Simon Bookish

Simon Bookish is the stage name of Leo Chadburn,[1] a British musician and composer, known for his work in experimental, electronic, pop and classical music. Originally from Coalville, Leicestershire,[2] he moved to London and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1997 to 2001.[3]

Work as Simon Bookish

To date, Chadburn has released three solo albums under the name Simon Bookish. The first two, Unfair/Funfair (2006) and Trainwreck/Raincheck (2007), combined his voice with synthesizers and laptop computers. His use of spoken word on Trainwreck/Raincheck and in live performances drew comparisons with "Bowie and Baudrillard, Burroughs and Byrne".[4] His third album, Everything/Everything (2008) featured an ensemble of brass instruments, saxophones, Farfisa organ, piano and harp. Chadburn describes this album as "a big band song cycle about science and information".[5][6]

He has also provided remixes of songs for bands and artists such as Grizzly Bear, Franz Ferdinand, The Organ, Owen Pallett, Seb Rochford and Late of the Pier.[7]

His discography also includes contributions to the albums Worried Noodles (2007),[8] a compilation of songs with lyrics by artist David Shrigley,[9] and The Wall Re-built! (2010), a collaborative album celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pink Floyd's The Wall, for Mojo Magazine.[10]

Work as Leo Chadburn

Collaborations

Chadburn has collaborated on a number of projects with visual artists.[11] In 2009, he wrote the score for Richard Grayson's video installation The Golden Space City of God (exhibited at Matt's Gallery, London and Artpace, San Antonio), which featured a choir shot on location in Texas singing cult religious texts.[12][13]

In 2012 he collaborated with the artist Tanya Axford on a piece entitled The Path Made by a Boat in Sound (Three Down) for the Whitstable Biennale,[14] and with video artist Jennet Thomas, on her work School of Change, a "sci-fi musical film", again exhibited at Matt's Gallery.[15]

He went on to work with the conceptual artist Cerith Wyn Evans on a choral work for performance at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2013, based on Samuel Beckett's prose text Imagination Dead Imagine.[16]

Chadburn has also written music for the theatre, working with the Royal National Theatre on a new musical score for their 2007 production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, in which he also played the part of "The Singer".[17]

As a performer, he has contributed to the albums of Leafcutter John, Max de Wardener, Patrick Wolf, Serafina Steer and Saint Etienne, credited with recorders, bass clarinet and vocals.[18] He is also credited as a producer on classical percussionist Joby Burgess' album 24 Lies Per Second (2013).[19]

He has occasionally performed works by other experimental composers, including John Cage[20] and Frederic Rzewski, whose piece Coming Together he presented at the first London Contemporary Music Festival in 2013.[21]

Classical works

Under his real name, Chadburn has written several works for classical music groups. These include Unison: Things Are Getting Worse for a large ensemble of pianists, performed at the showroom of Markson Pianos in 2010[11][22] and X chairman Maos, written for the experimental ensemble Apartment House and performed at the De La Warr Pavilion to coincide with their Andy Warhol exhibition in 2011.[11][23]

Chadburn is currently an associate composer of the London Symphony Orchestra,[24] who performed his piece Brown Leather Sofa in 2013.[25]

Writing

In addition to his work as a musician, Chadburn has written reviews and articles about classical and pop music for The Quietus, the New Statesman and The Wire.[26]

Discography

Albums as Simon Bookish

Albums as Leo Chadburn

References

  1. ↑ "Simon Bookish Takes on Everything on Third Album". Pitchfork Media. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  2. ↑ Scott, Neil. "The Mind's Construction Quarterly > Simon Bookish". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Leo Chadburn (16 February 2010). "Guest Blog: Simon Bookish on His Favorite Album of the Decade". Under the Radar. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  4. ↑ Brainlove, John. "Review / Simon Bookish @ Nog Gallery, Durham". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Luke Turner (7 November 2008). "Simon Bookish Goes Big Band To Sing Particle Physics And Linguistics". The Quietus. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  6. ↑ "tomlab". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "SIMON BOOKISH / LEO CHADBURN – REMIXES". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Simon Bookish Discography at Discogs". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "BBC – collective". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Various – The Wall Re-Built! Disc Two (CD) at Discogs". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 "SIMON BOOKISH / LEO CHADBURN – PROJECTS". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "Matt's Gallery – Richard Grayson: The Golden Space City of God". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Januszczak, Waldemar Januszczak (13 August 2013). "Give credit to the crunch; A rewarding trip to East End galleries proves to Waldemar Januszczak that at least our bad times beget better art". Sunday Times.
  14. ↑ "Tanya Axford". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  15. ↑ "Matt's Gallery – Jennet Thomas: All Suffering Soon to End". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  16. ↑ "An exhibition exploring art and cinema at the Irish Museum of Modern Art". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  17. ↑ Sam Marlowe (13 March 2007). "The Caucasian Chalk Circle". The Times. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  18. ↑ "Leo Chadburn Discography at Discogs". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  19. ↑ "24 Lies Per Second – Joby Burgess, Powerplant | Credits – AllMusic". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  20. ↑ "Kammer Klang: Sebastian Roux + Jennifer Walshe + Lucy Railton/Leo Chadburn: 21 May 2013". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  21. ↑ "LondonJazz: Review: Final Two Days at the London Contemporary Music Festival, Peckham". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  22. ↑ Cunningham, David. "a lot of pianos...". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  23. ↑ "Apartment House + Simon Bookish". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  24. ↑ "Composers – LSO Soundhub". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  25. ↑ "Saturday 13 April: 5pm & 7.30pm – London Symphony Orchestra [PDF]". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  26. ↑ "LEO CHADBURN – WRITING". Retrieved 13 August 2013.

External links

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