Paul Hertzog’s music is the sonic equivalent of a slow-motion roundhouse kick. It is built on a foundation of driving FM synthesis, crisp drum machine patterns, and soaring, heroic melodies that feel both deeply nostalgic and intensely motivating. The sound is clean, digital, and unashamedly dramatic, capturing the specific aesthetic of late-80s action cinema where every note serves to heighten the stakes of a physical or emotional struggle.
What sets Hertzog apart is his ability to blend the cold precision of synthesizers with a genuine sense of Eastern-influenced mysticism. He frequently uses bell-like textures and pan-flute patches to create an atmosphere of disciplined focus, contrasting them against aggressive, staccato basslines. It is music that demands movement and rewards concentration, functioning as a psychological trigger for peak performance.
Start with the 'Bloodsport' score. It is the purest distillation of his style, containing the iconic themes that defined a generation of martial arts films. From there, explore 'Waking the Dragon' to hear how he evolved those classic 80s textures with modern production tools while maintaining his signature sense of cinematic triumph.
Paul Hertzog is an American film composer and educator. In his brief career in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hertzog composed the soundtracks for two Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, Kickboxer and Bloodsport, as well as the scores for Breathing Fire and My Chauffeur. Hertzog was a teacher at Hart High School in Santa Clarita, California, where he taught English and Music Theory. After a nearly twenty-year hiatus, Hertzog released a CD titled Freeing the Waters in 2009. It consisted of previously unreleased tracks written during his years as a film composer. Early in 2015, Hertzog released a CD of new music, reminiscent of his work in "Bloodsport" and "Kickboxer," titled "Waking the Dragon." He composed, performed and recorded this latest CD.
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