Chris Cutler
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Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English
avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...
group
Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...
, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including
Art Bears Art Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler (percussion, texts), Fred Frith (guitar, bass guitar, violin, keyboards) and Dagmar Krause (vocals; previously of ...
,
News from Babel News from Babel were an English avant-rock group founded in 1983 by Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins and Dagmar Krause. They made two studio albums with several guest musicians (including Robert Wyatt) and disbanded in 1986. His ...
,
Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their ...
and (briefly)
Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
/Mothergong. He has collaborated with many musicians and groups, including Fred Frith,
Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and t ...
,
Zeena Parkins Zeena Parkins (born 1956) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist active in experimental, free improvised, contemporary classical, and avant-jazz music; she is known for having "reinvented the harp". Parkins performs on standard har ...
,
Peter Blegvad Peter Blegvad (born August 14, 1951) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, writer, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of German/English avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many so ...
,
Telectu Telectu is a Portuguese experimental, avant-garde music duo formed in 1982 by Vítor Rua (former member of GNR) and Jorge Lima Barreto, a jazz musician and musical essayist. Their music incorporates a variety of elements from free jazz, rock, el ...
and
The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...
, and has appeared on over 100 recordings. Cutler's career spans over four decades and he still performs actively throughout the world. Cutler created and runs the British
independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected mus ...
and is the editor of its sound-magazine, ''
RēR Quarterly The ''RēR Quarterly'' (also known as ''Rē Records Quarterly'' and ''RēR Records Quarterly'') was an English "quarterly" sound-magazine comprising an LP record and a magazine. It was published at irregular intervals between 1985 and 1997 by R ...
''. He has given a number of public lectures on music, published numerous articles and papers, and written a book on the political theory of contemporary music, ''
File Under Popular ''File Under Popular: Theoretical and Critical Writings on Music'' is a collection of seven essays on the political theory of popular music written by English percussionist, lyricist and music theorist, Chris Cutler. The essays were written bet ...
'' (1984). Cutler also assembled and released ''
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set'' (also known as ''The Road'') is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of almost 10 hours ...
'' (2009), a collection of over 10 hours of previously unreleased recordings by the band.


Biography

Chris Cutler was born in January 1947 in Washington, D.C. to a British intelligence officer and his Austrian wife. In 1948 the family moved to England, where Cutler was brought up. He never studied music but tried his hand at banjo, guitar, trumpet and flute while at school. He finally settled for drums "because I wanted to be in a band and drummers were scarcest." Cutler formed his first band in 1963, playing
Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...
and Ventures instrumental covers, then played in several R&B and soul bands. In 1966 he joined a band called Louise, with Tony Durant (later of
Fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, ''Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) ...
), which performed on the London psychedelic club circuit for three years before breaking up. Looking for work, Cutler placed a series of advertisements in Melody Maker over a period of nine months in 1970. This put him in touch with a number of musicians which led to Cutler and keyboardist Dave Stewart of
Egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
forming The Ottawa Music Company, a 26 piece rock composer's orchestra, in 1971. Soon afterwards,
Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...
, looking to replace the drummer who had just left them, responded to one of Cutler's adverts and invited him to a rehearsal.


Henry Cow

Henry Cow had been formed in 1968 by
Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
students Fred Frith (guitar) and
Tim Hodgkinson Timothy "Tim" George Hodgkinson (born 1 May 1949) is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds, lap steel guitar, and keyboards. He first became known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group ...
(woodwind and keyboards). By 1971 the band had gone through a number of personnel changes and it was only when Cutler joined them in September 1971 that the group stabilised. Frith, Hodgkinson and Cutler became Henry Cow's permanent core until the band split up in 1978. Henry Cow's prominence in
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
circles launched the careers of many of its members, including Cutler's. Their music was uncompromising and this eventually put them at odds with the mainstream
music business The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
, forcing the band to do everything themselves: from recording, manufacturing and releasing their own albums, to organising their own tours and being their own management and agency. All this proved invaluable experience for Cutler that would assist him greatly in his future endeavours. The group spent most of its last three years touring Europe and many of Cutler's future collaborations resulted from contact made with musicians on these tours. In Henry Cow's last few months they initiated
Rock in Opposition Rock in Opposition or RIO was a movement representing a collective of progressive bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by English avant-rock group H ...
(RIO), a collective of like-minded bands they had encountered through Europe that were united in their opposition to the
music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
.


Recommended Records

After Henry Cow disbanded in 1978, Cutler created
Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected mus ...
in London, an independent label and distribution network for RIO artists. The record label quickly filled the gap left by commercial labels and soon began to also release non-RIO bands and musicians. Recommended Records's aim was to produce records of high technical and musical quality, placing the musicians' interests first and profits second. This strategy, however, led to the label experiencing financial difficulties from time to time, but it stuck to its principles and has survived for over 25 years. There are a number of musicians whose work would never have seen the light of day had it not been for Cutler's label. Cutler also founded November Books in 1982, the publishing wing of Recommended Records.


