Dan Wool is an American composer and sound designer. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, where he played in the punk rock band The Strikers, he is based in San Francisco, California. He has worked in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, and Anhui China creating scores for broadcast television projects, theatrical sound installations, and more than 45 feature films, including nine films for celebrated cult filmmaker Alex Cox. Wool has also composed music for television movies and episodic series for ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and HBO. He is often recognized for his work as a principal composer in the film score soundtrack group Pray for Rain.
Wool has also worked extensively creating sound and music for international and domestic advertising and sound branding and also as a sound designer for short films and documentaries, including several for the BBC and Channel 4 (UK). As a music producer and engineer Wool has collaborated with international artists such as Bernie Worrell (Parliament-Funkadelic), Philip Chevron and James Fearnley (The Pogues), Debbie Harry (Blondie), and worked with various bay-area recording artists such as All My Pretty Ones, Beth Custer, Enrique, essence (singer), Indianna Hale, The Mermen, Kally Price and Todd Stadtman.
In the Arts Wool has composed scores and designed sound for The Architecture and Design Museum (A+D Museum), Los Angeles (sound installation for the exhibition "Windshield Perspective" May–July 2013), Amy Seiwert's Imagery dance company: Sketch Series ("Awkward Beauty" performed at ODC Theatre 2013. Choreographer Marc Brew). AXIS Dance Company ("Full Of Words" performed on U.S. tour 2011/12), Liss Fain Dance ("Speak of Familiar Things" performed at YBCA SF, "The True and False are One" performance and sound-installation at Theatre Artaud 2010 and at YBCA 2011 and "The Water is Clear and Still" performance and sound-installation at Theatre Artaud 2012, Powerhouse Arena Brooklyn and YBCA SF 2013), RAWdance ("Two by 24", a site-specific dance performance at U.N. Plaza 2012), choreographer Sonsherée Giles (Afternoon of a Fawn performed at Theater KOSMOS, Austria 2010 and Temescal Arts Center 2011) and The Tea Dancers/Ballet de la Compasión (Fantasia Mexicana performed at Studio Eight 2011). In 2018 his music and sound design work for Phil Tippett and Lucy Raven’s experimental film OUT THERE screened at MoMA (NYC).In October 2010 Wool performed in composer Jem Finer's "Longplayer" installation, sponsored by the Long Now Foundation at YBCA. In the years 2015 through 2018, he has been engaged by the U.S. Olympic Synchronized Swimming Team for ongoing compositional and musical services.
Dan has twice been nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award (Izzie Award) for Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text, in 2017 for his work with Liss Fain Dance and 2013 for his work with AXIS Dance Company. In 2014 Dan received an award from Bay Area Dance Watch (Blessay Award) for “Best Dance Soundtrack”
Dan Wool is the brother of screenwriter/electrician Abbe Wool and stepbrother to Los Angeles musician Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks, Joe Strummer) and St. Louis luminary Chip Schloss.
1986
