Christopher Franke

Berlin Conservatory-educated Christopher Franke is a German composer and innovator in electronic music who is most well-known for his work on the sci-fi series "Babylon 5" and all its associated made-for-television movies. In the 1970s and '80s, Franke worked primarily with the musical group Tangerine Dream, whose members were composed of former schoolmates and collaborators from Berlin. Tangerine Dream released a great number of film soundtracks and stand-alone albums (some of which went gold); their most high-profile film score was the iconic '80s comedy-drama "Risky Business," starring Tom Cruise. In the 1990s, along with founding the Berlin Symphonic Film Orchestra, Franke worked primarily on "Babylon 5" projects as a solo composer, the sci-fi/space genres being a great fit for the type of electronic synthesizer music Franke did best; he also created the score for the action feature "Universal Soldier," starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. In the 2000s, Franke's work shifted more toward documentary feature films, such as the neurology-centered "What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?" as well as a number of reality television shows like "Big Brother" and "The Amazing Race"--for the latter of which he won a BMI TV Music award.