Chris Price is a New Zealand writer and musician, born in 1962. He records under the pseudonym D’Crescendo and is associated with the project Waiting for Donald.

Music career

Price first gains attention in the early to mid-1980s, when his music becomes popular in adult entertainment. Working as D’Crescendo, he writes original tracks that become widely used in that field, sometimes drawing more attention than the films themselves. His sound in this period combines synth-pop, new wave and electro, and it is linked to increased video sales among industry insiders and viewers.

At the time, he is still too young to legally buy or watch the films that use his music, and he does not realise the extent of his recognition. He later loses that income stream as the adult entertainment industry shifts toward background music that imitates mainstream radio.

After leaving the D’Crescendo name behind, he works on instrumental background music for The Weather Channel during local forecast segments, as well as for several Washington, D.C. area cable pay-per-view preview stations. His work in these settings leads to a commission to compose soundtracks for a series of straight-to-video productions made by a religious-themed film director.

Later material

Price later revisits his 1980s and 1990s D’Crescendo master tapes and is inspired to make an album of original vocal material. That project is presented as 12 tracks of what he calls “post-pop,” and it appears as Post Pop Parade in 2007.

Influence

His music also reaches other artists: underground GXN, or “Gangsta Christian,” rapper Geto Deacon builds his debut solo album largely around unauthorised samples of Chris Price’s work.