Thomas J. Bergersen

Thomas J. Bergersen
Background information
Birth name	Thomas Jacob Bergersen
Born	(1980-07-04) July 4, 1980
Origin	Trondheim, Norway
Genres	Epic music, Trailer music, Neo Orchestral
Occupation(s)	Composer
Instruments	Piano, Keyboard, Trumpet, Violin, Guitar, Duduk
Years active	2003 – present
Associated acts	Nick Phoenix, Merethe Soltvedt
Website	http://www.thomasbergersen.com

Thomas Jacob Bergersen (born July 4, 1980) is a Norwegian composer, multi-instrumentalist, and the co-founder of the production music company Two Steps From Hell. He is best known for writing music for movie and video game trailers.

Bergersen started his musical career as a demoscener, writing tracked modules under the name Lioz in the group Index.^[1][2][3] The release of a 2007 trance-genre single titled "Remember September" saw Bergersen team with fellow Norwegian artist Boom Jinx.^[4]

In May 2010, Bergersen and his business partner, Nick Phoenix, released a debut public Epic Music Two Steps From Hell album titled Invincible, featuring some of their most popular tracks, including "Freedom Fighters", "Moving Mountains", and "Heart of Courage".^[5] Several additional commercial album releases have since followed, including Archangel and SkyWorld.^[6] Bergersen also performed in a 2013 live concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall alongside Phoenix, confirming at least one future concert planned for Europe,^[7] intending to begin touring at some point in 2015.^[8]

In 2010 Bergersen composed the original music for the movie The Human Experience. The Soundtrack CD was released on March 29, 2011.^[9]

2011 saw the release of a solo-produced soundtrack from Thomas Bergersen, titled Illusions.^[10] His second solo public album called Sun was released in September 2014.^[11] He has also released several commercial singles since 2011, including "Heart" and "The Hero in Your Heart," which were intended to provide disaster relief in the wake of the Tōhoku earthquake and Typhoon Haiyan, respectively.^[12][13]

A concert featuring Bergersen's music alongside that of Hans Zimmer took place in Romania on the 28th of June 2014.^[14]

Discography

For full discography, see Thomas Bergersen discography

Solo

• Illusions (2011)
• Sun (2014)

Two Steps from Hell

Demonstration albums

• Volume One (2006) [First album, featuring various genres]
• Shadows and Nightmares (2006) [Horror genre album]
• Dynasty (2007) [Epic genre album]
• All Drums Go to Hell (2007) [Heavily percussion-oriented album]
• Nemesis (2007) [Epic genre album mostly composed by Thomas Bergersen]
• Pathogen (2007) [Electro-metal album largely composed by Nick Phoenix]
• Dreams & Imaginations (2008) [New Age album]
• Legend (2008) [Epic genre album, with some tracks composed by Troels Folmann]
• Ashes (2008) [Horror genre album]
• The Devil Wears Nada (2009) [Mostly light and humorous album]
• Power of Darkness (2010) [Epic genre album]
• All Drones Go to Hell (2010)^[15] [Also known as Mystical Beginnings;^[16] New Age album]
• Illumina (2010)^[15] [New Age album]
• Balls to the Wall (2011) [Percussion album, with some tracks composed by Alex Pfeffer]
• Nero (2011) [Epic genre album, with some tracks composed by Alex Pfeffer]
• Two Steps from Heaven (2012) [Pet project of Thomas Bergersen, featuring inspiring, emotional, and adventurous music]
• Burn (2012) [A small collection of 8 dubstep remixed tracks]^[17]
• Cyanide (2013) [Percussion and electro-metal album]
• Crime Lab (2013) [Industrial electronica album]^[18]
• Open Conspiracy (2014) [Epic Hybrid album also featuring Hitesh Ceon and Nick Pittsinger, as well as Nick Phoenix]^[19]
• Quarantine (2014) [Sci-fi Electronica album]^[20]
• Amaria (2014) [New Age/Epic drama album composed by Thomas Bergersen]^[21]

Public albums

• Invincible (2010) [Compilation of some of the most popular Two Steps From Hell tracks]
• Archangel (2011) [Compilation of more of the most popular Two Steps From Hell tracks]
• Demon's Dance (2012) [Compilation of tracks previously unreleased to the public, available only on the Two Steps From Hell application for iOS and Android]
• Halloween (2012)^[22] [Compilation of well-known horror tracks from several demonstration albums, with several other-genre tracks as well]
• SkyWorld (2012)^[23] [First public album featuring almost entirely new music]
• Classics Volume One (2013)^[24] [Compilation of previously unreleased tracks. First public album available in lossless audio]
• Miracles (2014) [An epic drama/emotional album with the best of Illumina, Dreams & Imaginations, Two Steps From Heaven, and a few new tracks]
• Colin Frake on Fire Mountain (July 2014) [Soundtrack for a Nick Phoenix-penned e-book. Features additional music by Nick Phoenix]^[25]
• Battlecry (2015) ["Ultra epic" follow-up to SkyWorld and the first public album to be released on two discs.]^[26][27]
• Classics Volume Two (2015) [Compilation of new and previously unreleased tracks.]

