How does an indie pianist living in a small Berlin town make it in Hollywood? For starters, counting director Sophia Coppola as a fan can’t hurt. Musician Dustin O'Halloran had more than five albums under his belt when, a few years ago, the team which would go on to make Coppola’s Academy-Award winning 2006 film, “Marie Antoinette,” asked him for some sample work. Feeling a fit between ideas, O’Halloran ended up writing original compositions for the film. For the last five years, O’Halloran and his wife have been living in Italy (where he’s done much of his recording), but recently moved to Berlin. Born in Arizona, O’Hallorian grew up in Los Angeles and Hawaii, where he learned how to scuba dive with his father, a marine biologist. His mother was a ballet teacher. After passing interests in various instruments -- along with the piano, O’Halloran plays the guitar, drums, accordion, violin and cello -- and five years of piano lessons under his belt, O’Halloran decided that he wanted a career in art, doing illustrations.

How did you find your way to music?
I met Sara Lov, the singer of the Devics, while going to school. I was sort of finding myself, drifting into the music department, practicing piano; we both shared a common love for a same kind of music.

He counts his influences in a long list that includes contemporary composers such as Brian Eno and Philip Glass, as well as classics such as Brahms; he’s also a fan of bands including mum, Mogwai and God Speed You Black Emperor.

He and Sara formed a band in 1996, releasing five albums and touring nationally before going on hiatus. All the while, O’Halloran found himself still tinkering with piano music. That led to the release of his first solo album, “Pianos Solos,” in the early 2000s.

His work is often described by critics as haunting, stark and graceful.


What attracts you to these sounds?
I think it’s the sense of space, the space in the music, between the notes. The breath. I think it’s something that Brian Eno uses -- really long notes, ambient notes; it’s more about creating air … I think in the modern world and with modern world, there’s so much information, so many things that are filed up to the top, but you can share the space with the music, it doesn’t have to feel like you‘re being bombarded with it.

With his first musical contribution completed, he’s just wrapped his new album, “Piano Solos: Vol 2” and continues with film scoring, including the recent coming-of-age film “Boy of Pigs,” with Gretchen Mol (“3:10 to Yuma,” “Rounders”) and Noah Wyle (TV’s “ER”).


What was it like to hear your music played in a film for the first time?
The way they used the music [in “Marie Antoinette”], I thought really helped the film. I know its mine, but it becomes something else. I hear it differently. It becomes a part of the film. It becomes a part of the tapestry of the film.

How does your creative process differ between film scoring and your personal work?
The creative process with film is very different than my own. In then end, it has to work with the picture. The creative ideas are based on characters and scenes. For Sophia’s film, for example, they sent me a book of photographs of colors and tones, as they wanted me for a specific scene. When you’re writing for yourself, it’s completely internal and you have to decide when it’s finished. When you’re writing for yourself, it can be a longer process, you have to get to that place where you feel you’re own tapestry. With the external influences, seems to spark things quicker b/c you have a starting point.

Tell us about your new album, “Piano Solos: Vol 2” and what you’ve been up to.
I didn’t want to do another piano record. This is more layered, and involved string instruments; it could be considered experimental. I’ve been doing shows, and working on a next record. I’m excited to see what develops.