Benji Merrison & Will Slater

Acclaimed multi-disciplinary music masters in their own right, Benji Merrison and Will Slater  are now creating sounds for the screen together calling upon their collective experience from a music and arts education, work producing and touring records, as well composing for Film & TV. Both from the Midlands, UK, their paths first aligned when they were commissioned as a duo to score the popular BBC David Attenborough series Dynasties in 2018, for which they received nominations from the IFMCA and News and Documentary Emmys.

In December 2020, global audiences were charmed by Meerkat: A Dynasties Special, the spectacular opening episode of series two. Playing ‘the puppeteers of people’s emotions’, Benji and Will carved out their own palette of sounds for the score - part of which is out now as an EP, ahead of the full OST album released February 26th on Silva Screen Records. Crafting their character as composers and defining a musical language that enhances the viewing experience, the combination of stunning visuals and music makes for a wild multi-sensory adventure.

Upon first meeting, Benji & Will discovered they shared a similar outlook on composition and technology, with an appreciation for traditional recordings techniques, while also experimenting to make their own sounds and instruments, which provides a refreshing take on a typically serious discipline — the process in their eyes has got to be enjoyable.

With their masterfully curated synched-up individual studio setups, the duo established efficient remote working long before the 2020 pandemic. Adding to their production and engineering capability, their styles blend as Benji brings expertise with piano and woodwind, classical training and passion for digital arts and blockbuster sounds, while Will’s vibe filters through the elegance and intimacy of his guitar, keys, jazz and world music influences.

Benji says: “We came into this partnership with complementary skills. Through working together we’ve become better composers and reached a level of sophistication we may not have found otherwise. We value the richness of our experience that makes us different. When you trust in creative vision, people and energy, the result is a bonus.”

Will adds: “Our experience encompasses different routes through music, and in writing for TV and Film we can help producers as we’ve seen the zeitgeists of the last 20 years. We’re experts in finding that musical language directors want to get to. It’s not just about the profile of the job, we want to work on things that feel good, where the music communicates to us.”

Throughout 2021 the remaining Dynasties II episodes unfolded and, from the same Sir David Attenborough-narrated stable, Green Planet which aired in early in 2022 featuring sonic adornment from Benji and Will. The pair are however not confined to Nature docs with other genre projects forthcoming both individually and collectively.

SAS: Red Notice scored by Benji was also released in 2022 along with feature documentary The Beatles and India. Previous other selected screen credits include General Magic, Britannia, Victoria, Tin Star, Japan: Earth’s Enchanted Islands, and Horizon. Benji has received award nominations from the News and Documentary Emmys, IFMCA, SXSW and the Royal Television Society. Events and exhibition credits include the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, Top Gear, Tate Modern and MTV EMAs. Benji is also Co-Founder of the Composer Wellbeing Collective.

Will has received 2 x award nominations from the News and Documentary Emmys (Africa and Dynasties) as well as further nominations at IFMCA (Dynasties), Hollywood Music In Media (One Strange Rock) and 2 x Royal Television Society (BBC Shark, Africa). Other selected credits include India In A Day, In Treatment, and Planet Earth Live. Will is also co-director of sound design studio Slate and Ash and is part of the band The Fauns (Invada Records).

Benji was the winner of the Public Choice Award at the 2021 World Soundtrack Awards for his work on SAS:Red Notice.

SELECTED CREDITS  ‍

Capturing the Killer Nurse (Netflix) dir. Tim Travers Hawkins
‍

I Came By (additional music) Two & Two Pictures/ dir.Babak Anvari

‍

Dynasties (Sir David Attenborough) / BBC One / 5 x 60

‍

Green Planet (Sir David Attenborough) / BBC One / 5 x 60

‍

Brittania (addtn. music) / Sky Atlantic / dir. Jez Butterworth

‍

Victoria (Title Music Suite) / ITV

‍

VOX Destruct (National Youth Choir of Great Britain) / Prem. Snape Maltings General Magic / Spellbound Productions / dir. Matt Maude

‍

Forces of Nature (Brian Cox) / BBC One / 4 x 60

‍

Japan: Earth’s Enchanted Island / BBC Two / BBC NHU / 4 x 60

‍

Class (addtn. music) / BBC One

‍

One Wild Day / Sky One / 4 x 60

‍

Monkeys: An Amazing Animal Family / Sky One / 3 x 60

‍

Tin Star (musical sound design) / Kudos / Sky Atlantic

‍

Gallery of Lost Art / Tate Modern

‍

The Reconstruction / Wateraid UK / dir. Catherine Feltham

‍

Big Cats: An Amazing Animal Family / Sky One / 2 x 60

‍

Super Senses: The Secret Power of Animals / BBC Two / BBC NHU / 4 x 60 Life First Steps / Sky One / 4 x 60

‍

BBC Newsnight – The Review Show / BBC

‍

World's Weirdest Events / BBC Two

‍

Secrets of the Body Clock / BBC One

‍

BBC Horizon / Multiple Episode Contributions / BBC Two MTV Music Awards / MTV

Navigation (feature) / Primary Films

‍

The Fantastic Megan Fox / Primary Films / dir. Teddy Powell Beyond The Tracks / Wateraid UK / dir. Catherine Feltham Breathe / Dresden Pictures /dir. Liam Garvo

‍

Devil May Care / Dresden Pictures

‍

London 2012 Olympics

‍

London 2012 Paralympics

‍

Science Museum London / The Cell

‍

Tate Modern / Lost Art (SXSW Award Winner)

‍

BBC Top Gear / Top Gear Live

‍

MTV European Music Awards

‍

London Eye

‍

Bristol Planetarium