Asaf Sagiv(/ˈɑːsəf/;[1] Hebrew: אָסָף שַׂגִּיב; born 29 July 1982) is a Los Angeles based composer who writes music for film, television, contemporary dance and theater. His work combines orchestral writing with minimalistic contemporary electronic elements.[2]

Asaf Sagiv
Sagiv in 2024
Sagiv in 2024
Background information
Birth nameAsaf Sagiv
Born(1982-07-29)29 July 1982
Tel Hashomer, Israel
OccupationComposer • producer
InstrumentPiano • synthesizer • guitar
Years active2006–present
LabelsUniversal Music GroupVarèse Sarabande
Websiteasafsagiv.com

Some of his works in film include Last Summer, Drugs and the Emmy Award nominated Netflix Original ReMastered: Who Shot the Sheriff? directed by Academy Award-nominated director Kief Davidson.[3][4][5]

He spent his early life growing up in Israel, playing guitar and keys and studying composition, and later relocated to the US.[2]

Early life and career

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Asaf was born on 29 July 1982 in Tel HaShomer, Israel to Ovadia Sagiv, an aerospace engineer and inventor, and Osnat (Sabina) Perelman, daughter of the Holocaust survivors Sigmund and Barbara Perelman who fled Poland of World War II.[6]

He grew up with his parents and three sisters in a quiet moshav called Ganot. He learned the guitar from the age of 12 and taught himself how to play the piano. Asaf began writing music at a young age and wrote his first orchestral symphonic piece when he was 15.
At some point Asaf took a momentary pause from music and taught himself how to paint by looking at the Old Masters works.[2]

Asaf started his musical career in the early 2000s as the musical director and commander of the Air Force Ensemble and Choir as part of his mandatory service.[2] During this time he also started working as a session guitarist and producer for various bands and artists. It was around that period that Asaf experimented with a wide range of musical styles, shaping his own sound.[2]

In 2004 Asaf moved to Boston. There he collaborated with contemporary dance company Harvard-Radcliffe Modern Dance Company, as well as with playwright Rebecca Bella Wangh for the Boston Playwrights' Theatre. He attended Berklee College of Music on a scholarship, studying film scoring and orchestration and graduating quickly in 2007 with highest honors of Summa cum laude. [2][7] He was then invited by to go to Los Angeles by the Society of Composers & Lyricists, and intern their Mentor Program in Fall 2007.[8] That same week Asaf moved to California where he started writing and producing music for film and tv.[9]

In 2010 he formed the Indie Rock band Water Knot and led their EP tour of Europe and the US, culminating at Bonnaroo Festival 2012 headlining Radiohead, Bon Iver and Red Hot Chili Peppers.[10][11][12] Following that he settled in London, UK for a couple of years.[13]
London saw Asaf return to scoring, with his second time collaborating with Italian director Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli on the feature drama Last Summer starring Rinko Kikuchi. The film premiered at Rome International Film Festival and won the AITS Award.[14][15]

Asaf's music was featured in Lionsgate's Misconduct, starring Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino and was released in 2016 on the Soundtrack album under Varèse Sarabande.[16]
In 2018, Asaf was approached by Foxhound to write the music for their J. K. Simmons narrated documentary film 'Drugs'. He started to work on the score while still living in London, and completed the score upon his return to Los Angeles. Later on that year he contributed music for the feature drama Like Me Back. The soundtrack featured songs from the artists Beck and Charlotte Gainsbourg.[17] Shortly after, Asaf was asked to write the score for the Netflix Original Who Shot The Sheriff. The show was nominated an Emmy Award for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary in 2019.[18][19]

In 2020, Asaf co-composed the score for the feature film Continue. In the following years he also contributed original music for the Netflix No.1 hit show Outer Banks[20] and for NBC's Council of Dads produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

In 2023, the animated short film Black Slide, scored by Asaf was shortlisted for an Academy Award for the 95th Academy Awards. [21]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Director Notes
2008 Alfred Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli
2009 A Thousand Suns Stephen Marshall
The Center Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli
16 To Life Becky Smith
2010 Rachel Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli Jena Malone
2011 Will Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli
2013 Homefront Gary Fleder
2014 Last Summer[22] Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli Rome international Film Festival Best Feature Film Award nominee, received A.I.T.S Best Sound
2016 Misconduct Shintaro Shimosawa Released by Lionsgate (writer: "Lust") Anthony Hopkins Al Pacino
2018 Footloose David Tenenbaum
The Critic (2019 film)|The Critic Stella Velon
ReMastered: Who Shot The Sheriff? Kief Davidson Emmy® Nominated for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary
Drug$ Jonathan Marshall Thompson J.K. Simmons
Likemeback Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli (performer: "Every Day") / (writer: "Every Day", "Losing Control", "Moving Forward (Imagine)")
Dreamwisher Colin Costello Southern Shorts Award Of Excellence for Individual Achievement In Music
2019 Bread Pudding Gena Fridman
Post Mortem Erynn Baldwin, Nick Kilgor
Love Never Forgets Fred Grant
2020 Crybaby Gena Fridman
Continue Nadine Crocker co-composed with Haim Mazar
2023 Black Slide Uri Lotan Shortlisted Best Animated Short Film for the 95th Academy Awards. [23]


