Until 1990 he worked for the Bank of Ireland for twelve years and occasionally appeared with local bands . He is one of the most productive and successful composers in contemporary Irish film and television. Hardiman received great recognition for his music for My Friend Joe from 1996, which received the crystal bear for best children's film at the Berlin Film Festival . Also in 1996, Flatley contacted him for the soundtrack for Lord of the Dance , which became an international hit. In 1998 he released the solo album Solas and a year later Feet of Flames . His album Anthem , released in 2000, combined the Celtic sounds for which he was known with more modern pop elements. The song "Ancient Lands" by Anthem was used by the 2002 Olympic champion of figure skating for men, Alexei Jagudin , in his program "Overcome".
