Digitonal is a British

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

duo composed of clarinettist and composer Andy Dobson and violinist Samy Bishai, who formed the band in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in the late 1990s. Reviewing their 2010 retrospective album ''Be Still My Bleeping Heart'', BBC's Mike Diver agrees with the band's description of their own style as "neo classical ambient electronica", adding that, although at times predictable, their music is "extremely accessible, and incredibly pretty", "designed primarily to calm, despite occasionally boisterous beat-work." The Skinny described the duo's sound as akin to

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

and

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...

. Ben Weisz from

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

summarises Digitonal's work by saying that "while the rest of the world spent the noughties lurching from one musical fad to the next, Digitonal quietly created some of the most beautifully-constructed art of the decade. Alex Macpherson, from

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 ...

, describes their music as "suited to accompanying a book, a dinner or a hangover ..Very much atmosphere over action, but not necessarily a bad thing." In 2016 Andrew Dobson was interviewed by the Data.Wave webzine. The group announced an indefinite hiatus on their website in 2023.

Discography

* ''23 Things Fall Apart'' (2002) Digitonal discography
on Discogs * ''The Centre Cannot Hold'' EP (2004) * ''Live At The Oxygen Bar'' (2005) * ''Save Your Light For Darker Days'' (2008) * ''Be Still My Bleeping Heart'' (2010) * ''Beautiful Broken'' (2015) * ''Set The Weather Fair'' (2020)

References

{{Authority control Electronica music groups British electronic music groups