Composer
British-Chinese composer Julian Chou-Lambert has scored several award-winning films and TV programmes, which have been screened at major film festivals from Raindance London to Reykjavik International Film Festival, and broadcast across multiple territories and platforms, from BBC and Sky UK to RAI Italy to SBS Australia and Tencent and Bytedance China.
Julian has a first class degree in Music and a Mus B in cross-cultural perception of emotion from Trinity College, Cambridge, a Masters with distinction in vocal performance from the Royal Academy of Music, and has trained in media composition at the National Film and Television School.
Cambodia from Above - TV Documentary
A new 1 × 52 documentary exploring the remarkable history, culture and landscapes of Cambodia from the air.
The score features a diverse range of Cambodian traditional music fused with orchestral, electronic and contemporary sounds.
Produced by Signal Flare
Narrated by François Chau
Broadcast Premiere: RSI Switzerland
Bonobo - Feature Film - Raindance Film Festival
Award-winning director Matthew Hammett Knott was looking for an original score for his comedy-drama feature film Bonobo, starring James Norton and Tessa Peake-Jones.
The score features an organic sound world, mainly using acoustic strings, guitar and percussion, and combined with acoustic piano and harp sounds for more intimate moments.
Premiere: Raindance Film Festival - Nominated for Best British Feature
“Smart, funny and original” - Total Film
Art of the Night - BBC Documentary
ZCZ Productions were looking for a bespoke score to highlight the various moods of the different art works presented in this BBC documentary, while retaining a coherent feel across the full film.
The score combines Classical, electronic, contemporary and jazz styles to enhance the diverse nature of the artworks featured.
Broadcasters: BBC 4, SBS Australia, RAI Italy, Sky Arts NZ, Tencent China
Presented by Waldemar Januszczak
Yeah Shanghai! - Musical Film - Bytedance China
LYNTON’s (aka Julian Chou-Lambert) original single Yeah Shanghai! combines Chinese and Western jazz and electronic influences, features bilingual English-Mandarin lyrics, and samples Zhou Xuan’s iconic ‘Ye Shanghai’ song.
He directed the award-winning music video for the song, which was filmed on location in Shanghai, with an official release on Bytedance in China.
International Sound Future Awards - Winner, Best APAC Music Video
“LYNTON might have Shanghai’s hottest summer single in ‘Yeah Shanghai!” - That’s Shanghai
Avant Garde Youth - Sky TV
Renowned choreographer Tony Adigun had been commissioned to create a music-led dance piece with his youth dance group for Sky Television. He wanted a variety of moods and an emotional depth to the music. The music track was to be created overnight and delivered the following day to make the scheduled shoot.
We worked together to create a unique soundtrack combining Classical, Eastern and electronic sounds to create a meaningful musical journey.
Choreographer: Tony Adigun
Broadcaster: Sky UK
Isis - Egyptian Goddess - Animated Short
Isis, the ancient Egyptian goddess, was the ultimate magician - this animation is inspired by the goddess and composed of around 400 still images.
The bespoke percussive score combines beat-boxing, electronic drums and human sounds to create a unique vibe, enhancing the quirky and mysterious narrative of the film.
London X4 Seasonal Short Film Festival: Honourable Mention
Director: Sophie Siem
Reverie - Musical Film - Finalist at the IMVAs
Reverie is a romantic daydream trip in the English countryside featuring two musical young lovers.
With original words and music by Julian, as part of his song-cycle 'Dreaming', the video was shot on Super8 film by Sophie Siem, and features rising-star soprano Isabelle Peters alongside Julian and acclaimed pianist Dylan Perez.
Finalist: International MV Awards & Rome MV Awards
“Reverie…is deliberately pop-video in style, forming an intriguing complement to the contemporary classical music.” – Planet Hugill
Space Sisters - Super8 Short
Two young sisters decide to go on a space adventure in their back garden!
The filmmaker wanted a bespoke soundtrack to complement this silent film, capturing the playfulness of the young children and their sense of adventure.
We worked together to take the audience on an unexpected journey, developing from a classic silent film opening on classical piano through to an adventurous funk-influenced riff, packed with fun retro space sounds.
Biography
Julian Chou-Lambert’s musical development was influenced growing up across western and eastern cultures in Cambridge, Singapore and Shanghai. He was awarded first class honours in Music (MA) from Trinity College, Cambridge, as well as a Mus B in cross-cultural perception of emotion in music, before graduating with a Masters with Distinction in Vocal Performance from the Royal Academy of Music. He has also studied media composition at the National Film and Television School, and particularly enjoys writing music with a vocal element, and combines his experience of singing classical and jazz music and playing oboe, violin and piano with his experience as a DJ for electronic music to create unique sound worlds.
Julian won second prize at the Deutsche Bank Awards for Music for film composition. Film score credits include feature film Bonobo starring James Norton, which premiered at Raindance Film Festival, the BBC documentary Art of the Night with renowned art expert Waldemar Januszczak, Avant Garde Youth, a contemporary dance commission for Sky TV, and Isis: Egyptian Goddess by Sophie Siem, which received an honourable mention at the London X4 - Seasonal Short Film Festival.
Julian’s recent Classical music video Reverie, featuring rising-star soprano Isabelle Peters, was selected as a finalist in both the Rome Music Video Awards and the International Music Video Awards. Julian’s debut hip-hop release and music video Yeah Shanghai!, which he also performed and directed, has won Best Asia-Pacific Music Video at the International Sound Future Awards.
His mini-opera The Lingerer was selected by Nico Muhly as a finalist in the English National Opera mini-opera competition. His song cycle Sommerlied und Winterleid was recorded by Thomas Guthrie, and another song cycle Dreaming was recorded by members of Trinity College Choir.