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// AIR CRICKETS //

MUSIC FOR FILMS

Air Crickets is a collaboration between Ben Fries and Simon Beins. With studios in New York and Hawaii, and nearly three decades of scoring experience between us, we’ve composed music for films short and long, documentary and narrative, commercial and independent.

Our work has been heard in festivals from Tribeca to Abu Dhabi and countless in between, taking home Best Documentary Score at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival for the Emmy-nominated The City Dark. Vice, Focus Features, HBO, YETI, PBS, Levi’s, Canon Cameras, i-D Magazine, Patagonia, Olukai and others have featured our music.

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The Long Coast, 2020, dir. Ian Cheney, official selection, Camden International Film Festival.

The Emoji Story, 2019, dir. Ian Cheney, World premiere at Tribeca Film Festival; official selection at AFI DOCS and Hotdocs.

Three Hearts Home, 2019, dir. Justin Turkowski & Kimi Werner, premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival “Cinema in the Park.”

I LIVED: Brooklyn (episode 1), 2017, dir. Jonathan Nelson, premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival N.O.W. Showcase.

Smog of the Sea, 2016, dir. Ian Cheney, scored in collaboration with Jack Johnson; official selection at Camden International Film Festival, Byron Bay Film Festival.

Shiny Tiny, 2016, dir. Isabel Freeman & Andrea Kurland, Featured on National Geographic.

Bluespace, 2015, dir. Ian Cheney, World premiere at DOC NYC Festival

The Search for General Tso, 2014, dir. Ian Cheney, World premiere at Tribeca Film Festival; official selection at Seattle International Film Festival and Independent Film Festival Boston.

Terra Firma, 2014, dir. Christine Anthony, Owen Masterson. Jury award winner, Rome International Film Festival (GA).

My Brooklyn, 2012, dir. Kelly Anderson. TV premiere on PBS’ America ReFramed; Audience award winner, Brooklyn Film Festival.

The City Dark, 2011, dir. Ian Cheney. Best documentary score at SXSW 2011; Emmy nomination for Outstanding Science and Technology Programming; official selection at MountianFilm in Telluride, SXSW, Independent Film Festival Boston.

Truck Farm, 2011, dir. Ian Cheney. Official Selection, Mountainfilm in Telluride.

King Corn, 2007, dir. Aaron Woolf. Peabody award winner; 60-city theatrical release; TV premiere on PBS’ Independent Lens.

Kansas vs. Darwin, 2007, dir. Jeff Tamblyn. Official selection, Tecumseh Valley Film Festival; Audience Award, Secret City Film Festival.

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Ben Fries is a composer and producer from New York City. His music has been released by Capital, Dim Mak, and Downtime. In addition to his musical endeavors he has directed films and music videos featured on MTV, Vice, Rolling Stone, i-D, DAZED and Pitchfork.tv.

Simon Beins is a composer and performer. He has toured in the US, Europe and Asia, has released records on all three continents, and has written about film scoring for Filmmaker Magazine. Long a resident of Brooklyn, he now lives on the North Shore of Oahu.

Every project gets our passion as composers, but we also bring our experience directing, performing, writing, and recording. We see a project from multiple perspectives.  We know how to control the pace of a film, and embrace the connection between sound, images, and music to tell a story. We understand what makes films good and what makes films great.

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We'd love to hear about your project.

Get in touch at simonbeins@gmail.com.

 

Until then.