Other bands and projects

Cutler's first post-Henry Cow project was
Art Bears Art Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler (percussion, texts), Fred Frith (guitar, bass guitar, violin, keyboards) and Dagmar Krause (vocals; previously of ...
(1978–1981), a group formed by Cutler, and fellow Henry Cow members, Fred Frith (guitar and keyboards) and
Dagmar Krause Dagmar Krause (born 4 June 1950) is a German singer, best known for her work with avant-rock groups including Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, and Art Bears. She is also noted for her coverage of songs by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler. He ...
(vocals), six months before Henry Cow split up. Art Bears were a song-oriented group that recorded three studio albums. Cutler's main contributions were the songs' texts and (with Frith) the album productions. Art Bears (in the wake of Henry Cow) were well received by critics which further boosted Cutler's reputation in "progressive" circles. In 1982, Cutler co-founded the
Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to peopl ...
-German group
Cassiber Cassiber were a German avant-rock group founded in 1982 by German composer and saxophonist Alfred 23 Harth, Alfred Harth, German composer, music-theatre director and keyboardist Heiner Goebbels, English drummer Chris Cutler from Henry Cow and G ...
(1982–1992) with German musicians
Heiner Goebbels Heiner Goebbels (born 17 August 1952) is a German composer, conductor and professor at Justus-Liebig-University in Gießen and artistic director of the International Festival of the Arts Ruhrtriennale 2012–14. His composition ''Stifters Dinge ...
, Alfred Harth and Christoph Anders. Over the next ten years Cassiber produced five albums and toured Europe, Asia, South and North America. Their music was very experimental and often involved spontaneously improvising pre-existing structured and arranged material. In 1983, Cutler formed
News from Babel News from Babel were an English avant-rock group founded in 1983 by Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins and Dagmar Krause. They made two studio albums with several guest musicians (including Robert Wyatt) and disbanded in 1986. His ...
(1983–1986), another song-orientated group with core members Cutler,
Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and t ...
(from Henry Cow),
Zeena Parkins Zeena Parkins (born 1956) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist active in experimental, free improvised, contemporary classical, and avant-jazz music; she is known for having "reinvented the harp". Parkins performs on standard har ...
(a United States harpist) and Dagmar Krause. With guest musicians (including Robert Wyatt and
Sally Potter Charlotte Sally Potter (born 19 September 1949) is an English film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing ''Orlando'' (1992), which won the audience prize for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival. Early life Potter was born an ...
) they made two critically acclaimed studio albums, but did not perform live. Cutler was a member of the United States experimental rock band
Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their ...
between 1987 and 1989. He had first encountered them in Washington DC in 1978 while exploring the possibility of Henry Cow touring America (which never materialised as Henry Cow disbanded soon after). Cutler kept in touch with Pere Ubu until they split in the early 1980s and their singer, David Thomas began a solo career. Cutler and Lindsay Cooper joined Thomas in 1982 to form David Thomas and the Pedestrians, and for the next three years they toured Europe and North America and made two albums. Over the next few years, some of the ex-Pere Ubu members began joining Thomas's Pedestrians. Cooper left in 1985 and by 1987 the group (now called David Thomas and the Wooden Birds) was effectively Pere Ubu again. As Pere Ubu, the band (with Cutler) made two albums. Cutler left in 1989, but was credited as a co-writer on the band's 1991 album ''World in Collision'' for several songs written during his tenure. In 1991, Cutler and German composer
Lutz Glandien Lutz Glandien (born 1954) is a Berlin-based German avant garde composer and musician. He has composed a number of classical and electroacoustic pieces, released four solo albums, and collaborated with English percussionist Chris Cutler to r ...
recorded the critically acclaimed song project ''Domestic Stories''. Cutler wrote the song texts and played drums, while Glandien composed and performed the music with samplers and computers. The supporting musicians were Dagmar Krause (vocals), Fred Frith (bass and guitar) and Alfred Harth (saxophone and clarinet). Cutler collaborated with Glandien again in 1994 to record ''Scenes from no Marriage'' and to participate in
p53 p53, also known as Tumor protein P53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thought to be, and often s ...
, a commission for the 25th Frankfurt Jazz Festival with
Zygmunt Krauze Zygmunt Krauze (born September 19, 1938) is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music, educator, and pianist. Biography Zygmunt Krauze is an important artist of his generation: a respected composer, valued pianist, educator, organiser of ...
, Marie Goyette,
Otomo Yoshihide is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics. He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked i ...
.
The (ec) Nudes ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
were a band Cutler, Wädi Gysi (guitar) and
Amy Denio Amy Denio (born June 9, 1961) is a Seattle-based multi-instrumental composer of soundtracks for modern dance, film and theater, as well as a songwriter and music improviser. Her inspirations include world music, and is mainly known as a voca ...
(vocals, bass, saxophone, accordion) formed in 1993. The trio recorded ''Vanishing Point'', a CD of songs with texts by Cutler and music by Gysi and Denio, and toured all over Europe and visited Brasil. Bob Drake later joined the group on bass and as a quartet they toured all over Europe, Canada and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, but did not record. Cutler left the group in 1994. Cutler and Yugoslav keyboardist and composer Stevan Tickmayer formed The Science Group in 1997 to record ''A Mere Coincidence'' (1999), an album of songs on science topics, including
quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
. Cutler wrote the texts, Tickmayer composed the music, and the rest of the group comprised Bob Drake (bass guitar, vocals) and Claudio Puntin (bass clarinet), with guests Amy Denio (vocals) and Fred Frith (guitar). In 2003 Cutler and Tickmayer reconstituted The Science Group as a quartet with Bob Drake (bass guitar) and Mike Johnson (guitars), and released an instrumental album, ''Spoors''. In 1998, he joined
John Wolf Brennan John Wolf Brennan (born 13 February 1954) is an Irish pianist, organist, melodica player, and composer based in Weggis, Switzerland. Career Brennan was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family moved to Switzerland when he was seven years old. He be ...
's sextet "HeXtet" to record a series of poetry settings, from
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
to contemporary Irish poets like
Theo Dorgan Theo Dorgan (born 1953) is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer, translator, librettist and documentary screenwriter. He lives in Dublin. Life Dorgan was born in Cork in 1953 being second child born into a family of 8 boys and 8 girls to pare ...
and
Paula Meehan Paula Meehan (born 1955) is an Irish poet and playwright. Life and work Paula Meehan was born in Dublin in 1955, the eldest of six children. She subsequently moved to London with her parents where she attended St. Elizabeth's Primary School ...
, together with legendary singer
Julie Tippetts Julie Driscoll Tippetts (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's " Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger and ...
, saxophonist
Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...
, trombonist Paul Rutherford and clarinetist
Peter Whyman Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
.


