Oliver Coates

Oliver Coates (born in 1982) is a British cellist, film composer, music producer, and electronic musician from London. He has been signed to RVNG Intl.

Career Born in London in 1982, Oliver Coates took up the cello at the age of six. He went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he received the highest score ever awarded to a student.

After graduating there, he worked with Massive Attack, Goldie, Ben Frost, Micachu & the Shapes, and the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. and his solo album entitled Upstepping. He also released Skins n Slime (2020).

Coates curated two editions of Deep∞Minimalism at the Southbank Centre (2019–2022), showcasing contemporary experimental composers including Éliane Radigue and Pauline Oliveros.

He also composed the music for the films Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar (2019) with Sam Yates, The Stranger (2022) with Thomas M. Wright, and Aftersun (2022) with Charlotte Wells. He worked with Steve McQueen on his documentary Occupied City (2023).

Coates is the main cellist of the London Contemporary Orchestra and lives in Glasgow, Scotland with his wife, where he also works.

Discography Studio albums Towards the Blessed Islands (Prah, 2013) Upstepping (Prah, 2016) Remain Calm (with Mica Levi; Slip, 2016) Ample Profanity (with Laurie Tompkins, as Laurie & Olly; Slip, 2018) Shelley's on Zenn-La (RVNG Intl., 2018) Canticles of the Sky / Three High Places (with John Luther Adams; RVNG Intl., 2019) Skins n Slime (RVNG Intl., 2020) The Pale Faced Family on the Hill (with The Pale Faced Family on the Hill; Line Explorations, 2022) Throb, Shiver, Arrow of Time (RVNG Intl., 2024)

Soundtrack albums Significant Other (Invada, 2022) The Stranger (Lakeshore, 2022) Aftersun (Invada, 2023) Mary & George (Invada, 2024) Pillion (A24, 2025)

Filmography Film Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar (2019) Significant Other (2022) The Stranger (2022) Aftersun (2022) Foe (2023) Occupied City (2023) 100 Nights of Hero (2025) Pillion (2025)

Television Mary & George (2024)

Awards 2011: Award with the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award 2022: British Independent Film Awards – Nomination for Best Original Music for Aftersun