My name is Gerry Owens, and I’m a multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and vocalist with a career spanning over two decades in the music industry. My career began in 2000 with the Dublin band Skindive, signed to Chris Blackwell’s Palm Pictures, where I composed and co-produced their albums “Skindive” and “Between The Cracks,” including the transformative experience of working with composer Nick Ingman and a 40-piece orchestra. After Skindive, I wrote and produced for the alt-rock band Lluther, touring extensively and signing a worldwide publishing deal with EMI (now Sony ATV), I was fortunate to have collaborated with and learned from industry talents such as Dave ‘Rave’ Ogilvie, Danny Saber, and Adrian Sherwood. In 2012, I left EMI and established Black Bag Music, licensing cues for major movie trailers including “Thor: The Dark World” and “Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation.” Returning to the studio in 2020, I recorded “Waiting for April” and “The Remnants,” blending antique instruments with digital manipulation, inspired by American poet Robert Grey. Recent work includes producing a cover of “Love is a Battlefield” for Nicole Böhm’s series and forming the project ZKULLZ with vocalist Eliza Grey. In 2022, I co-scored Yale Entertainment movies “Cult Killer” and “The Clean Up Crew,” and in 2023/24, I scored Millennium Media’s action comedy “Guns Up.”

My name is Gerry Owens. I’m a seasoned multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and vocalist with a career spanning over two decades in the music industry.

My professional career started in 2000 when I signed with Chris Blackwell’s label ‘Palm Pictures’ as part of the Dublin band ‘Skindive’. I composed and co-produced Skindive’s Debut Album ‘Skindive’ and the subsequent album ‘Between The Cracks’. A pivotal moment in my career was the opportunity to write for and record a 40-piece orchestra during the production of Skindive’s first album. Working closely with acclaimed composer and conductor Nick Ingman on this project was a transformative experience that deepened my understanding of orchestration and composition. These projects garnered acclaim with Grammy and MTV Music Awards track placements, as well as features in the Anime classic ‘Blood The Last Vampire’ and various global TV shows around the world.

Transitioning from Skindive, I wrote and produced the “Agents Of Empire” and “Rise of the Reptile King” albums for Alt-Rock band, Lluther. Lluther toured extensively across Europe and the US between 2006 and 2012. During this time, I signed a worldwide publishing deal with EMI (now Sony ATV) and composed music for films and documentaries, including “A Maverick In London” and Uri Geller’s feature-length documentary “Cursed.” I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with and learning from some of the industry’s finest talents, such as Dave ‘Rave’ Ogilvie (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson), Danny Saber (U2, Happy Mondays), Chris Blackwell (U2, Bob Marley, PJ Harvey, The Cranberries), Nick Ingman (Oasis, Annie Lennox, Björk, David Bowie), Alan Branch (Sinead O’Connor, Jeff Beck), and Adrian Sherwood (NIN, Ministry, On-U Sound System), among others.

In 2012, following a successful US tour with Lluther, I left EMI Publishing and established ‘Black Bag Music’, forging partnerships with Los Angeles-based Sonic Symphony (now Trailer Bros) to license cues for major movie trailers, including ‘Thor: The Dark World’, ‘The Edge Of Tomorrow’, ‘San Andreas’, ‘Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation’, ‘The Lone Ranger’, and ‘Tomorrowland’.

In 2020, I returned to the studio after a decade hiatus to record ‘Waiting for April’ and ‘The Remnants’. This album blended cello and a collection of antique/broken acoustic instruments which were then manipulated electronically. The Remnants, (which was inspired by the accounts of the life and family of American Poet Robert Grey), marked a decisive turning point for me creatively. The fusion of flawed antique instruments with digital manipulation produced a tense, un-nerving, but beautiful result.

Recent collaborations include producing a dark cover version of ‘Love is a Battlefield’ for Nicole Böhm’s Die Chroniken der Seelenwächter Series and partnering with vocalist Eliza Grey for the ongoing project ‘ZKULLZ’.

In 2022, I co-scored two Yale Entertainment movies, including the thriller ‘Cult Killer’ starring Antonio Banderas and Alice Eve, directed by Jon Keeyes, and the heist comedy ‘The Clean Up Crew’ starring Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, also directed by Jon Keeyes. In 2023/24, I scored Millennium Media’s action comedy ‘Guns Up’, directed by Edward Drake and starring Kevin James, Christina Ricci, Luis Guzmán, and Francis Cronin.

Music has the unique ability to knit the director’s intent with the viewer’s understanding, creating an emotional connection that enhances the overall impact. My job as a composer is to help to bring the director’s vision to life by creating music that underpins the emotional journey that they wish to create for their audience.

The Art Of Imperfection

In an era where sample libraries and AI-generated music are increasingly prevalent, one of my core principles is to embrace the imperfect. I’m fascinated by technology, it offers limitless potential, however, it can often results in a sound that is too perfect, too static, and lacks tangible human emotion. The tactile experience of playing an instrument and the slight imperfections in performance adds layers of authenticity and emotion that technology cannot replicate. This balance between flaw and perfection resonates to us on a human level and makes the experience authentic and relatable.