Other collaborations

The ex-Henry Cow members have always maintained close contact with each other and Cutler still collaborates with many of them. Cutler and Fred Frith have been touring Europe, Asia and the Americas since 1978 and have given over 100 duo performances. Four albums from some of these concerts have been released. In December 2006, Cutler, Frith and Tim Hodgkinson performed together at The Stone in New York City, only their second concert performance since Henry Cow's demise in 1978. Cutler,
John Greaves John Greaves (1602 – 8 October 1652) was an English mathematician, astronomer and antiquarian. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he was elected a Fellow of Merton College in 1624. He studied Persian and Arabic, acquired a number of old ...
and
Geoff Leigh Geoff Leigh (born 5 October 1945) is an English jazz and progressive rock musician, playing primarily soprano saxophone and flute. He was a member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow and founded several bands himself, including Red Balu ...
formed The Artaud Beats with Yumi Hara. Cutler and Hara also work together in Half the Sky, a band formed in 2015 to play the music of former Henry Cow member
Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and t ...
, principally pieces she wrote for News from Babel and Henry Cow. The band have performed in Japan, France, the UK and Germany. On 4 November 2006 Cutler,
Jon Rose Jonathan Anthony Rose (born 19 February 1951) is an Australian violinist, cellist, composer, and multimedia artist. Rose's work is centered in the experimental music known as free improvisation, where he has created large environmental multimed ...
(violin) and Zeena Parkins (harp) performed with the
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional r ...
conducted by
Ilan Volkov Ilan Volkov ( he, אילן וולקוב; born September 8, 1976, Tel Aviv) is an Israeli orchestral conductor. Biography Volkov's father, Alexander Volkov, was a concert pianist. He studied with the conductor Mendi Rodan at the Rubin Academy in ...
, at the
Glasgow City Halls Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket is a concert hall and former market located on Candleriggs, in the Merchant City, Glasgow, Scotland. History The City Halls are part of a market complex designed by John Carrick in 1882, but the grand ha ...
in Glasgow, Scotland. The concert was recorded and later broadcast by BBC Radio 3 on 24 March 2007. Other musicians and bands Cutler has performed and recorded with over the years include Tim Hodgkinson, Lindsay Cooper, Peter Blegvad,
John Greaves John Greaves (1602 – 8 October 1652) was an English mathematician, astronomer and antiquarian. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he was elected a Fellow of Merton College in 1624. He studied Persian and Arabic, acquired a number of old ...
,
René Lussier René Lussier (born April 15, 1957) is a jazz guitarist based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a composer, guitarist, bass guitarist, percussionist, bass clarinetist, and singer. Lussier has collaborated with Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Jean De ...
,
Jean Derome Jean Derome (born June 29, 1955) is a French Canadian avant-garde saxophonist, flautist, and composer. A prominent figure in the Montreal ''musique actuelle'' (new music) scene, Derome has been a member of experimental, jazz, and rock groups, ...
,
Tom Cora Thomas Henry Corra (September 14, 1953 – April 9, 1998), better known as Tom Cora, was an American cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock. He recorded with John Zorn, ...
,
Aksak Maboul Aksak Maboul are a Belgian avant-rock band founded in 1977 by Marc Hollander with Vincent Kenis, and now revolving around Hollander and Véronique Vincent. Aksak Maboul hasn't stopped changing shape and form throughout its existence (the on ...
,
The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...
, The Work,
Duck and Cover "Duck and cover" is a method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear explosion. Ducking and covering is useful in offering a degree of protection to personnel located outside the radius of the nuclear fireball but still within su ...
, Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar,
Kalahari Surfers Warrick Swinney (born in 1958), more commonly known as Warrick Sony, is a South African composer, producer, musician and sound designer. He is the founder and sole permanent member of the Kalahari Surfers. They made politically radical satirical ...
, Hail, Biota and Brainville 3. In 2009, Cutler toured North America with avant-garde Czech violinist
Iva Bittová Iva Bittová (born 22 July 1958) is a Czech avant-garde violinist, singer, and composer. She began her career as an actor in the mid-1970s, appearing in several Czech feature films, but switched to playing violin and singing in the early 1980s. ...
. In 2015 he collaborated with Alfred Harth founding a group Hope, a commission for the 46th Frankfurt Jazz Festival with
Kazuhisa Uchihashi Kazuhisa Uchihashi (内橋和久, ''Uchihashi Kazuhisa'') is a Japanese guitarist involved in free improvisation music. Born in 1959 in Osaka, Uchihashi began to play the guitar at age 12, playing in various rock bands, though he later studied j ...
, Mitsuru Nasuno.


