zealand music scene over the years. He was a founding member of The Mutton Birds, with whom he made three albums.
His film scores comprise a large body of work; in 2012 alone he scored for Robert Sarkies’ Two Little Boys, Alyx Duncan’s The Red House and Dan Salmon’s Pictures of Susan. He wrote music for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. For the first Hobbit movie he collaborated with Plan 9 Music to write the song for the dwarves, “Misty Mountain” that features as the major theme in the score and was used as the basis for the credits song by Neil Finn.
His recent film score for a documentary on Sir Edmund Hillary called Beyond the Edge, has been recorded by Rattle Records. It features orchestra, viola, taonga puoro and harp.
As a producer he has worked with Dave Dobbyn, Barry Saunders Lucid 3 and OW Emerging Composer-in-residence Leila Adu’s Cherry Pie. He won Producer of the Year at the 2002 New Zealand Music Awards for Fur Patrol’s Pet.
Long’s work with dance companies includes collaborations with Douglas Wright, Shona McCullogh and Raewyn Hill. He has also received commissions from the New Zealand String Quartet and Stroma.
Long has written a great deal of music for television ranging from the Wot-Wots to a UK Power TV miniseries, “Ice” starring Sam Neill. He won Achievement in Original Music at the Air New Zealand Film and Television Awards for two years running for his scores for the television series Insiders Guide to Happiness (2005), and for Insiders Guide to Love (2006).
