Biography
Cliff Martinez was born in theBronx, New York. Raised inColumbus, Ohio, his first job composing was for the popular television showPee Wee's Playhouse. At the time, however, he was more interested in rock bands, and played drums in a variety of them, mostly in a temporary capacity. Eventually, his interests shifted and he focused his attention toward film scoring.
His first soundtrack was for the filmSex, Lies, and Videotape, directed bySteven Soderbergh. Soderbergh would later call on Martinez to produce soundtracks for a number of his films, notablyTrafficin 2000 and Soderbergh's 2002 adaptation ofStanisaw Lem's novelSolaris.