My dreams are a big influence on me. As a teenager they began to literally manifest in my waking consciousness, which was an experience that has greatly shaped my creative style and life philosophy. I use dreams to gather and refine ideas for my music, as well as using them to guide many of my life choices. I hope to positively change our world with the stories i help to tell and the music that i make. I also want to transcend time and space and ultimately give more love than I receive.

I'm a composer who makes scores and sounds for film, television, theatre and pretty much everything. I perform and record as Mister Speed and was vocalist and songwriter in the Australian alternative, electronic and hip hop band The New Pollutants. I love music and life. Growing up in Adelaide, I graduated with an honours degree in Music Technology from the Elder Conservatorium of Music at Adelaide University and recently gained a Masters Degree in Screen Composing from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney.

 

“I am very excited by the potential of his career. He is a talented composer and performer and
I look forward to seeing him rise to further challenges and successes in coming years.”

Katrina Sedgwick: Artistic Director Adelaide Film Festival 2003 – 2009 & Adelaide Fringe Festival 2000 – 2002

“I do not offer such endorsements lightly.
I would urge everyone who can to offer Benjamin your utmost support.”

Peter Wintonick: Film Festival Curator, Director – Manufacturing Consent, Cinema Verite

“Benjamin is amazingly intuitive, and he is able to understand the creative vision of
directors almost immediately. Furthermore, he has demonstrated the ability to deliver high quality
work in extremely short periods of time.”

Hugh Ngyuen: Executive Producer, The People’s Republic of Animation (PRA)

“Benjamin’s passion, enthusiasm and dedication to producing high quality work are exceptional.”

Stephen Whittington: Head of Studies - Music Technology & Composition, Adelaide University

“It is abundantly clear to me that Benjamin is a committed and highly talent composer.
I wish him the very best in the future.”

Richard Sowada, Head of Film Programs, ACMI & Director, Perth Film Festival 1997-2006

 

The following biography was mainly stolen from and written in the 3rd person by:

Speed started making computer based music in 1998 and put on solo shows in Adelaide alongside Ben Frost in 2000. He performed at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and This Is Not Art Festivals, supported Anticon on their Australian tour and released two 'Speed Presents' EPs as Mr Tappin' Fresh and The Other Half. In 2001 Speed met electronic musician Tyson Hopprich (DJ Tr!p) and in 2001 they formed The New Pollutants.

During this time they released a full length album, Hygene Atoms, a 12" EP Urban Professional Nightmares and a 7" single Sid-Hop. The New Pollutants sound traversed through a number of different genres including lo-fi, trip hop, electro, Commodore 64 music, 1950's and 60's pop, comedy, alternative hip hop and electronica. The New Pollutants were musically aligned with such Australian acts such as Curse Ov Dialect, The Herd, Music Vs Physics, TZU and MKB.

As a part of The New Pollutants, Speed played at some major Australian festivals including the Falls Festival in 2004/5, Big Day Out in 2003 and as headliners of the 2004 Adelaide Fringe Festival opening concert. In 2004 the group was voted Most Popular Dance Act by DB Magazine readers. The group also played on Triple J Radio's Mix-Up during the Amnesty Freedom Festival in 2004, Adelaide University O'Ball 2003 & Newcastle's This Is Not Art (TINA) Festival in 2002.

After moving to Sydney in 2006, Speed signed to Creative Vibes record label and released his debut solo album The Dreamer in 2007. The album has hip hop orientated but was also influenced by a number of other genres including indie rock, pop, world music, electronica, reggae and glitch. The Dreamer became a feature album on FBi Radio (NSW), Three D Radio (SA), 3PBS (Vic) and Edge Radio (Tas) and the song Everybody Needs Somebody was put up on the Triple J website for exclusive download.

Speed composed for the 2008 Tropfest finalist film Glass and has completed feature film projects The Tumbler, which premiered at the 2008 Perth Revelations Film Festival and has been selected at the 2008 São Paulo International Film Festival. Speed also scored the documentary A Northern Town, which won a 2008 AFI Award, was nominated for a Dendy Award at the 2008 Sydney Film Festival was selected for the 2008 Sheffield Documentary Festival. He has recently completed a Masters degree at AFTRS for which he has composed for short films called Street Angel and Vafadar.

In 2005, Speed composed his first in a series of many collaborations with The People's Republic of Animation (PRA) for a short animation series called Errorism: A Comedy of Terrors. He received the Best Original Score award at the 2006 St Kilda Film Festival for the animated short Carnivore Reflux, a film that was also a 2006 Tropfest finalist. In 2007 Speed composed for the animated short music-film Sweet and Sour which premiered at both the Adelaide Film Festival and the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2007 and has since won multiple awards and played at numerous international film festivals. He composed music for the winning Tropfest Supershort Series film Safer In A Wild World, which was also chosen for official competition in the 2008 Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France. Speed has most recently completed a short film called The Cat Piano featuring Nick Cave. It was in official competition at the 2009 Annecy Animation Festival in France and has since gone on to win several awards and has been selected in numerous international film festivals.

In 2004 as The New Pollutants, Speed composed and produced a new soundtrack to the silent film Metropolis with Hopprich and premiered it live at the 2005 Adelaide Film Festival. The live performance featured actor/singer Astrid Pill as vocalist, musician Zoe Barry as cellist, Tyson Hopprich on turntables and beats and Benjamin Speed on computer, samples and fx. The soundtrack has been described as "an infectious and unique approach ranging from Germanic trip hop and lo-fi electronica to unforgettable classical and breathtaking cinematica." (ACMI Magazine) Metropolis has subsequently performed at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) as a part of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival and at the 2006 Perth Revelations Film Festival.