Nathan Barr

Writing and performing all instruments for his distinct compositions, Nathan Barr has become a notable name in musical compositions for gritty, atmospheric horror-thrillers. His work with Eli Roth on the "Hostel" films and on Alan Ball's smash TV series "True Blood" catapulted him to the top of the list of young Hollywood composers. Studying music in Tokyo from the age of four, he soon discovered many of the rare and underused instruments that grace his productions. Barr attended Skidmore College and soon toured Europe with the Juilliard Cello Ensemble. A move to Los Angeles in 1996 led him to work with renowned composer Hans Zimmer at Media Ventures on hits like "As Good As it Gets" and "The Prince of Egypt." Barr soon began flying solo on smaller features and TV movie titles, with his breakthrough coming in 2003 on Roth's horror flick "Cabin Fever." This exposure landed him a gig on the big-screen remake of "The Dukes of Hazzard" in 2005, after which he was invited back by Roth to score his torture porn opus "Hostel." This association with Roth led to an introduction to Roth's mentor Quentin Tarantino, who asked Barr to score "Grindhouse," the 1970s-throwback double-feature he was co-directing with Robert Rodriguez. Barr had quickly developed a talent for composing the backing mood pieces for artier horror fare and channeled this ability into the ambitious feat of writing for the sex-charged vampire soap opera "True Blood."