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Cliff Martinez (born February 5, 1954 in Bronx, New York), is an American film score composer and former drummer for Captain Beefheart, The Dickies, The Weirdos, Lydia Lunch and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984-1985).

Raised in Columbus, Ohio, Cliff Martinez's first job composing was for the popular television show, Pee Wee's Playhouse. At the time, however, he was more interested in rock bands, and played drums in a variety of them, mostly in a temporary capacity. Eventually, his interests shifted and he focused his attention toward professional film scoring.

His first soundtrack was for the film Sex, Lies, and Videotape, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh would later call on Martinez to produce soundtracks for a number of his films, popularly including Traffic in 2000 and Soderbergh's 2002 adaptation of Andrei Tarkovsky's film, Solaris.

It is for the Solaris soundtrack that Martinez is best known, not only because it is widely regarded as his finest work but it also established Martinez's niche soundtrack style: a combination of electronic sounds and samples with sparse orchestral arrangements, often very ambient and atmospheric. In the case of a psychological thriller like Solaris, Martinez' work lends an effective uneasiness to the film throughout and often acts as an unseen, existential character in the scenes.

Composer Filmography

• Wicker Park (2004)
• Wonderland (2003)
• Solaris (2002)
• Narc (2002)
• Traffic (2000)
• The Limey (1999)
• Wicked (1998)
• Schizopolis (1996)
• Gray's Anatomy (1996)
• Underneath (1995)
• Black Magic (1992)
• King of the Hill (1993)
• Kafka (1991)
• Pump Up the Volume (1990)
• Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)

Discography

The Weirdos

• Weird World (compilation)

Lydia Lunch

• 13:13 (1982)
• Stinkfist (1986)

Captain Beefheart

• Ice Cream For Crow (1983)

Red Hot Chili Peppers

• The Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984)
• Freaky Styley (1985)
• What Hits!? (1992)
• Out in L.A. (1994)
• Essential RHCP: Under the Covers (1998)

The Dickies

• Killer Clowns From Outer Space (1988)
• The Second Coming (1989)
• Locked N' Loaded Live in London (1991)
• Idjit Savant (1994)

External links

• Video interview of Cliff Martinez
• IMDB entry for Cliff Martinez
• Soundtrack reviews for Cliff Martinez

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