Television

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Year Film Director Notes
2009 The Kids Grow Up Doug Block HBO
2016 I Love Bekka & Lucy Rachael Holder Warner Bros (performer: "Bubbles") / (writer: "Bubbles")
2017 Lawless Oceans Karsten von Hoesslin
Cooper's Treasure Phil Lott, Ari Mark Discovery
Cold Case Files Phil Lott, Ari Mark
2020 Baghdad Central Alice Troughton, Ben A. Williams Hulu
Outer Banks Jonas Pate, Cherie Nowlan, Valerie Weiss Netflix credited for composer: additional music
Council of Dads Jonathan Brown NBC credited for composer: additional music

Theater

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  • Zarema: Terroristka by Rebecca Bella Wangh (Boston Playwrights' Theater)[24]
  • Romeo & Juliet with Skazi (2010, Israel Geshger Theatre)[25]
  • Akimbo Sonata by Rebecca Bella Wangh, London UK

Contemporary Dance

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  • The Center Harvard-Radcliffe Modern Dance Company with Sonia K.Todorova, Boston (2005) [26]

Personal life

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Asaf left Ganot in the early 2000s, living in Boston, and London before settling in Los Angeles, California. He is the youngest of four, with three older sisters.

Awards

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  • In 2007, Asaf received The Doug Timm Award for Outstanding Musicianship
  • In 2019 Asaf won the Southern Shorts Award Of Excellence for Individual Achievement In Music

References

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  1. ^ Collins English Dictionary.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Art & Life with Asaf Sagiv". VoyageLA. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  3. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (1 October 2018). "Bob Marley's 1976 Shooting Investigated in Trailer for Netflix's 'ReMastered'". Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  4. ^ Weissberg, Jay (28 October 2014). "Rome Film Review: 'Last Summer'". Variety. ISSN 0042-2738. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  5. ^ DeFore, John (6 December 2018). "J.K. Simmons narrates Jonathan Marshall Thompson's look at Big Pharma's grip on America". The Hollywood Reporter. ISSN 0018-3660. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Ovadia Sagiv Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search".
  7. ^ Mahony, Leslie (22 May 2007). "Commencement Concert 2007". Berklee. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  8. ^ "2007-2008 SCL Mentor Program Interns Announced". 2 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Rachel".
  10. ^ Pulse, The (8 July 2011). "Water Knot". The Pulse. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  11. ^ Eisenberg, Dave (7 July 2012). "2012 Bonnaroo Lineup: Complete Bonnaroo Lineup for this Weekend's Festival in Tennessee". Bostinno. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Brooklyn's Water Knot lands a slot at Bonnaroo 2012". The Deli. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  13. ^ Olson, Chris (13 December 2018). "Interview with composer Asaf Sagiv". UK Film Review. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Collateral Awards Ceremony - The 9th Rome Film Festival". Rolling Stone. 25 October 2014.
  15. ^ De Marco, Camillo (17 January 2014). "Last Summer: Four days to say goodbye". Cineuropa. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Misconduct". Soundtrack-Movie. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  17. ^ Abele, Robert (12 December 2018). "Review: Documentary 'Drug$' takes aim at Big Pharma". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 2165-1736. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  18. ^ THR, Staff (24 September 2019). "News & Documentary Emmys: 2019 Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. ISSN 0018-3660. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  19. ^ "NOMINEES FOR THE 40th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED". The Insider. 25 July 2019.
  20. ^ Spence, Sam (9 May 2020). "'Outer Banks' hit No. 1 on Netflix". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  21. ^ Spence, Sam (9 May 2020). "'Black Slide' on 95th Oscars Shortlists Announced for 10 Categories". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  22. ^ "Rome Film Review: 'Last Summer'". 29 October 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  23. ^ Spence, Sam (9 May 2020). "'Black Slide' on 95th Oscars Shortlists Announced for 10 Categories". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  24. ^ "beautiful nobody". World Cat. OCLC 70825747.
  25. ^ Gershoviz, Shani (1 October 2018). "Romeo & Juliet Review". Walla. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  26. ^ M. Alexander, Vinita (16 June 2004). "Spotlight: Sonia Krassimirova Todorova '07". The Crimson. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
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