Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (Spanish: [ɡusˈtaβo alˈfɾeðo santaoˈlaʝa]; born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine composer, record producer and musician. He is the recipient of numerous accolades for his works, including two Academy Awards for Best Original Score, a Golden Globe, two Grammy Awards and 17 Latin Grammy Awards. He is known for his minimalist approach to composing and for his influence in the Latin rock music genre.
Gustavo Santaolalla | |
---|---|
![]() Santaolalla in 2022 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla |
Born | El Palomar, Argentina | 19 August 1951
Origin | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Genres | |
Occupations |
|
Instruments | |
Years active | 1967–present |
Member of | Bajofondo |
Formerly of | Arco Iris |
Involved in music from a young age, he began a professional career in 1967 founding the band Arco Iris, who were influential to the rock nacional genre. Fleeing the rule of the Argentine military junta and the dictatorship of the National Reorganization Process, Santaolalla moved to Los Angeles in 1978. After returning to Argentina in the 1980s and taking a musical sabbatical, he became a leading figure in the rock en español movement, producing records for over 100 artists. He established the neotango group Bajofondo in 2001. Music from his 1998 solo album Ronroco caught the attention of filmmakers and led to a career expansion into film scores, beginning with Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003) and The Motorcycle Diaries (2004).
Santaolalla rose to fame for creating the scores for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006), for which he received two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in consecutive years. He scored I Come with the Rain (2009) and Biutiful (2010). Santaolalla further gained recognition for his work on The Last of Us game series, composing the 2013 game and its 2020 sequel. In 2014, he composed his first animated film, The Book of Life and his first Argentine film, Wild Tales. He scored the short film Borrowed Time (2015) and co-composed the documentary Before the Flood (2016). Santaolalla returned to reprise his themes and co-compose the score for the 2023 television adaptation of The Last of Us and composed an original score for October 2024 showings of the 1931 Spanish-language Dracula film by the Los Angeles Opera.
Not learned in reading or writing musical notation, Santaolalla prefers composing his scores mostly by himself. Favouring instruments like the ronroco, he adopts a minimalistic approach when composing and prefers to capture humanistic elements of performances. He compares his philosophy of favouring minimalism in music to parkour, comparing the calculations of athletes before landing to his measured selection of musical notes before playing them. By contrast, his live performances have been noted for their vibrancy. For his influence in Latin music, Santaolalla was recognized as a BMI Icon during the 15th annual Latin Awards Ceremony in 2008 and received the Latin Grammy Trustees Award in 2023.
Early life
editGustavo Alfredo Santaolalla was born in El Palomar, Argentina on 19 August 1951.[1] Santaolalla was born to a stay-at-home mother and a father working in the advertising industry for J. Walter Thompson.[2] His family has roots in Spain; his grandfather was Andalusian and his grandmother was Basque.[3] When Santaolalla was five, he was given his first guitar by his grandmother for his birthday;[2] he "immediately connected in a sort of a spiritual level with the music",[4] and began musical tutelage with a hired teacher.[2] When he was ten, his teacher declined to continue attempting to educate him; according to Santaolalla, the teacher told his mother "his ear is stronger than my music".[4]
In his pre-teenage years, Santaolalla wrote songs in English which "mimick[ed]" the music of bands like the Beatles;[4] at twelve, he was gifted his first electric guitar.[2] In his teenage years, Santaolalla had aspired to become a musician such that he designed a logo for a record label he had dreamed of owning.[5] By 1966, Santaolalla—just 15—had been arrested by the military juntas governing Argentina,[2] according to him because he had long hair and played an electric guitar, despite not partaking in drugs or being involved in political activities.[4] The first time Santaolalla was arrested, his father arrived to collect him, questioning the authorities about what crime Santaolalla had committed.[2] The arrests continued throughout his adolescence.[2]
Career
edit1967–2001: Early career and bands
editSantaolalla's music career began in 1967 when he co-founded the group Arco Iris,[5] a rock band that helped create rock nacional, a genre that blends Argentine folk music and Latin American rhythms.[4] He played guitar and sang in the band, which included wind instrument player Ara Tokatlian , bass player Guillermo Bordarampé , percussionist Horacio Gianello and their vocalist Danais Winnycka , who became their spiritual guide.[6] The group lived a communal lifestyle, practicing celibacy, vegetarianism and were engaged with Eastern religions.[2] The band rose to prominence with the song "Mañana campestre" from their third album Tiempo de Resurrección .[6]
