Junkie XL
A composer, producer, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist who has charted internationally with both his electronic music and his film scores, the Netherlands' Tom Holkenborg is also known as Junkie XL. Though he began his career as musician/producer in bands such as Weekend at Waikiki and Nerve in the late '80s and early '90s, he made his name in big beat music with the Junkie XL moniker in the late '90s. His cover of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation," released as "Elvis vs. JXL," topped the charts in over a dozen countries in 2002. In the meantime, he found work scoring the occasional video game or film, a sideline that picked up substantially toward the end of the 2000s. By the mid-2010s, he was composing music for such blockbusters as Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, and, with frequent partner Hans Zimmer, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Beginning his career at the age of 14, Holkenborg initially played in area funk and reggae units, later switching to alternative rock. While working in a music store, he began experimenting with synthesizers and technology, and in 1996 won the Grand Prix of the Netherlands as best house music producer. After completing Junkie XL's 1997 debut LP, Saturday Teenage Kick, a blend of electronica and rock, he enlisted rapper Rudeboy (an alumnus of Urban Dance Squad), DJ Frankie D., drummer Baz Mattie, and guitarist Renee van der Zee to transform his one-man studio project into a working band. In the meantime, Holkenborg provided music for a handful of video games and made his feature film scoring debut with the 1998 Dutch film Siberia (as Junkie XL). Returning to dance music, Big Sounds of the Drags, released in 1999, was the first album from his expanded lineup. More than two years later, Holkenborg masterminded the first (legal) remix of an Elvis Presley song, "A Little Less Conversation," as heard in a Nike commercial to coincide with the 2002 World Cup. Released as a single, it hit number one in Britain by June, and reached the Top Ten in over two-dozen countries. The track landed on his 2003 album Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin, which also featured vocals from Chuck D, Robert Smith, and Gary Numan. His 2008 effort, Booming Back at You, featured vocalist Lauren Rocket on a cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Cities in Dust," along with a guest appearance from fellow producer Steve Aoki. Synthesized, from 2012, included contributions from Datarock, Tommie Sunshine, and Tears for Fears member Curt Smith. By the early 2010s, Holkenborg was taking on more and more work as a composer of film music, often collaborating with Hans Zimmer. In 2014, he was credited alongside Pharrell Williams, Johnny Marr, Mike Einziger, Andrew Kawczynski, and Steve Mazzaro as a member Zimmer's the Magnificent Six on the soundtrack for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. That same year, he received sole credit for Divergent, which reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Soundtracks chart. Soon, he was scoring such international box office hits as 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, 2016's Deadpool, and, with Zimmer, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, also from 2016. He closed out the decade with work on such projects as the 2017 video game FIFA 18 and the 2018 film Tomb Raider.© Marcy Donelson & Jason Ankeny /TiVo Read more
A composer, producer, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist who has charted internationally with both his electronic music and his film scores, the Netherlands' Tom Holkenborg is also known as Junkie XL. Though he began his career as musician/producer in bands such as Weekend at Waikiki and Nerve in the late '80s and early '90s, he made his name in big beat music with the Junkie XL moniker in the late '90s. His cover of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation," released as "Elvis vs. JXL," topped the charts in over a dozen countries in 2002. In the meantime, he found work scoring the occasional video game or film, a sideline that picked up substantially toward the end of the 2000s. By the mid-2010s, he was composing music for such blockbusters as Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, and, with frequent partner Hans Zimmer, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Beginning his career at the age of 14, Holkenborg initially played in area funk and reggae units, later switching to alternative rock. While working in a music store, he began experimenting with synthesizers and technology, and in 1996 won the Grand Prix of the Netherlands as best house music producer. After completing Junkie XL's 1997 debut LP, Saturday Teenage Kick, a blend of electronica and rock, he enlisted rapper Rudeboy (an alumnus of Urban Dance Squad), DJ Frankie D., drummer Baz Mattie, and guitarist Renee van der Zee to transform his one-man studio project into a working band.
