Saunder Jurriaans

Saunder Jurriaans is a contemporary film composer writing alongside Danny Bensi. Born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1977, Jurriaans is the child of Dutch immigrants who bounced around the United States before settling in Seattle, Washington. After moving to Providence, RI ostensibly to study at the Rhode Island School of Design, Jurriaans instead dropped out to play in a band. Around the same time he met Danny Bensi for the first time, and the pair quickly became collaborators. After moving to New York in 2000, Jurriaans, Bensi and drummer Gregory Rogove formed the proggy, chamber-rock trio Tarantula, later renamed Tarantula A.D. and finally Priestbird. The scope of their music is best reflected in the eclectic range of bands they toured with, including Avant-jazz-funk band Medeski Martin & Wood, freak folk singer-songwriter Devendra Banhart, psychedelic duo Cocorosie and heavy-metal rockers, The Sword. In Europe, they opened for Pearl Jam. The first film Jurriaans and Bensi composed the