After seven Arco Iris albums, Santaolalla left following a disagreement with Tokatlian,[6] and amid concerns that arose with Santaolalla halfway through their existence that "any group that is so inner directed runs the risk of turning into a cult".[2] Santaolalla thereafter founded the hard rock group Soluna.[2][6] With the 1976 Argentine coup d'état, Santaolalla experienced hard times under the National Reorganization Process and moved to Los Angeles, California in 1978, living undocumented for several years.[4] He formed the group Wet Picnic, but had no commercial success with them.[5]
In the mid-1980s, Santaolalla was able to return to Argentina and on one trip he began travelling the rural country with his friend, the folk musician León Gieco.[4] This venture was called "De Ushuaia a la Quiaca", respectively referring to the southernmost and northernmost towns in Argentina, Ushuaia and La Quiaca.[5] In four years, he and Gieco travelled from northern Argentina to Tierra del Fuego to document and experience folk music, aiming to "look for the essence of" where the music of Argentina's past came from; his embrace of their musical styles caused them to become prevalent in his work, namely the ten-string Andean instrument called the ronroco.[4]
Santaolalla released the album Santaolalla in 1982,[7] and became a leading figure of the Mexico-based rock en español movement;[5] The Los Angeles Times described his contribution to Latin rock music as becoming "the most transcendent producer" in its history.[8] Santaolalla collaborated with co-producer Aníbal Kerpel on albums for numerous artists, including Café Tacvba, El Peyote Asesino,[9] Maldita Vecindad, Julieta Venegas, Molotov and Juanes;[8] Santaolalla said he produced over 100 records at that point in time.[5][10] In 1998, he released the album Ronroco, consisting of solo works recorded over 14 years,[5] and featuring the titular instrument alongside the charango and the Andean pan flute.[4] Santolalla formed the neotango group Bajofondo in 2001, for whom he plays guitar.[5]
2000–2013: Rise to fame with film scores
editThe attention that Santaolalla's record Ronroco attained led to a career expansion into composing film scores.[8] American director Michael Mann first used Santaolalla's song "Iguazu" in his film The Insider (1999).[5] Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu heard Ronroco, leading him to ask Santaolalla to compose his films Amores perros (2000) and 21 Grams (2003),[5] creating a recurring collaboration between the two.[11] Of this transition into scores, Santaolalla said he had "no plan, no master plan. But I always had this love for films".[4] He also wrote the score for Walter Salles's biographical film The Motorcycle Diaries (2004),[5] for which he won the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music at the 58th British Academy Film Awards.[12]
Santaolalla wrote the score for Niki Caro's drama film North Country (2005).[13] That year, Santaolalla provided the instrumental music for the soundtrack to the Contemporary Western romance film Brokeback Mountain.[5] Director Ang Lee sought a sparse and "yearning" sound for the film and sent Santaolalla a script. Two weeks later, he received a CD of new compositions for the film—unaware that Santaolalla composed music during early pre-production for films, he mistook this for reference music.[5] According to Santaolalla, he composed 100% of the score before principal photography began.[10] From Brokeback Mountain, Santaolalla composed the song "A Love That Will Never Grow Old", which won the 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.[14] Santaolalla composed the score to the 2006 psychological drama film Babel, another collaboration with Iñárritu.[11]
Santaolalla's reception of the Academy Award for Best Original Score for Brokeback Mountain in 2006 and for Babel in 2007 established him as a prominent composer of Hollywood films.[7] He was the co-producer of Calle 13's song "Tango del Pecado", a song from their album Residente o Visitante (2007).[15] On 12 June 2008, Santaolalla was recognized as a BMI Icon during the 15th annual Latin Awards Ceremony.[16] He composed Tran Anh Hung's neo-noir thriller I Come with the Rain (2009),[17] and collaborated again with Iñárritu on the music for the film Biutiful (2010).[18]
Santaolalla composed the score of the 2013 video game The Last of Us. During the development of the game at studio Naughty Dog, creative director Neil Druckmann and game director Bruce Straley compiled musical tracks that they found inspirational. When searching for a composer to work on the game's music, they realised Santaolalla composed many of their compiled tracks; they asked Sony to reach out.[19] He was brought to the studio and shown an early version of the first trailer and a full description of the plot; Druckmann remembers the composer's first words to them were "I want to be a part of this. Whatever it takes, I want to write for this".[20] Santaolalla had previously wanted to compose for video games and was approached by several other developers following his Academy Award wins, but he refused to work on projects without a focus on story and characters.[7] Santaolalla sent Druckmann "batches of themes and music" for nearly three years;[21] to challenge himself, he used a variety of unique instruments that were new to him, giving "an element of danger and innocence".[22]