In the meantime, Holkenborg provided music for a handful of video games and made his feature film scoring debut with the 1998 Dutch film Siberia (as Junkie XL). Returning to dance music, Big Sounds of the Drags, released in 1999, was the first album from his expanded lineup. More than two years later, Holkenborg masterminded the first (legal) remix of an Elvis Presley song, "A Little Less Conversation," as heard in a Nike commercial to coincide with the 2002 World Cup. Released as a single, it hit number one in Britain by June, and reached the Top Ten in over two-dozen countries. The track landed on his 2003 album Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin, which also featured vocals from Chuck D, Robert Smith, and Gary Numan. His 2008 effort, Booming Back at You, featured vocalist Lauren Rocket on a cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Cities in Dust," along with a guest appearance from fellow producer Steve Aoki. Synthesized, from 2012, included contributions from Datarock, Tommie Sunshine, and Tears for Fears member Curt Smith.
By the early 2010s, Holkenborg was taking on more and more work as a composer of film music, often collaborating with Hans Zimmer. In 2014, he was credited alongside Pharrell Williams, Johnny Marr, Mike Einziger, Andrew Kawczynski, and Steve Mazzaro as a member Zimmer's the Magnificent Six on the soundtrack for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. That same year, he received sole credit for Divergent, which reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Soundtracks chart. Soon, he was scoring such international box office hits as 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, 2016's Deadpool, and, with Zimmer, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, also from 2016. He closed out the decade with work on such projects as the 2017 video game FIFA 18 and the 2018 film Tomb Raider.
© Marcy Donelson & Jason Ankeny /TiVo
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Zack Snyder's Justice League (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by WaterTower Music on 8 Mar 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Godzilla vs. Kong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by WaterTower Music on 26 Mar 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mad Max: Fury Road (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Deluxe Version)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by WaterTower Music on 12 May 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mortal Engines (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Junkie XL
Electronic - Released by Back Lot Music on 14 Dec 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Radio JXL - A Broadcast From The Computerhell Cabin
Junkie XL
Rock - Released by Roadrunner Records on 6 Feb 2003
On his first album since striking worldwide gold with a remix of Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation," Junkie XL gathers a clever group of collaborator ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Divergent: Original Motion Picture Score
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Lionsgate - Divergent Score on 18 Mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sonic the Hedgehog (Music from the Motion Picture)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Paramount Music on 14 Feb 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Distance Between Dreams (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Lakeshore Records on 2 Dec 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Today
Junkie XL
Rock - Released by Roadrunner Records on 11 Sep 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Deadpool (Original Soundtrack Album)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Milan Records on 5 Feb 2016
The Merc with a Mouth makes his big-screen debut in Deadpool. The film was soundtracked by electronic producer Junkie XL, who also worked on the music ...
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brimstone (Koolhoven's Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Editions Milan Music on 7 Apr 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Army of the Dead (Music From the Netflix Film)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Milan on 21 May 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Music from the Motion Picture)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Paramount Music on 8 Apr 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tomb Raider (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Sony Classical on 9 Mar 2018
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Alita: Battle Angel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Editions Milan Music on 5 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Terminator: Dark Fate (Music from the Motion Picture)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by Paramount Music on 1 Nov 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Big Sounds Of The Drags
Junkie XL
Rock - Released by Roadrunner Records on 14 Jun 1999
Junkie XL improved on its dance-rock clichés on the follow-up Big Sounds of the Drags, but the band also seemed equally stubborn to let many of its ba ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saturday Teenage Kick
Junkie XL
Rock - Released by Roadrunner Records on 24 Mar 1997
Junkie XL's debut is often more interesting in theory than in execution; as an attempt to combine rock and electronica on an equal basis, Saturday Tee ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Racing Collection
Junkie XL
Electronic - Released by Sounds of Red Bull on 20 Nov 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Black Mass (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Junkie XL
Film Soundtracks - Released by WaterTower Music on 11 Sep 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beauty Never Fades
Junkie XL
Electronic - Released by Timelapse on 18 Dec 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo