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Michael W. Bell

Award-winning composer, sound designer, and PhD researcher in spatial audio. Michael’s work spans film scores, TV productions, and immersive soundscapes, released through his label imprint Aurora Eclipse Productions and showcased internationally through the Royal Society of Arts.

Michael W. Bell Composer · Sound Designer · Spatial Audio Researcher
Score of the Month #11 - Joker by Hildur Guðnadóttir (2019)
May 18

May 18 Score of the Month #11 - Joker by Hildur Guðnadóttir (2019)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

Simply, I loved Joker! It was totally different to what I was expecting and I thoroughly enjoyed the reactions from the audience, some of whom were clearly expecting another action-packed Marvel/DC style film we have been annoyingly bombarded with in recent years; the Joker was definitely not that…

Score of the Month #10 - Rambo: First Blood by Jerry Goldsmith (1982)
Feb 13

Feb 13 Score of the Month #10 - Rambo: First Blood by Jerry Goldsmith (1982)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

First off! Where have you ben Mike? I know its been a while since I wrote for Score of the Month, but after much hiatus for personal reasons and going a bit mental for a while, I am firmly back…

Score of the Month #9 - Divergent by Junkie XL (2014)
Feb 28

Feb 28 Score of the Month #9 - Divergent by Junkie XL (2014)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

It's no secret that Junkie XL (aka Tom Holkenborg) was no stranger to applying and composing music to film when he came to score Divergent in 2014; I remember hearing his track "Dealing With The Roster" way back in 1998 in the movie Blade (I was 10 years old then)…

Score of the Month #8 - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri by Carter Burwell (2017)
Jan 25

Jan 25 Score of the Month #8 - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri by Carter Burwell (2017)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

It's a new year, it's been 4 months since my last #ScoreOTM and it's currently Oscar season which means there is one hell of a lot of films out, all of which contain noteworthy soundtracks which makes my choices fairly hard at present when it comes to music score reviews…

Score of the Month #7 - Planet of the Apes (1968) by Jerry Goldsmith
Aug 12

Aug 12 Score of the Month #7 - Planet of the Apes (1968) by Jerry Goldsmith

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

Welcome back to #ScoreOTM... Today we're going way back to an era of serious orchestral sound design and vast experimentation because yep, I'm naming Jerry Goldsmith's score for Planet of the Apes (1968) as my 7th Score of the Month entry!

Score of the Month #6 - King Arthur: Legend of the Sword by Daniel Pemberton (2017)
May 20

May 20 Score of the Month #6 - King Arthur: Legend of the Sword by Daniel Pemberton (2017)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

Thanks for staying tuned and welcome to #ScoreOTM #6; this one absolutely had to go to Daniel Pemberton for his work on Guy Ritchie's new film "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword"... If I ever saw this man in a public house, I would send over a pint without a second thought! 1hr 32mins of pure entertainment...

Score of the Month #5 - Assassin's Creed by Jed Kurzel (2016)
May 12

May 12 Score of the Month #5 - Assassin's Creed by Jed Kurzel (2016)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

This #ScoreOTM will probably come as a surprise to some... The hardcore gamer of my youth is currently screaming as I admit this, but I've never played the Assassin's Creed games! (although I have heard the majority of Lorne Balfe & Jesper Kyd's scores). I also don't generally go for movie adaptations of games...

Score of the Month #4 - Westworld by Ramin Djawadi (2016)
May 6

May 6 Score of the Month #4 - Westworld by Ramin Djawadi (2016)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

There has been so much playing in my place this month, it's actually been a tricky decision to make... This week's winner, however, has to be Ramin Djawadi's score for Westworld! I almost didn't go for it on the basis that I'm only halfway through the first season and I kind of wanted to complete it before writing about the score, but I decided to just go for it anyway...

Score of the Month #3 - Moonlight by Nicholas Britell (2016)
Apr 27

Apr 27 Score of the Month #3 - Moonlight by Nicholas Britell (2016)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

I'm a little behind on my monthly posts folks, but rest assured, I'm picking up where I left off! You may have guessed it based on my Tweets over the past few weeks; but Nicholas Britell's score for Moonlight has definitely taken 1st place.

Score of the Month #2 - Lego Batman by Lorne Balfe (2017)
Mar 22

Mar 22 Score of the Month #2 - Lego Batman by Lorne Balfe (2017)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

I saw the film at the cinema just ahead of the release date as Odeon were running advanced showings and loved it. I'm a big fan of pretty much all the Batman films to date and with the more recent Nolan trilogy being on my radar all the way through Uni, it was great to be able to revisit the films in a more tongue and cheek light…

Score of the Month #1 - Black Mirror: San Junipero by Clint Mansell (2016)
Mar 15

Mar 15 Score of the Month #1 - Black Mirror: San Junipero by Clint Mansell (2016)

Michael W. Bell
Score of the Month

Some of you may have guessed it already, but the score of the moment has to be “Black Mirror: San Junipero” by Clint Mansell. Firstly, I thought the episode was absolutely brilliant, the story really gripped me and the music relaxed me enough to lose track of time… I remember wondering, “who on earth scored this, it works so well”…

© 2025 Michael W. Bell | Bell Creative Labs (including Aurora Eclipse Productions)

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