{{Short description|English musician (born 1982)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | background = person | name = Oliver Coates | image = Faster than Sound 2008 - Oliver Coates.jpg | caption = Oliver Coates performing in 2008 | birth_date = 1982 | birth_place = London, England<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simpson |first=Paul |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/oliver-coates-mn0001045853 |title=Oliver Coates |website=AllMusic |access-date=December 22, 2025}}</ref> | origin = | death_date = | death_place = | genre = | occupation = {{hlist|Cellist|film composer|music producer}} | years_active = | label = {{hlist|Prah|Slip|RVNG Intl.|Line Explorations|Invada}} | current_member_of = | past_member_of = | website = }} '''Oliver Coates''' (born in 1982) is a British cellist, film composer, music producer, and electronic musician from London. He has been signed to RVNG Intl.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-26 |title=Oliver Coates |url=https://igetrvng.com/artists/oliver-coates/ |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=RVNG Intl. |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Career == Born in London in 1982, Oliver Coates took up the cello at the age of six. He went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London where he received the highest score ever awarded to a student.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theperfectmagazine.com/features/oliver-coates |title=Oliver Coates Notes from the overground |website=Perfect Magazine |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/jan/15/oliver-coates-cello-rising-star |title=Why we're watching: Oliver Coates, cellist |website=The Guardian |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="redbullmusicacademy">{{cite web |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2016/11/oliver-coates-interview |title=From Classical to Avant-Pop, Cellist Oliver Coates Teases Out Sound |website=Red Bull Music Academy |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>

After graduating there, he worked with Massive Attack, Goldie, Ben Frost, Micachu & the Shapes, and the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós.<ref name="Guardian"/> In 2009, he worked as a cellist with the South African Mira Calix on a new recording of a song by Boards of Canada for a compilation on Warp Records. This was followed by a collaboration with the guitarist Jonny Greenwood for the music to the Paul Thomas Anderson films ''There Will Be Blood'' and ''The Master''. He worked with Mica Levi, on the music for the science fiction thriller ''Under the Skin'' by Jonathan Glazer.<ref name="redbullmusicacademy"/>

Coates also worked with the British rock band Radiohead for their studio album ''A Moon Shaped Pool'', released in 2016. In the same year, he released ''Remain Calm'', a collaborative album with Levi,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/mica-levi-and-oliver-coates-get-under-the-skin-again-1798256031|title=Mica Levi and Oliver Coates get under the skin again |website=The A.V. Club |access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref> and his solo album entitled ''Upstepping''.<ref name="redbullmusicacademy"/> In 2018, Coates released his third solo album ''Shelley's on Zenn-La''.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Antonio |last=Pošćić |url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/oliver-coates |title=Oliver Coates: The London-based cellist and producer talks new album on RVNG Intl. |website=Tiny Mix Tapes |date=11 October 2018}}</ref> He also released ''Skins n Slime'' (2020).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/oliver-coates-skins-n-slime/ |title=Oliver Coates: skins n slime |website=Pitchfork |first=Jazz |last=Monroe |date=20 October 2020 |access-date=24 May 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028122931/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/oliver-coates-skins-n-slime/ |archive-date=28 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Coates curated two editions of ''Deep∞Minimalism'' at the Southbank Centre (2019–2022), showcasing contemporary experimental composers including Éliane Radigue and Pauline Oliveros.<ref>{{cite web |title=Coates curates DEEP∞MINIMALISM at Southbank |url=https://www.royalalberthall.com/about-the-hall/news/2021/june/coates-deep-minimalism/ |website=Royal Albert Hall |date=10 June 2021}}</ref>

He also composed the music for the films ''Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar'' with Sam Yates, ''The Stranger'' with Thomas M. Wright, and ''Aftersun'' with Charlotte Wells. He worked with Steve McQueen on his documentary ''Occupied City''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://olivercoates.com/about.html |title=About |website=Olivercoates.com |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>

Coates is the main cellist of the London Contemporary Orchestra and lives in Glasgow, Scotland with his wife, where he also works.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Snapes |first=Laura |date=2024-10-22 |title=Composer Oliver Coates on the cello, chaos and connection: ‘The best music is out there in nature’ |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/22/composer-oliver-coates-on-the-cello-chaos-and-connection-the-best-music-is-out-there-in-nature |access-date=2024-12-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Discography == === Studio albums === * ''Towards the Blessed Islands'' (Prah, 2013) * ''Upstepping'' (Prah, 2016) * ''Remain Calm'' (with Mica Levi; Slip, 2016) * ''Shelley's on Zenn-La'' (RVNG Intl., 2018) * ''Ample Profanity'' (with Laurie Tompkins, as Laurie & Olly; Slip, 2018) * ''Canticles of the Sky / Three High Places'' (with John Luther Adams; RVNG Intl., 2019) * ''Skins n Slime'' (RVNG Intl., 2020) * ''The Pale Faced Family on the Hill'' (with The Pale Faced Family on the Hill; Line Explorations, 2022) * ''Throb, Shiver, Arrow of Time'' (RVNG Intl., 2024)

=== Soundtrack albums === * ''Significant Other'' (Invada, 2022) * ''Aftersun'' (Invada, 2023) * ''Mary & George'' (Invada, 2024) * ''Pillion'' (A24, 2025)

== Filmography == === Film === * ''Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar'' (2019) * ''Significant Other'' (2022) * ''The Stranger'' (2022) * ''Aftersun'' (2022) * ''Foe'' (2023) * ''Occupied City'' (2023) * ''100 Nights of Hero'' (2025) * ''Pillion'' (2025)

=== Television === * ''Mary & George'' (2024)

== Awards == * 2011: Award with the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award * 2022: British Independent Film Awards – Nomination for Best Original Music for ''Aftersun''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/british-independent-film-awards-2022-nominations-nominees-list-1235254745/ |title=British Independent Film Awards: Debut Movies 'Aftersun', 'Blue Jean' Lead Nominations. |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons}} *[https://olivercoates.com/ Official website] *{{Discogs artist|1028004}} *{{IMDb name|id=6687155}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coates, Oliver}} Category:1982 births Category:English male film score composers Category:English record producers Category:English cellists Category:English electronic musicians Category:Living people Category:Musicians from London Category:RVNG Intl. artists