In November 2013, Santaolalla toured in Mexico with Bajofondo in support of the album Presente, at the 11th Festival de las Almas in Valle de Bravo, at El Plaza Condesa and 19th Festival de Calaveras in Aguascalientes.[23] At the 14th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, as part of Bajofondo, Santaolalla received the award for Best Instrumental Album for Presente and the song "Pena en mi Corazón" won Best Alternative Song.[24][25]
2014–2020: Continued work with scores and The Last of Us Part II
editSantaolalla composed the music to the musical Arrabal, written by John Weidman and directed by Sergio Trujillo, which opened at the Panasonic Theatre in February 2014.[2] He composed the score to the 2014 film The Book of Life—his first animated film and the first time he worked with a large orchestra and choir.[26] Santaolalla used the marimba, accordion, with mariachi horns in the score, which he saw as a change from his usual minimalist style.[26] Santaolalla wrote songs with Paul Williams for the film; the two were already working on a musical adaptation of film director Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (2006).[27] Stars Diego Luna and Zoe Saldaña sang on the soundtrack, with their Hispanic accents retained—Santaolalla said that this, the authentic instrumentation and the film's open depiction of life, death, and the underworld made The Book of Life "fantastic" and differentiated it from being watered down and tethered to Hollywood appeal.[28] He composed the score to Wild Tales (2014), his first score to an Argentine film.[29]
Santaolalla composed the score for the Western animated short film Borrowed Time (2015). Directors Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj had been playing The Last of Us during development and enjoyed his leverage of silence in the score—their producer reached out and Santaolalla agreed to work with them at his Los Angeles studio once he was sent an animatic of the film set to a temp track of his own prior work.[30] In October 2015, Santaolalla was inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame by Paul Williams, who serves as the president of ASCAP.[31][32] Santaolalla co-composed the soundtrack to the 2016 documentary film Before the Flood with Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Mogwai.[33] Santaolalla scored the French thriller film All That Divides Us (2017).[34]
Santaolalla returned to compose the score for The Last of Us Part II (2020), as he had done for the first game.[35] Naughty Dog tasked him to create emotional, character-based tracks and he worked on the game for two to three years.[36] Santaolalla continued using the ronroco, the instrument used in the first game's theme, as he felt it enhanced main character Ellie's qualities through feminine sounds,[37] while he introduced a banjo for new character Abby's theme. He composed Part II's score around the banjo and an electric guitar, feeling the increased characters and complexities demanded more timbre.[7] Santaolalla worked with Gary Clark Jr. on the song "Valley of Last Resort", created for the documentary film Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb (2020). With lyrics written by Paul Williams, Clark and Santaolalla respectively play electric guitar and ronroco and perform vocals together.[38]
2023–present: The Last of Us TV series and other scores
editSantaolalla returned to co-compose the score for the television adaptation of The Last of Us, which premiered in 2023.[39] He felt the "relationship that [fans] have with the music of the game" made his return inevitable and noted the music was so integral to the narrative that its absence would be akin to excluding lead characters Joel or Ellie.[21] Santaolalla primarily recrafted his previous work instead of creating new music, focusing on elements he found interesting.[40] He said some of his pieces fit perfectly while others were trimmed and edited to fit the scenes.[21] He treated the series as "an expansion" of the game and kept them tied to each other, not seeking to revise or correct previous work as he found it authentic.[41] Santaolalla had around 185 cues for the series,[41] associated with specific on-screen actions, like a character opening a door or entering a car.[21] Santaolalla worked on the score with David Fleming, who selected specific instruments that paired appropriately with Santaolalla's work.[42] Also in 2023, Santaolalla performed at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in September and received the Latin Grammy Trustees Award in November.[43]
