John is an award-winning composer, music producer and songwriter from West Yorkshire. He has composed for feature film, television, theatre and commercials.
John's approach to composition stems from a lifelong love of storytelling and world-building through music. Whether it's creating beats using a Victorian loom, conjuring up 1980s Soho with vintage synths, or scoring epic orchestral arrangements to evoke vast landscapes, his unique and immersive approach is always guided by the world and emotional core of a given story, and how best to bring this to life for an audience.
John studied theatre and film at Manchester University before heading full-pelt into life as a touring and recording artist around the UK and Europe, predominantly with his award-winning alt-folk act The Little Unsaid. He has performed at major festivals including Glastonbury, collaborated with world-class producers such as Graeme Stewart (Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood) and Sonny Johns (Shakira, Ali Farka Touré) in studios all over the UK, and his music has received radio play from the likes of Iggy Pop and Guy Garvey.
Recent screen credits include composing the original music for upcoming documentary series Into the Congo with Ben Fogle, feature films Wild Isles and Three Moons of Biyangdo, as well as commercial work for clients including Google and Samsung. He also recently composed the original music for the National Youth Theatre’s new touring show ADA.
John won the Stage Debut Award for Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer for his score for the Olivier-nominated play Cruise, which he performed live on London’s West End in 2021 and 2022, and at the show’s regional premiere at HOME Manchester in 2023.
He was also the recipient of the Steve Reid InNOVAtion Award for boundary-pushing music creators, judged by a panel of music industry professionals including Gilles Peterson, Four Tet and Floating Points.
Press
“Elliott underscores scenes with his brilliantly composed live synth and guitar score...a heart-stopping moment of modern musical theatre.”
— Musical Theatre Review
“Entrancing…deeply atmospheric…songwriting of a real rich quality.”
— Clash
“John Elliott's music is nothing short of extraordinary and does so much to set atmosphere and add high impact.”
— Broadway World
“John Elliott plays an electronic score that pulses softly throughout, beautifully building each scene with angelic, breathy synths as we go from phone line to nightclub to funeral and back.”
— The Guardian
“AMAZING…The best portrayal of clubbing I have ever seen.”
— Russell T Davies (on Cruise)
“John Patrick Elliott is a stunningly effective wingman for Holden. Elliott composes and performs live a swaggering soundtrack evoking the 1980s by way of an astonishing range of influences: disco, Chicago House...The soundtrack is so infectious at times, it is a shame the venue is seated.”
— British Theatre Guide
“Providing the soundtrack and bringing London’s 80’s dance floors to life is composer, music producer and songwriter John Patrick Elliott. Simultaneously mixing tracks, singing and playing instruments, he creates an evolving electropop soundscape that captures the musical vibe of a decade and perfectly amplifies the action.”
— Evening Standard
“The performance is especially masterful on a sound level, too, to the extent that Cruise should be praised as a two-person play: composer and musician John Patrick Elliott may not play a character, but his score is as essential to the success of the play as Holden’s sensitively deft multi-rolling. The instrumentation and genre of the score evolve from the country-pop of Patsy Kline to Chicago house, but it never loses its effortlessly contrapuntal capability to emphasise each separate dramatic moment.”
— The Upcoming