Solo performances

Since the late 1990s, Cutler began giving solo electrified percussion performances to audiences across the world. His first was in Tokyo in June 1998, which was recorded in a documentary film, ''At the Edge of Chaos'' (also known as ''12 June 1998''), by award-winning film director
Shinji Aoyama was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, composer, film critic, and novelist. He graduated from Rikkyo University. He won two awards at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his film ''Eureka (2000 film), Eureka''. Biography Shinji Aoyama was b ...
. The first part of the film is equipment set-up and sound-checks, plus interviews with Cutler, while the second part is the improvised concert itself. In 2001 Cutler released ''Solo: A Descent Into the Maelstrom'', an album of solos on his electrified drum kit taken from live performances in Europe and the United States between August 2000 and May 2001. In 2005 he released ''Twice Around the World'', an album of real-time recordings made from all over the world between 23.30 and midnight GMT. The material was taken from a daily half-hour radio programme Cutler ran for
Resonance FM Resonance 104.4 FM is a London based non-profit community radio station specialising in the arts run by the London Musicians' Collective (LMC). The station is staffed by four permanent staff members, including programme controller Ed Baxter and ...
: Out of the Blue Radio between July 2001 and July 2002. A companion album, ''There and Back Again'', comprising 44 environmental recordings, was released by Cutler in 2006.


Electrified drum kit

Chris Cutler never studied music and taught himself drumming on makeshift drum kits assembled with whatever was on hand. He slowly developed a technique using a "top-down" approach as opposed to the traditional "bottom-up" approach used by schooled drummers. Drummers are first taught basic patterns which are later combined into more complex patterns. Cutler learned the opposite way, hearing or imagining a sound and then disciplining his hands and feet to reproduce it. This "top-down" approach resulted in a unique style of drumming that pervades all of Cutler's performances and recordings. By the time Cutler was drumming for Henry Cow in 1971, he had become a perfectly competent, albeit unconventional, drummer. The nature of Henry Cow was to experiment and explore and it was here that Cutler developed and refined his drumming techniques. It was also here that he started to electrify his drum kit. He began by attaching old telephone mouthpieces to drums and cymbals, and connecting them to an
amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost t ...
and a
reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...
unit. He later added a small mixer for four independent inputs. The effect was very basic: a few low-grade inputs with only equalisation and reverberation to manipulate. By 1982, Cutler had added another small mixer, a
pitch shift Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval ( transposition) are called pitch shifters. Pitch and tim ...
er and a delay unit. He had also begun using cheap guitar
transducer A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Usually a transducer converts a signal in one form of energy to a signal in another. Transducers are often employed at the boundaries of automation, measurement, and cont ...
s and a table full of additional wired objects (pans, metal trays, small tambours and egg-slicers). Cutler experimented briefly with drum pads triggered to play
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...
or synthesized sounds, but quickly dismissed this option because he found them unresponsive and inflexible. They reduced a drum to nothing more than a switch: hit it and a pre-programmed sound is emitted, irrespective of how hard or in what manner the drum is struck. Cutler preferred
real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...
processing: amplifying and modifying actual sounds produced by the drum, making it a kind of an electroacoustic instrument, immediate and responsive, and retaining all the qualities of an acoustic drum kit. Cutler went on to wire his entire drum kit, using a 16 channel mixer with multi-effect processors, a "Space pedal", a "Whammy pedal", a PDS 8000 and an old Boss pitch shifter/delay unit. In addition to transducers, he also attached miniature microphones to some of the drums and sticks. Cutler introduced feedback into the mix by placing a monitor speaker near the kit. The electrified drum kit continues to evolve and to Cutler it is "satisfyingly unpredictable", responsive to all his old techniques while continuing to generate new ones. It has a unique "voice" that Cutler still has not plumbed the depths of. This is what prompted him to start giving solo performances because it tested his skill at playing an instrument he had to treat as an equal and evolve with.


