JON HOPKINS..."a childhood music prodigy who was exposed to electronica and rave created his fascination for exploring contemporary sounds with classical technique"

Jon Hopkins is a London-based electronic composer, producer and remixer. He makes powerfully emotive, instrumental music that consistently crosses genres, ranging from solo acoustic piano to explosive, bass-heavy electro. A long-term collaborator of Brian Eno, his career has remained unpredictable, taking in collaborations with King Creosote and David Holmes; remixes for such varied artists as Wild Beasts, Nosaj Thing, James Yorkston and Four Tet. His hyper-energetic live show has been seen at some of the world's most iconic venues, including Sydney Opera House with Brian Eno, Madison Square Garden opening for Coldplay, and innumerable clubs, festivals and concert halls the world over. 

 A childhood musical prodigy, he studied classical piano at the Royal College of Music from the age of 12. Exposure to the melodic side of electronica and rave via such artists as Acen, Seefeel and Plaid proved eye-opening, and influenced his fascination in exploring more contemporary sounds. He was hired to play keyboards and samplers for Imogen Heap, then after a year of touring, began to write solo music. His first two albums on Just Music, 2001’s Opalescent and 2004’s Contact Note, gained him critical recognition.

Hopkins was commissioned by multi-award-winning Wayne McGregor – renowned for his fierce, physically-testing choreography and ground-breaking collaborations – to compose music for Entity, the production for McGregor's "Random Dance" group. 

On 5 May 2009, the song "Light Through the Veins" from Hopkins' album Insides was released for free on iTunes as part of their Discovery Downloads. This song is also featured as the introduction to the first track "Life In Technicolor" on Coldplay's 2008 album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends as well as the backing for "The Escapist" which is hidden at the end of the album. Hopkins worked as one of the co-producers for Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends contributing sounds and various keyboard instruments.

 In 2009 he helped Brian Eno score the Peter Jackson film, The Lovely Bones, along with Leo Abrahams. In 2010 Hopkins scored the soundtrack of the British sci-fi thriller film Monsters, his first solo feature electro-acoustic score, which is built around processed string performances by arranger Davide Rossi. Whilst, supporting slots with The XX, Royksopp and Four Tet helped the album gain further momentum, and it reached no.2 in the electronic charts on US iTunes.

He also co-wrote and co-performed Brian Eno's new album Small Craft on a Milk Sea, released on Warp Records in late 2010.

He is currently working on a new solo electronic album, to be released on Domino in 2011.

Personally I prefer tracks such as Reprise, Searchlight, The Wider Sun, Vessel, Light through the veins, and Autumn Hill...

THE BIG PINK..."the London duo who create soundscapes that are arty yet tuneful"

The Big Pink are an electro rock duo that formed in 2007 in London, England. London residents Robbie Furze (vocals, guitar) and Milo Cordell (keyboards, synths, vocals) formed the Big Pink in their home studio, where the two musicians began mixing the droning soundscapes of Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine with the lush electronics of M83.

Milo Cordell is son of 1960s pop producer Denny and runs the Merok label, which has released cutting-edge dance acts Klaxons and Crystal Castles. Robbie Furze is a former guitarist with electro-punk singer Alec Empire and is also a founding member of the band Panic DHH.

This London duo use gritty beats, droning guitars, abstract effects and dreamy vocals to create a soundscape that is arty yet tuneful.

They have previously supported Muse, TV on the Radio, Florence + the Machine, Crystal Castles and Klaxons. 

They are best known for their 2009 single “Dominos”, which peaked at #27 on the UK Singles Chart and #36 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in the United States.

After experimenting with distorted noise and melodic nuance in the studio, the duo enlisted help from several friends -- including electronic artist Jo Apps and members of Sunn O))) -- in order to perform the material in concert. A series of popular shows followed, prompting NME to hail the band as "London's coolest new stars," and the Big Pink responded by releasing a limited-edition single through the House Anxiety label. The duo soon signed to influential indie label 4AD and, following the release of several singles including, Too Young To Love/Crystal Visions (House Anxiety), Velvet and Stop The World (4AD). Their debut album “A Brief History of Love” was recorded at the Electric Ladyland Studios in New York and was released in the UK on the 14th of September 2009.  A little over a year later, the duo issued a mix CD called Tapes for the K7! label.

Personally the track I find the most epic is Crystal Visions, although I do like the track Velvet.  The gradual crescendo and layering that may appear as just pure mess and a blur of noise can be interpreted as deliberate intricate lines of distortion.  Furthermore for me the thicker the polyphonic texture the better even if the melodic phrases appear simplistic, individually by themselves. It creates an atmospheric piece rather than a strict structured song lasting a typical duration of three and half minutes.

THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA

The Cinematic Orchestra is a British jazz and electronic group, which formed in the late 1990s by Jason Swinscoe. The band is signed to Ninja Tune, and independent record label.  Jason Swinscoe’s experience of playing bass and guitar in bands alongside DJing, introduced many influences and resulted in giving him a head full of ideas, ranging from the sound of jazz bass players, rhythm sections and film soundtracks. Other members include Tom Chant (saxophone), Phil France (double bass), Luke Flowers (drums), Nick Ramm (piano), Stuart McCallum (guitar); former members include Jamie Coleman (trumpet), T. Daniel Howard (drums), Alex James (piano), and Patrick “PC” Carpenter (turntables).

‘Motion’ 

“Taking on the role of bandleader, Swinscoe rallied a group of adventurous jazz players and delivered a debut album that took everyone by surprise and was voted album of the year by listeners to Gilles Peterson’s Radio One show.  It is a record which underlines the cinematic in the Cinematic Orchestra.” 

The Guardian heaping praise upon both Jay’s sense of space and his attention to detail: "It’s frighteningly rare that a musician in a contemporary field brings so much generous knowledge and that transforming power to their work, inviting you inside their world and introducing you to a new way of listening". 

Live: 

In the last three years the Cinematics’ have played far and wide at every conceivable type of venue and on all kinds of occasion. They have shocked out from the Jazz Café to the Jazz Bop via Ronnie Scott’s.  They have also toured in Germany, Japan, Italy and Portugal. They have also clocked up the music festival mileage appearing at, amongst others, Homelands and Essential (UK), Sonar (Spain), Celerico De Basto (Portugal), North Sea Jazz and Drum Rhythm (Holland), Cannes (France), Fuji Rock (Japan) and Montreux (Switzerland) and have headlined The Big Chill twice. And are about to play at Royal Albert Hall on 14th November this year.

cinematicorchestra.com

myspace.com/thecinematicorchestras