In 2024, Santaolalla composed an original score for the 25–27 October screenings of the 1931 Spanish-language Dracula film at the United Theater in Los Angeles, commissioned by the Los Angeles Opera.[44] He was interested in combining the traditional scoring method with an experimental musical approach—he knew nothing of this Spanish-language adaptation beforehand and said its lack of music made it languid—he felt his score's contribution to the showing would complement the film's characterization.[8] Having an orchestra conducted by the Opera's resident conductor Lina González-Granados, Santaolalla composed the music beyond the orchestral portion with synthesisers and samplers, which he said improved the subharmonics and gave the score "potency". Santaolalla said that he maintained a feeling of "innocence" with the project, not feeling intimidated by the task in order to have fun, as the score would retain the "same melancholy touch that is ever present in everything I do".[8]
In 2025, Santaolalla returned to compose the score for The Last of Us season 2.[45] In the season premiere, "Future Days", Santaolalla makes a cameo appearance playing in a scene with the band Crooked Still. Having wanted to visit the set during filming, series co-creator Craig Mazin recalled how in Part II, Santaolalla made a cameo playing the banjo, and thought naturally to extend this into the series by integrating him in the scene with the band. Despite not having played the band's songs before, Mazin said they spoke about the music for "about 40 seconds", and played through numerous takes of the scene—Mazin said Santaolalla "loved every minute of it. Never complained" even though he warned the musician that it would be the two "longest days" of his life.[45]
Artistry
editSantaolalla does not know how to read or write musical notation.[4] When he played music in his adolescence, he would have to make sure he memorised all of the pieces he created and practised them so he would not forget, as he did not write them down in notation; in his teenage years, his parents bought him a tape recorder, which he used to collect his pieces. When working with an orchestra, Santaolalla still uses this method to notate, recording his compositions so an orchestrator can translate them to paper.[10] Santaolalla said that composing and performing his scores primarily by himself brings "character", feeling that orchestral-based work lacks "personality".[11][10]
Santaolalla typically begins composing music early in the production process of a film, according to the screenplay, something he says affords him a greater creative role.[11] Santaolalla says this means he composes based on his relationship with the story and characters and from conversations with the principal creatives of the production, and he adapts his work from there.[10] PBS describes his scores as "melancholy and minimal",[11] and Santaolalla told the Los Angeles Times that melancholy was "ever present" in his work.[8] By contrast, PBS describes the musician's live performances as "vivacious and buoyant";[11] PCGamesN described a 2024 performance of music at the London Royal Festival Hall as exciting and "beautifully moving", praising his vocals and professionalism.[46]
Santaolalla favours the use of silence in his compositions; he says the sparsity "gives resonance to the notes that you play around it". Santaolalla compares his musical process to jumping in parkour, likening the calculations practiced before the athletes land to his measured selection of notes before he plays them.[7] Santaolalla stated that "landing" the note is important, such that it is crucial to land "safe[ly]", closing the "arch".[4] Santaolalla prefers to capture interactions with instruments when they are played—like fingers sliding across guitar strings—when he records; he finds it "primitive", additive of "tension and texture" and conducive of "humanity", describing the practice as finding "the right note, hidden as a wrong note".[47] Santaolalla's signature instrument is the ronroco, which he has used since discovering it during his time exploring the music of the Andes.[7][4]
Credits and accolades
editSantaolalla is the recipient of numerous accolades, winning two Academy Awards for Best Original Score,[4] being nominated for two Emmy Awards,[48] winning a Golden Globe with two more nominations,[49] winning two Grammy Awards with three more nominations,[50] and winning 17 Latin Grammy Awards with 28 more nominations.[24] Santaolalla was recognized as a BMI Icon during the 15th annual Latin Awards Ceremony in 2008,[16] and for his influence in Latin music he received the 2023 Latin Grammy Trustees Award.[43]
References
edit- ^ ""Ronroco": el viaje musical de Santaolalla cumple 25 años y se celebra con una edición remasterizada" ["Ronroco": Santaolalla's musical journey turns 25 and is celebrated with a remastered edition.]. Infobae (in Spanish). Daniel Hadad. 28 January 2024. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ouzounian, Richard (7 February 2014). "Gustavo Santaolalla puts Argentina's history in Arrabal music". Toronto Star. Torstar. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