Writings and talks


Talks

In the early 1980s, Chris Cutler became active in the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) and started giving talks and participating in symposia throughout the world. Some of the talks he has given are: *"Composing with Other People's Music – Creativity or Theft?", British Council,
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
. *"Electrification and Experimentation, the Development of New Musical Resources in the Popular Field", Union of Composers, Moscow. *"Improvisation: Motives and Methods", IASPM,
University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
. *"Rock in Opposition, a case study". Academy of Science, Berlin. *"Studio Composition and Visualisation" – a case study IASPM, University, Montreal *"Sonic and Structural Convergence at the fringes of Musical Genres". The Royal College of Art, London. *"On The Impact of Recording Technology on Popular music." Pomeriggi Musicali do Milano. *"Plunderphonics and Postmodernism", Dissonanten,
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
. *"Sampling and Plunderphonics", Museum School,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. *"The Recording Studio as a Compositional Instrument", The Royal College of Art, London.


Essays

Cutler has written and published a number of essays on music, including: *"Necessity and Choice in Musical Forms: Concerning Musical and Technical Means and Political Needs" (1990) – an essay on the evolution of recorded music, published in ''The Cassette Mythos''. *"Plunderphonia" (1994) – an essay on
plunderphonics Plunderphonics is a music genre in which tracks are constructed by sampling recognizable musical works. The term was coined by composer John Oswald in 1985 in his essay "Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative", and even ...
, published in ''Musicworks 60''. *"Scale" (1997) – an essay on the scale of sounds in music, published in ''The Gramophone Special Edition "Perspectives on Contemporary Music"''. *"Thoughts on Music and the Avant Garde" (2005) – an essay commissioned for a book dedicated to Professor Gunther Mayer, published in ''Perfect Sound Forever''. *"Locality" (2006) – published in ''Resonance Magazine''. *"The Road to Plunderphonia" (2011) – published by Quaderns d'àudio/ Ràdio Web MACBA.


Radio broadcasts

From 2012, Cutler has been producing a series of
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
s/lectures entitled "Probes" that examine the history of music from the invention of sound recording to the present day. The series was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, and published and broadcast by Quaderns d'àudio/ Ràdio Web MACBA. Podcast transcripts:
"Probes 1"
(20 August 2012)
"Probes 1.2 Auxiliaries"
(18 October 2012)
"Probes 2"
(3 December 2012)
"Probes 2.2 Auxiliaries"
(23 January 2013)
"Probes 3"
(25 February 2013)
"Probes 3.2 Auxiliaries"
(9 May 2013)
"Probes 4"
(25 June 2013)
"Probes 4.2 Auxiliaries"
(22 July 2013)
"Probes 5"
(27 August 2013)
"Probes 5.2 Auxiliaries"
(30 September 2013)
"Probes 6"
(21 November 2013)
"Probes 6.2 Auxiliaries"
(19 December 2013)
"Probes 7"
(30 January 2014)
"Probes 7.2 Auxiliaries"
(24 April 2014)
"Probes 8"
(14 July 2014)
"Probes 8.2 Auxiliaries"
(8 August 2014)
"Probes 9"
(30 September 2014)
"Probes 9.2 Auxiliaries"
(6 November 2014)
"Probes 10"
(15 December 2014)
"Probes 10.2 Auxiliaries"
(27 January 2015)
"Probes 11"
(11 March 2015)
"Probes 12"
(30 April 2015)
"Probes 12.2 Auxiliaries"
(25 May 2015)
"Probes 13"
(9 June 2015)
"Probes 13.2 Auxiliaries"
(10 August 2015)
"Probes 14"
(15 September 2015)
"Probes 15"
(19 October 2015)
"Probes 15.2 Auxiliaries"
(3 December 2015)
"Probes 16"
(14 January 2016)
"Probes 16.2 Auxiliaries"
(1 February 2016)
"Probes 17"
(26 February 2016)
"Probes 17.2 Auxiliaries"
(8 March 2016)
"Probes 18"
(29 April 2016)
"Probes 18.2 Auxiliaries"
(5 August 2016)
"Probes 19"
(3 September 2016)
"Probes 19.2 Auxiliaries"
(23 November 2016)
"Probes 20"
(2 January 2017)
"Probes 20.2 Auxiliaries"
(18 April 2017)
"Probes 21"
(4 September 2017)
"Probes 21.2 Auxiliaries"
(21 November 2017)
"Probes 22"
(22 January 2018)
"Probes 22.2 Auxiliaries"
(20 February 2018)
"Probes 23"
(29 March 2018)
"Probes 23.2 Auxiliaries"
(9 May 2018)
"Probes 24.2 Auxiliaries"
(30 January 2019)
"Probes 25"
(23 April 2019)
"Probes 26"
(1 July 2019)
"Probes 26.2 Auxiliaries"
(11 February 2020)


