Artist, musician, producer, songwriter, and political activist, Brian Eno first came to international prominence in the early 1970s as a founding member of the British band, Roxy Music, bringing a playful, exciting, and innovative approach to electronics and synthesized sound to the group. Many regard his synthesizer solo on the band’s “Editions of You” as one of the visionary, cutting edge uses of the instrument’s true sound generating potential. After leaving the band, Eno went on to create an acclaimed groundbreaking series of recordings during the 1970s, including such classics as Another Green World and Music for Airports, encompassing both exploratory pop and experimental music. During this time, he also became the leading practitioner of ambient music. His visionary production work with other artists, including U2, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Devo, and Coldplay has led to some of their most powerful and enduring musical creations.
Though best known for his musical endeavors, Eno’s work in the visual arts actually predates his musical career. In fact, as Eno recounts, had it not been for a chance encounter with Roxy Music’s Andy Mackay in a London subway, he would “ . . . probably be an art teacher now.” A 1969 graduate of the Winchester School of Arts, Eno’s work with light and video paralleled his musical career in the 1980s and ‘90s, with exhibitions throughout Europe, the United States, and Japan.
Eno’s musical creativity today continues in a particularly fertile new phase. He has recently released two compelling albums on Warp Records. Small Craft on a Milk Sea, released in late 2010, was a collaboration with two young electronic players/composers, Leo Abrahams and Jon Hopkins (who appeared at Moogfest last year). Last month, he released a unique and hypnotic collaboration with poet Rick Holland, Drums Between the Bells, which explores new worlds of musical possibilities in the intersection of the human voice with electronic music.