- ^ "Gustavo Santaolalla, a la captura del paisaje sonoro de Madrid" [Gustavo Santaolalla, capturing the soundscape of Madrid] (in Spanish). Agence France-Presse. 5 June 2024. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2025 – via La Nación.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Perez, Miguel; Douris, Raina (13 October 2023). "How Gustavo Santaolalla and his ronroco took the film industry by storm". NPR. Archived from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rohter, Larry (14 August 2008). "Gustavo Santaolalla's Film Scores Are Minimalist and His Tango Is Newfangled". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- ^ a b c d Lladós, Gustavo (29 May 2023). "El emotivo reencuentro de Santaolalla con Arco Iris: del documental sobre la historia del grupo al mote de "las amas de casa del rock nacional"" [Santaolalla's emotional reunion with Arco Iris: from a documentary about the band's history to being dubbed "the housewives of Spanish rock."]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Peppiatt, Dom (12 July 2024). "The Last of Us has three main characters: Ellie, Joel and Gustavo Santaolalla's music". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Lechner, Ernesto (23 October 2024). "Inside Gustavo Santaolalla's new Spanish 'Dracula' score for L.A. Opera's live show". Los Angeles Times. Nant Capital. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Lannert, John (29 August 1998). "Label Lineups and Solo Debuts". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 35. p. 76. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Foster, Ashley (28 August 2023). "Emmy-Nominated 'Last of Us' Composer Gustavo Santaolalla on Discovering the Third Episode's Humanity: "It Was a Great Love Story"". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "Gustavo Santaolalla, Making Music For Both Stage and Screen". PBS NewsHour. 14 October 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
- ^ "'Aviator' nonstop at BAFTA". Variety. Reed Elsevier. 12 February 2005. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ Gonzalez, Ed (18 October 2005). "Review: North Country". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
- ^ "63rd Golden Globe Award Winners". Golden Globe Awards. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. 16 January 2006. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
- ^ Burr, Ramiro (7 June 2007). "Calle 13 expands with tango and hip-hop". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Archived from the original on 20 March 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ a b Cobo, Leila (24 March 2008). "Santaolalla To Be Honored As BMI Icon". Billboard. Nielsen N.V. Archived from the original on 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
- ^ Kerr, Elizabeth (9 October 2009). "I Come With the Rain — Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. The Nielsen Company. Archived from the original on 23 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
- ^ Chang, Justin (17 May 2010). "Biutiful". Variety. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
- ^ "The Last Of Us: the definitive postmortem – spoilers be damned – Page 2 of 3". Edge. Future plc. 18 June 2013. p. 2. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ Vore, Bryan (March 2012). Stead, Chris (ed.). "The Last of Us: A Long Road Ahead". Game Informer. No. 227. GameStop. p. 60. Retrieved 19 March 2025 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c d Williams, Joe (23 March 2023). "Gustavo Santaolalla on the enduring power of The Last of Us". Composer Magazine. Spitfire Audio. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ Naughty Dog and Area 5 (2013). Grounded: Making The Last of Us. Sony Computer Entertainment. Event occurs at 47:11. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ^ Cruz Bárcenas, Arturo (13 October 2013). "Bajofondo no se pone límites para reinventarse: Gustavo Santaolalla" [Bajofondo sets no limits to reinvent itself: Gustavo Santaolalla]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
- ^ a b "Gustavo Santaolalla | Artist". Latin Grammy Awards. The Latin Recording Academy. Archived from the original on 31 March 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Khoshaba, Christy (21 November 2013). "Latin Grammys 2013: The complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Media. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ a b Chagollan, Steve (23 October 2014). "'Book of Life' Score Represents a Series of Firsts for Composer Gustavo Santaolalla". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Truitt, Brian (19 October 2014). "Paul Williams, Santaolalla do songs for 'Book of Life'". USA Today. Gannett. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Lee, Ashley (28 October 2014). "How 'Book of Life' Added a Hispanic Touch to Covers of Mumford & Sons and Radiohead". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
- ^ Roberts, Sheila (17 February 2025). "Wild Tales Director Damian Szifron Discusses His Oscar-Nominated Film". Collider. Complex Networks. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015.
