Biography
Julius Dobos – The Original Story of a Unique Composer
Hungarian-American composer Julius Dobos is best known for his electronic and electro-orchestral music releases worldwide, and for his music used in major motion pictures, such as “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”, “Paul Blart: MallCop” and television programs in Europe and in the United States.
With seven album releases, including a platinum album and the popular “Mountain Flying”, he became the first Central-European composer of large-scale electronic/orchestral music to receive international attention.
The Beginnings
Dobos started playing the piano at the age of five and writing music at nine. It was in these pre-teen years, when his father introduced him to the 70′s and 80′s electronic music. The young Dobos was greatly influenced by the sounds and musical worlds created by electronic music pioneers like Jean Michel Jarre, Mike Oldfield, Vangelis, Rick Wakeman, and the visual nature of Isao Tomita’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Following his dreams of creating musical worlds, or “visible music”, he found himself spending more time with composing than practicing the piano, obsessed with his new interest: electronic musical instruments.
After studying composition and film score composition at various institutions in Europe, he felt limited by classical music. He composed the early “demo” version of “Mountain Flying” at age 19 – the music that brought him international success three years later with the album of the same title.
Mainstream Success
In 1997, Julius Dobos was offered the opportunity to produce a Nokia-sponsored album, which under the title of “Connecting Images”, featured Dobos’ own, original musical style, catchy melodies, monumental instrumentation, a 50-piece choir and Grammy® Awarded vocalist Márta Sebestyén on one track. The CD was well received by listeners and launched Dobos’ career.
The success of “Connecting Images” was followed by the large-scale realization of Mountain Flying, the expanded and revised version of the compositions from Dobos’ teenage years. The electronic-orchestral album featured a 130-piece symphonic orchestra and choir, multitude of synthesizers evoking the sonic world of snow-capped mountains, and was an instant hit. The success of “Mountain Flying” quickly spread across Europe and reached the fans of electronic and modern orchestral music worldwide.
Dobos wrote his first major film score at the age of 22, for the action-adventure movie “Europe Express”. He then scored several more movies, a radioplay, and created musique concrète pieces for exhibitions and movie theaters.
Moving to the United States – The Production Years
Motivated by the creative possibilities of motion pictures and music, he relocated to the United States in 2000.
He composed music for Aerobatics World Champion pilot Péter Besenyei for the World Championship of Aerobatics, wrote music and programmed sounds for several popular television shows. His work can be heard in “DragonBall Z”, in an award-winning claymation series “Red Planet Blues”, in “The Reality of Speed” and “Your House & Home” television series.
In 2003 Julius produced the high-energy electronic music album, “Epic”, which includes nine instrumental electronic tracks and five trance-pop songs. The production of two music library projects, the groovy “Tekno Chemistry” and the ambient “ElectroScapes” followed, both of which featured haunting melodies, extensive sound design and synthesizer programming. Later focusing exclusively on various electronic styles, Julius created music for countless film-, television- and advertising projects, including such international blockbusters as Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008) and Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009).
Return to Independence
After working “behind the scenes” on movie projects for years, 2010 saw Julius’ comeback to his public, solo career with the release of “Transitions”. This compilation CD features music written between 2006-2010 and marks the composer’s return to his truly original, non-film music compositions. Julius is also working on an entirely new concept album of electronic music, with a planned release in 2011.
Musical style and instrumentation
Known for its monumental instrumentation, Dobos’ music often involves the combination of electronic, traditional western and ethnic instruments. The extensive and creative use of analog and digital synthesizers and software play a major role in adding both emotional depth and sonic complexity to his works.
Along with its distinctive style, the composer’s music clearly reveals his European roots, the haunting melodies and chord structures instantly create deep, intense emotional experience for the listeners regardless of their cultural or social background. Currently living in the United States, Julius primarily composes instrumental electronic music, exploring the uncharted territories of melody and sound.
Read more biographical details on the Wikipedia page about Julius Dobos