Karim Lekehal

Composer

Karim Lekehal has been drawn to music since the age of five. After twelve years of classical piano, a degree in harmony and composing completes his craftmanship.

In the age of television, he spends his childhood in a house where cinema's the word. He discovers the Musical Comedies of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and his mother introduces him to the work of Capra, Mankiewicz and The Marx Brothers, shown at the old Action Christine, Action Ecoles, or Studio Bertrand.

At first working in the Record Industry as a composer, arranger or player, Karim is naturally attracted by the artistic and technical variety found in film scoring.

"Working to picture, I had the feeling that you could do more, break more rules. The work is all about understanding the director's vision, and transcribe it into musical emotions.

That requires working in chemistry, without which nothing can function. That balance is fragile, that's why it's difficult for a film maker to change when he's found his soul mate. Bernard Hermann with Alfred Hitchcock, Nino Rota with Federico Fellini, Ennio Morricone with Sergio Leone, Danny Elfman with Tim Burton, each brought a voice that is an inherent part of what defines their movies."

Karim insists that his music is only there to bring something to a film.

"What I love and will always fight for, is to meet with style the challenge of following a concept without anything gratuitous, whatever the subject might be".

Having recently settled in a new workspace in the heart of Paris, he's created there a professional and intimate space, perfect setting for that rich and intense work relationship.

 

Follow us