- ^ Robinson, Tasha (20 October 2016). "The Borrowed Time animators on how evolving Pixar tech made them 'scramble to not fall apart'". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
- ^ Cobo, Leila (21 March 2015). "Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame Announces Inductees For Third Annual La Musa Awards". Billboard. Guggenheim Partners. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
- ^ Cobo, Leila (16 October 2025). "Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony: Alejandra Guzman, Myriam Hernandez, Café Tacuba, Rita Moreno & More Perform". Billboard. Guggenheim Partners. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
- ^ Lozano, Kevin (11 October 2016). "Trent Reznor and Mogwai Detail Soundtrack for Leonardo DiCaprio Climate Change Film Before the Flood". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
- ^ Mintzer, Jordan (13 November 2017). "'All That Divides Us' ('Tout nous separe'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
- ^ Pereira, Chris (3 December 2016). "In The Last of Us: Part 2, You Play as Ellie". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ Gilbert, Ben (11 July 2020). "Inside the music of The Last of Us 2 with composer Gustavo Santaolalla". TechRadar. Future plc. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ Rao, Lorena (2 September 2020). "Dal premio Oscar per il cinema a The Last of Us 2, intervista al compositore Gustavo Santaolalla" [From the Oscar for cinema to The Last of Us 2, interview with composer Gustavo Santaolalla]. Fanpage.it (in Italian). Ciaopeople Media Group. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (30 October 2020). "Gary Clark Jr. Collaborates With Composer Gustavo Santaolalla on 'Valley of Last Resort'". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Reimann, Tom (12 March 2020). "'The Last of Us' Game Composer Is Returning to Score the HBO Series". Collider. Complex Networks. Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ Anderson, Carys (27 February 2023). "The Last of Us Drops Massive Season 1 Soundtrack: Stream". Consequence. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ a b Miller, Liz Shannon (28 February 2023). "The Last of Us Composer Gustavo Santaolalla on How "Music Is Entwined With the Story"". Consequence. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ Shachat, Sarah (14 March 2023). "'The Last of Us' Score Finds Meaning in Silence". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ a b Haring, Bruce (5 August 2023). "Gustavo Santaolalla To Receive Lifetime Achievement Trustees Award From Latin Grammys". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Barnes, Mike (4 October 2024). "LA Opera Presenting 1931 Spanish-Language 'Dracula' With Live Orchestra, New Gustavo Santaolalla Score". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ a b Williams, Ben (14 April 2025). "The Last of Us season 2 features touching game cameo you might have missed". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 14 April 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Faulkner, Cheri (10 May 2025). "How The Last of Us' composer created the best game music of all time". PCGamesN. NetworkN. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Brown, Andy (23 May 2025). "'The Last Of Us' composer Gustavo Santaolalla: "Life is so connected to creating"". NME. BandLab Technologies. Archived from the original on 23 August 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Gustavo Santaolalla". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 31 March 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Gustavo Santaolalla". Golden Globe Awards. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Gustavo Santaolalla | Artist". Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2025.