Jon Kennedy is a drummer and electronic musician who was born in Dukinfield,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was discovered in 2000 when he passed a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

CD to Ninja Tune artist

Mr Scruff Andrew Carthy (born 10 February 1972), better known by his stage name Mr. Scruff, is an English record producer and DJ. He lives in Stretford, Greater Manchester and studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University. ...

. Scruff played tracks from the CD soon after on his "Unfold" radio show on Brighton's Juice 107.2. Brighton-based

Tru Thoughts Tru Thoughts is a British independent record label founded in Brighton in 1999 by Robert Luis and Paul Jonas. Since the acclaimed first album release of Bonobo's debut ''Animal Magic'', the label has put out over 200 LPs, across genres from e ...

independent record label contacted Kennedy on hearing the tracks and signed him. Having recorded in Mr Scruff's Stockport studio, Kennedy now lives and records in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, and regularly plays in both Bristol and London. His first three 12" singles, and his debut album, ''We're Just Waiting For You Now'' were released between 2001 and 2002 on Tru Thoughts. In 2002, Kennedy joined

Grand Central Records Grand Central Records was an independent record label based in the Northern Quarter of Manchester, England. It was started in 1995 by DJ Mark Rae (who, along with Steve Christian makes up the duo Rae & Christian). Rae started out working as ...

, releasing his second album in 2003. The album featured collaborations with new label-mates

Kate Rogers Kate Rogers is a Canadian singer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Biography Rogers was raised in rural Ontario and studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto for seven years. Her early career as a recording artist included vocals for G ...

and Aim, whom he also toured with. His third album, "Useless Wooden Toys" was released in 2005, on which he performed vocals on several tracks. As a live act, he performs with a six piece band and plays drums himself. The rest of the live band is made up of Dan Coggins on

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, Ben Thomas on bass, Naomi Hart on

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, Sarah Scott on

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and Bernard Moss of

Pork Recordings Pork Recordings is a record label based in Kingston upon Hull, East Yorkshire, England, that specialises in electronica, mostly in the downtempo or chill-out styles. Formed in the early 1990s by David "Porky" Brennand and Steve Cobby, its mo ...

on flute and

alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B ten ...

. Kennedy has also recorded under the aliases ''777'' and ''KRS Jon'', and under the group name ''Snare Force One'' with fellow musician, Fletch. In 2007, Kennedy started his own record label, The Jon Kennedy Federation. His first release on the new label is a 12" EP entitled ''Demons''. In May 2007 he toured China as drummer for the band

Kava Kava Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi) ...

and remixed their song "Tic" for Chocolate Fireguard Records.

Discography

Albums * ''We're Just Waiting For You Now'' (1 April 2001) * ''Take My Drum To England'' (25 August 2003) * '' Useless Wooden Toys'' (4 April 2005) * ''14'' (2009) * ''Strengthen the Roses'' (2012) * ''Corporeal'' (2013) * ''HA!'' (2017) * ''Mmxx'' (2020) 12" Singles * "Tell Me How You Feel" (27 November 2000) * "No TV EP" (2001) * "Chocolate And Cheese" (22 July 2002) * "East Is East" (21 July 2003) * "The Loafer" (21 July 2003) * "Way I Feel" (12 April 2004) * "On The Both Days" (3 March 2005) * "Demons" (4 June 2007) 12" Remixes * Barclay James Harvest - "Good Love Child" (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, 2008) * DJ Sept - "Morning Comes" (Equinox Records, 2008) * Evirgen - "Sudden" (Aber Records, 2007) *

Future Loop Foundation Mark Barrott (born 1968) is an English DJ and record producer. Early life and career Barrott was raised in Sheffield.Cooper, Duncan (9 March 2016)"Making Chill Music On An Island Is Just As Amazing As You’d Imagine" ''The Fader''. Retrieved 25 ...

- "Experimentation" (Louisiana Recordings, 2007) * Rough Edge Quartet - "Change" (TBC, 2007) * Mr. Bambu - "Lunar Eclipse Style" (Organik Records, 2007) * Watine - "Not A Pretence" (Catgang, 2007) *

- Tic ( Chocolate Fireguard Records, 2007) * Mod X - "Political Sun" 12" (Ice And Spice Records, 2006) * Aldo Vanucci - "When I See You Smile" 12" (Catskills Records, 2004) * The Baker Brothers - "Givson" from ''The Baker Brothers - Remixed'' 12" (Peddler, 2004) * Fletch - "Heavy Stepper 7" (7 Hills Records, 2004) * Dynamo Dresden - "In the End" from ''In The End (Remixes)'' 12" (Mada Music, 2003) * Soul 'n' Soda - "Tomorrow" 12" (Stereo Deluxe, 2003) *

Mujaji Queen Modjadji, or the Rain Queen, is the hereditary queen of Balobedu, a people of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The Rain Queen is believed to have special powers, including the ability to control the clouds and rainfall. Modjadji R ...

- "Siempre" from ''The FourFlavors EP'' (Bastard Jazz Recordings, 2003) * Aim - "The Girl Who Fell Through The Ice" 12" (

, 2002) * Switchstance 12" (2003) * Quantic - "Snakes In The Grass" from ''Apricot Morning'' 12" (

, 2002) * Hint - "Faderation" from "The Beau Selectah EP" (Deep-Water Records, 2002) * Bonobo - "Dinosaurs" from '' One Offs... Remixes & B-Sides'' CD (

, 2002)

References

External links

Jon Kennedy's official site

Jon Kennedy's Snare Force One Radio Show
on www.samurai.fm
Jon Kennedy is music editor for Modart Magazine

Jon Kennedy at Beijing Midi Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Jon English drummers British male drummers English electronic musicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people)