Books

Cutler has also published three books: *''The Henry Cow Book'' (co-authored with
Tim Hodgkinson Timothy "Tim" George Hodgkinson (born 1 May 1949) is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds, lap steel guitar, and keyboards. He first became known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group ...
) (1981) – a collection of documents and information about the band. *''
File Under Popular ''File Under Popular: Theoretical and Critical Writings on Music'' is a collection of seven essays on the political theory of popular music written by English percussionist, lyricist and music theorist, Chris Cutler. The essays were written bet ...
'' (1984) – a collection of theoretical and critical writings on music, also published in Polish, German and Japanese. *''Not as We Choose'' (2020) – a further collection of theoretical and critical writings on music, illustrated by
Peter Blegvad Peter Blegvad (born August 14, 1951) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, writer, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of German/English avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many so ...
.


Discography

Here is a selection of albums Chris Cutler has performed on, showing the year they were first released:


Bands and projects

;With
Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...
* ''
Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
'' (1973, LP,
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
, UK) * ''
Unrest Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including: * Civil unrest * Civil disorder * Domestic terrorism * Industrial unrest * Labor unrest * Rebellion * Riot * Strike action * State of emergency Notable historical in ...
'' (1974, LP, Virgin, UK) * ''
Concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...
'' (1976, 2xLP,
Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label originally founded in 1973. Initially founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976, and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. ...
, UK) * ''
Western Culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
'' (1979, LP, Broadcast, UK) * '' The Virgin Years – Souvenir Box'' (1991, 3xCD,
East Side Digital Records East Side Digital is a record label and distributor based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. History ESD was started and curated by Rob Simonds (who also created Rykodisc) in 1981 to import and distribute vinyl records on Japanese labels to record stor ...
, US) * '' Henry Cow Box'' (2006, 7xCD,
Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected mus ...
, UK) * '' Stockholm & Göteborg'' (2008, CD, Recommended Records, UK) * ''
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set'' (also known as ''The Road'') is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of almost 10 hours ...
'' (2009, 9xCD+DVD, Recommended Records, UK) * '' The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow'' (2019, 17xCD+DVD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...
/
Slapp Happy Slapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group, formed in Germany in 1972. Their lineup consisted of Anthony Moore (keyboards), Peter Blegvad (guitar) and Dagmar Krause (vocals). The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged w ...
*'' Desperate Straights'' (1975, LP, Virgin Records, UK) *''
In Praise of Learning ''In Praise of Learning'' is a studio album by British avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in February and March 1975, and released in May 1975. On this album, Henry Cow had expanded to include members of Slapp ...
'' (1975, LP, Virgin Records, UK) ;With
Art Bears Art Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler (percussion, texts), Fred Frith (guitar, bass guitar, violin, keyboards) and Dagmar Krause (vocals; previously of ...
*''
Hopes and Fears ''Hopes and Fears'' is the debut studio album by the English alternative rock band Keane. It was released on 10 May 2004 in the United Kingdom and topped the UK Albums Chart upon release. It was the second best-selling British album of 2004, ...
'' (1978, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *'' Winter Songs'' (1979, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *'' The World as It Is Today'' (1981, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *''
The Art Box ''The Art Box'' is a six- CD box set by English avant-rock group Art Bears. It contains all Art Bears album and single releases, plus new material, including live and unreleased Art Bears tracks, and unreleased remixes and reworkings of Art B ...
'' (2004, 6xCD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...
*'' Eskimo'' (1979, LP,
Ralph Records Ralph Records was an independent record label active between 1972 and 1989, best known for being initially run by avant-garde art collective, ''The Residents''. The name coming from the slang phrase for vomiting, "calling Ralph on the porcelain tele ...
, USA) *''
Commercial Album ''Commercial Album'' is an album released by art rock group the Residents in 1980. It is commonly considered a follow-up to '' Duck Stab/Buster & Glen'', in that it retains the former album's pop-oriented song structures. The album contains 40 ...
'' (1980, LP, Ralph Records, USA) ;With
Aksak Maboul Aksak Maboul are a Belgian avant-rock band founded in 1977 by Marc Hollander with Vincent Kenis, and now revolving around Hollander and Véronique Vincent. Aksak Maboul hasn't stopped changing shape and form throughout its existence (the on ...
*'' Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits'' (1980, LP,
Crammed Discs Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released around 375 albums and 275 ...
, Belgium) ;With
Cassiber Cassiber were a German avant-rock group founded in 1982 by German composer and saxophonist Alfred 23 Harth, Alfred Harth, German composer, music-theatre director and keyboardist Heiner Goebbels, English drummer Chris Cutler from Henry Cow and G ...
*''Man or Monkey?'' (1982, 2xLP, Riskant, Germany) *''Beauty and the Beast'' (1984, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *''Perfect Worlds'' (1986, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *''A Face We All Know'' (1990, CD, Recommended Records, UK) *''Live in Tokyo'' (1998, 2xCD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With The Work *''Live in Japan'' (1982, LP, Recommended Records, Japan) ;With Fred Frith *'' Live in Prague and Washington'', (1983, LP, Recommended Records, UK) – 1990 CD release retitled ''Live in Moscow, Prague & Washington'' *'' Live in Trondheim, Berlin & Limoges, Vol. 2'' (1994, CD, Recommended Records, UK) *'' 2 Gentlemen in Verona'' (2000, CD, Recommended Records, UK) *'' The Stone: Issue Two'' (2007, CD,
Tzadik Records Tzadik Records is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a n ...
, US) ;With
Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and t ...
, Bill Gilonis,
Tim Hodgkinson Timothy "Tim" George Hodgkinson (born 1 May 1949) is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds, lap steel guitar, and keyboards. He first became known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group ...