Commercial Singles

Commercially available songs that are not on any album or were released as preview tracks.

• Remember September (2007) [A trance-genre single released with Norwegian EDM artist Boom Jinx.^[28] Later reworked for the Two Steps from Hell track "Forgotten September"]
• A Place in Heaven (2011) [Pre-release single from the Illusions album. Vocals performed by Jenifer Thigpen.]
• Ocean Princess (2011) [Pre-release single from the Illusions album. Vocals performed by Merethe Soltvedt.]
• Starvation (2011) [Pre-release single from the Illusions album.]
• Promise (2011) [Pre-release single from the Illusions album. Features cello performed by Tina Guo and vocals performed by Merethe Soltvedt.]^[29]
• Heart (2011) [Originally a single made to raise money to help the victims Tōhoku earthquake. Later included on the Two Steps From Heaven album]^[30]
• The Hero in Your Heart (2013) [A single made to raise money to help the victims of the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Lyrics written and performed by Merethe Soltvedt]^[31]
• That's A Wrap (2014) [A dark, adventurous orchestral ten-minute song created entirely with Thomas's proprietary sample library]^[32]
• Autumn Love (2014) [An emotional, piano-driven track in a similar style to Dreams and Imaginations]^[33]
• Into Darkness (2014) [A nine-minute mix of neo-orchestral and EDM club style. Lyrics performed by Thomas Bergersen]^[34]
• Stay (2014) [A pop-themed pre-release single from the Miracles album. Lyrics written and performed by Merethe Soltvedt]
• Miracles (2014) [A second pre-release single from the Miracles album.]^[35]
• Empire of Angels (2014) [First pre-release track made available from the Sun album.] ^[36]
• Final Frontier (2014) [Second pre-release track made available from the Sun album.] ^[37]
• Starchild (2014) [Third pre-release track made available from the Sun album.] ^[38]
• Children of the Sun (2015) [Original vocal version of "None Shall Live" from the Battlecry album. Lyrics performed by Merethe Soltvedt.]^[39]
• Threnody for Europe (2016) [A nearly ten-minute track intended as "a musical contemplation on the current unrest in Europe."]^[40]

Standalone Tracks

Songs that are not on any album or were initially released as preview tracks via Facebook.

• Soaring Over Hollywood (2009) [A demo track created using the East West Hollywood Strings sample library.]^[41]
• Just Another Happy Ending (2009) [A demo track created using the East West Hollywood Strings sample library.]^[42]
• In Your Arms (2010) [Unreleased song featuring Merethe Soltvedt.]
• Tower of Mischief (2011) [Intended as a preview track for the Two Steps From Heaven album, but ultimately released on Nero.]^[43]
• My Freedom (2011) [A track originally considered for release on Illusions. Later included on the Nero album. Lyrics performed by Merethe Soltvedt. Has since been released to the public on the album Miracles]^[44]
• Benedictus (2011) [Originally intended for release on Sun. Later included on the Two Steps From Heaven album]^[45]
• Where Are You (2011) [Pop-trance with a unique style. Lyrics performed by Thomas Bergersen]^[46]
• My Soul, Not Yours (2012) [Experimental dubstep track. Later included on the Burn album as "Not Your Soul"]^[47]
• Hymn to Life (2012) [A track released on the occasion of Thomas's birthday. Later performed in a Czech concert as "Hymnus Vitae Dedicatus"]^[48][49]
• Sun (2013) [Preview track from the upcoming Sun album]^[50]
• Cry (2013) [Preview track from the upcoming Sun album]^[51]
• Colin and Petunia (2014) [Preview track for the Colin Frake on Fire Mountain album. Retitled "Colin Frake" for its album release]^[52]

See also

• Two Steps from Hell
• Nick Phoenix
• Epic Music
• Globus
• Immediate Music

For more orchestral bands related to Thomas J. Bergersen, see the Trailer music article.

References

External links

• Official website
• Thomas Bergersen at the Internet Movie Database