NIK PHELPS

Born in Texas, composer/musician Nik Phelps now lives and works in Gent, Belgium. He has played with musical artists as diverse as Eric Johnson and Lou Rawls, Frank Zappa and Jo Lemaire. He recorded for over 10 years with Tom Waits, playing on three soundtracks and five CDs, from The Black Rider, Bunny, and Mule Variations to Alice, Blood Money and Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards. Current Belgian groups he performs with include The Sprocket Ensemble, SwingzaPoppin’, Nomad Swing and The Cabaretti Orchestra.

He began working with film music in 1988 with the seminal San Francisco soundtrack group The Club Foot Orchestra, and has been working in the animation field since 1995, writing for the CBS Television series The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat. In 1996, he was nominated for an ASIFA Annie Award for his music.

He is now involved in the animation world, creating music for and programming the works of animators such as Nina Paley, Bill Plympton, Lei Lei and Ivan Maximov. It is Nik’s great pleasure to work with directors of all ages, both in the creation of soundtracks and sound design, and in working with schools and festivals with workshops dealing with the processes of creation.