and Robert Wyatt *'' The Last Nightingale'' (1984, LP, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
News from Babel News from Babel were an English avant-rock group founded in 1983 by Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins and Dagmar Krause. They made two studio albums with several guest musicians (including Robert Wyatt) and disbanded in 1986. His ...
*'' Work Resumed on the Tower'' (1984, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *'' Letters Home'' (1986, LP, Recommended Records, UK) ;With David Thomas and the Pedestrians *'' Winter Comes Home'' (1983, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *'' Variations on a Theme'' (1983, LP, Rough Trade Records, UK) *''
More Places Forever ''More Places Forever'' is the third studio album by experimental singer-songwriter David Thomas, released in May 1985 by Rough Trade Records. In 1997, the album was remastered by Paul Hamann and David Thomas for its inclusion in the '' Mon ...
'' (1985, LP, Rough Trade Records, UK) ;With
Duck and Cover "Duck and cover" is a method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear explosion. Ducking and covering is useful in offering a degree of protection to personnel located outside the radius of the nuclear fireball but still within su ...
*'' Re Records Quarterly Vol.1 No.2'' (1985, LP, Recommended Records UK) ; Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar *''Tournée Mondiale/Été '89'' (1987, LP, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada) *''Fin de Siècle'' (1989, LP, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada) ;With
Peter Blegvad Peter Blegvad (born August 14, 1951) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, writer, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of German/English avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many so ...
*''Downtime'' (1988, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *''Just Woke Up'' (1995, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *''Hangman's Hill'' (1998, LP, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their ...
*'' The Tenement Year'' (1988, LP, Fontana Records) *'' Cloudland'' (1989, LP, Fontana Records) * ''
Worlds in Collision ''Worlds in Collision'' is a book by Immanuel Velikovsky published in 1950. The book postulates that around the 15th century BC, the planet Venus was ejected from Jupiter as a comet or comet-like object and passed near Earth (an actual collision ...
(1991, Fontanta; does not perform but credited as co-writer on three songs) ;With Hail *''Kirk'' (1992, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
Lutz Glandien Lutz Glandien (born 1954) is a Berlin-based German avant garde composer and musician. He has composed a number of classical and electroacoustic pieces, released four solo albums, and collaborated with English percussionist Chris Cutler to r ...
*''Domestic Stories'' (1993, CD, Recommended Records, UK) *''Scenes From No Marriage'' (1994, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
The (ec) Nudes ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
*''Vanishing Point'' (1994, LP, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
p53 p53, also known as Tumor protein P53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thought to be, and often s ...
*''
p53 p53, also known as Tumor protein P53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thought to be, and often s ...
'' (1996, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With Biota *''Object Holder'' (1995, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
Zeena Parkins Zeena Parkins (born 1956) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist active in experimental, free improvised, contemporary classical, and avant-jazz music; she is known for having "reinvented the harp". Parkins performs on standard har ...
*''Shark!'' (1996, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
René Lussier René Lussier (born April 15, 1957) is a jazz guitarist based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a composer, guitarist, bass guitarist, percussionist, bass clarinetist, and singer. Lussier has collaborated with Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Jean De ...
and
Jean Derome Jean Derome (born June 29, 1955) is a French Canadian avant-garde saxophonist, flautist, and composer. A prominent figure in the Montreal ''musique actuelle'' (new music) scene, Derome has been a member of experimental, jazz, and rock groups, ...
*''
Three Suite Piece ''Three Suite Piece'' is an album of music released by René Lussier, Chris Cutler and Jean Derome. The album was released on Cutler's Recommended Records label in 1996. As per its title, the ''Three Suite Piece'' contains three extended compo ...
'' (1996, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
John Wolf Brennan John Wolf Brennan (born 13 February 1954) is an Irish pianist, organist, melodica player, and composer based in Weggis, Switzerland. Career Brennan was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family moved to Switzerland when he was seven years old. He be ...
*HeXtet: ''Through the Ear of a Raindrop'' (1998, CD,
Leo Records Leo Records is a British record company and label which releases jazz from Russian, American, and British musicians. It concentrates on free jazz. Leo Records was founded in 1979 by Leo Feigin (also known under his broadcasting name Aleksei L ...
, UK) ;With Thomas Dimuzio *''Quake'' (1999, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With The Science Group *''A Mere Coincidence'' (1999, CD, Recommended Records, UK) *''Spoors'' (2003, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With Roberto Musci,
Jon Rose Jonathan Anthony Rose (born 19 February 1951) is an Australian violinist, cellist, composer, and multimedia artist. Rose's work is centered in the experimental music known as free improvisation, where he has created large environmental multimed ...
and Claudio Gabbiani *''Steel Water Light'' (2001, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With
Vril ''The Coming Race'' is a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, published anonymously in 1871. It has also been published as ''Vril, the Power of the Coming Race''. Some readers have believed the account of a superior subterranean master race and th ...
*''Effigies in Cork'' (2003, CD, Recommended Records, UK) *''The Fatal Duckpond'' (2009, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With The Orckestra *"Unreleased Orckestra Extract" (3" CD single, 2006, Recommended Records, UK) ;With Brainville 3 *''Trial by Headline'' (2008, CD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With Thomas Dimuzio and Fred Frith *''Golden State'' (2010, LP, Recommended Records, UK) ;With Fred Frith and
Tom Cora Thomas Henry Corra (September 14, 1953 – April 9, 1998), better known as Tom Cora, was an American cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock. He recorded with John Zorn, ...
*''Live in Tel Aviv and Aubervilliers'' (2021, CD,
Fred Records Fred Records is a British independent record label created in 2002 by the English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith to re-release his own back catalogue of recordings and previously unreleased material. It is an independent company w ...
, UK)


Solo

*''Solo: A Descent Into the Maelstrom'' (2001, CD, Recommended Records) *''Twice Around the World'' (2005, CD, Recommended Records) *''There and Back Again'' (2006, CD, Recommended Records)


Bibliography

* * *Cutler, Chris, ed. (2009). ''The Road: Volumes 1–5'' (book from ''
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set'' (also known as ''The Road'') is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of almost 10 hours ...
'').
Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected mus ...
. *Cutler, Chris, ed. (2009). ''The Road: Volumes 6–10'' (book from ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set''). Recommended Records. *Cutler, Chris (2011). ''The Road to Plunderphonia''. Quaderns d'àudio/Ràdio Web MACBA. . *Cutler, Chris (2020). ''Not as We Choose: Music, Memory and Technology''.


Films

*''At the Edge of Chaos'' (2001, DVD) – 65 minute documentary (also known as ''12 June 1998'') by
Shinji Aoyama was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, composer, film critic, and novelist. He graduated from Rikkyo University. He won two awards at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his film ''Eureka (2000 film), Eureka''. Biography Shinji Aoyama was b ...
on a Chris Cutler solo percussion concert in Tokyo, June 1998. *''Roulette TV Volume 8'' (2003, DVD, Roulette) – live TV recording back-to-back with Shelley Hirsch, March 2001.


See also

* Romantic Warriors II: A Progressive Music Saga About Rock in Opposition * Romantic Warriors II: Special Features DVD


Footnotes


References


Works cited

* *


Further reading


Chris Cutler biography
''Calyx: The Canterbury Website''. *
"Resist Me, Make Me Strong – On Chris Cutler"
Article by Patrick Wright published in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', November 1995 *
Radio series PROBES for Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA)
(archived at the
Internet Archive Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
)


External links


Chris Cutler homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Chris 1947 births Living people British male drummers English rock drummers English songwriters English experimental musicians Free improvisation Canterbury scene English music theorists British music industry executives Henry Cow members Pere Ubu members Gong (band) members Art Bears members News from Babel members The Orckestra members