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The North Sea Radio Orchestra (NSRO) is an English
contemporary music
Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...
ensemble and cross-disciplinary
chamber orchestra
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...
(plus
chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
). Formed in 2002, the NSRO was set up mainly as a vehicle for the compositions of its musical director,
Craig Fortnam
Craig Edward Fortnam (born September 1967) is an English composer, conductor and musician. Fortnam is a skilled guitarist and bass guitarist, specialising in nylon-string acoustic guitar (which he plays in a style drawing on classical and Afr ...
, but has also performed works by
William D. Drake
William Derek Drake (born 7 February 1962) is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 ...
and
James Larcombe
James Larcombe (1884–1957) was a Labor politician from Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.
Early life
James Larcombe was born in Rockhampton, Queensland on 25 April 1884. His father, also named J ...
. The ensemble is notable for its post-modern fusion of
Romantic music
Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...
and later twentieth-century forms, and for its bridging of the worlds of
contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...
, British
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, London
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
and poetry (setting music to poems by
W.B. Yeats,
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
,
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
and Daniel Dundas Maitland).
Sound and presentation
The North Sea Radio Orchestra is an ensemble of varying size, drawing on a pool of up to twenty members. It performs compositions which range from single-instrument solos and voice-and-guitar duos up to full chamber-orchestra-and-choir pieces (and all points in between, including assorted trios, quartets, quintets etc.). The instrumentation within the ensemble features woodwind, strings, orchestral and electronic percussion,
nylon-string guitar
The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor ...
,
chamber organ
Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.
...
, piano and the human voice. Between six and ten members sing as "the North Sea Chorus".
Compositionally, the NSRO favours original material with elements of the following – tonal/melodic classical composition, English choral and festival music, modern and ancient
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, and
minimalism
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
. Some improvisation is also encouraged. The NSRO themselves cite influences including
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
, television composer
Vernon Elliott
Vernon Pelling Elliott (27 July 1912 – 12 October 1996) was a British bassoonist, conductor and composer.
Born into a musical family in 1912, Elliott took up the bassoon at a very early age. From then on he had an eventful, busy and very music ...
,
The Incredible String Band
The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer (musician), Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, esp ...
,
Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
, and more metaphysical influences such as "
London clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...
, water from the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
and shingle from
Bankside
Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befor ...
". Various critics have also made comparisons to the music of rock/classical/crossover musicians such as
Simon Jeffes
Simon Harry Piers Jeffes (19 February 1949 – 11 December 1997) was an English classically trained guitarist, composer and arranger. He formed, and was the primary performer of, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He was the composer of the ballet ''Sti ...
'
Penguin Café Orchestra
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) were an avant-pop band led by English guitarist Simon Jeffes. Co-founded with cellist Helen Liebmann, it toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The band's sound is not easily categorized, having elemen ...
, Sean O'Hagan's
High Llamas
The High Llamas are an Anglo-Irish avant-pop band formed in London circa 1991. They were founded by singer-songwriter Sean O'Hagan, formerly of Microdisney, with drummer Rob Allum and ex-Microdisney bassist Jon Fell. O'Hagan has led the group s ...
,
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
,
Clogs
Clogs are a type of footwear made in part or completely from wood. Used in many parts of the world, their forms can vary by culture, but often remained unchanged for centuries within a culture.
Traditional clogs remain in use as protective f ...
,
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...
,
Max Richter,
Nick Drake,
Virginia Astley
Virginia Astley (born 26 September 1959) is an English singer-songwriter most active during the 1980s and 1990s. Her songwriting career started in 1980. Her classical training influenced her as did a desire to be experimental with her music. Alt ...
,
Kate St John
Kate St John (born October 2, 1957) is an English composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Classically trained on oboe, she gained a music degree at City University London. Her first band was The Ravishing Beauties with Virginia A ...
and
Peter Warlock
Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occultism, occult practices, was used for all his ...
. Since 2010, the band has displayed a stronger influence of
Krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental 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 ...
.
Another frequently-cited compositional influence on the NSRO is
Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to:
Musicians
* T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter
*Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs
*Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and prod ...
, leader of the British psychedelic rock group
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
(which incorporates influences including
Early and
baroque music
Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...
). The NSRO is generally regarded as being part of the collection of varied musical groups connected with Cardiacs: it includes in its line-up one former and one current member of Cardiacs, plus at least five other musicians associated with the band.
For much of its existence, the NSRO was
nostalgic
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word, ...
in presentation and themes. Between 2002 and 2010, the poetry chosen for musical settings tended to be classic 18th /19th/ early 20th century pre-
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
material, chosen for "its natural song-like meter and rhyme". Craig Fortnam has also set modern texts written in the same nostalgic vein. The ensemble's subtler
post-modern
Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...
elements are generally restricted to the musical content. Since 2010, the band's work has focussed on setting Craig Fortnam's original lyrics.
History
Prehistory
While growing up in Kingston upon Thames and playing in psychedelic rock bands as a teenager, Craig Fortnam gravitated towards the cluster of bands surrounding the long-standing British psychedelic band
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
. He went on to study composition and guitar at
Dartington College of Arts
Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts college located at Dartington Hall in the south-west of England, offering courses at degree and postgraduate level together with an arts research programme. It existed for a period of almost 50 ...
. Graduating in 1990, he returned to London. During this period he composed material written for a variety of classical genres and ensembles, but also became involved with the London underground rock scene as a guitarist. One of the bands which he played in was the
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
acoustic band Lake of Puppies, led by Fortnam's friend (and former Cardiacs keyboard player)
William D. Drake
William Derek Drake (born 7 February 1962) is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 ...
. The band gigged infrequently and recorded a few tracks, but never released an album. However, the band also featured singer and bass guitarist Sharron Saddington, whom Fortnam fell in love with. The two would also become longtime musical partners, and following their marriage, she would become known as Sharron Fortnam.
In 1995, Craig and Sharron teamed up with two other former Cardiacs (saxophonist/keyboard player Sarah Smith and drummer Dominic Luckman) to form the
Shrubbies
The Shrubbies were an English pop group from Wallington, London, active from 1996 to 1998. The band was formed as Shrubby Veronica by Craig Fortnam (vocalist and guitarist), Sharron Saddington (vocalist and bass guitarist) and the former Cardia ...
. This band gigged enthusiastically in London for several years (playing concerts with like-minded bands such as
The Monsoon Bassoon
The Monsoon Bassoon were an English independent rock band active between 1995 and 2001, notable for their exceptionally complex and energetic music. During their lifespan, the band won the NME's Single Of The Week award three times (for three c ...
,
Podsdarapomuk and
Delicate AWOL) and released one eponymous EP in 1997 followed by the album ''Memphis in Texas'' in 1999. However, Fortnam began to become disillusioned with the poor etiquette and atmosphere he encountered at rock concerts, later recalling "I began to realise that most people were there for a social thing, and people were talking all the way through. That just started annoying me and I thought, 'I'll write music that doesn't have drums, that isn't loud, and we'll play places where people sit down and then they won't talk."
The Shrubbies split up in 1998,
and the now-married Fortnams opted to pursue a more ambitious and flexible project which could showcase both Craig's
contemporary classical compositions and Sharron's unconventional singing voice (which blended elements of classical
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
with folk and pop stylings). Recruiting several other musicians, they set up the North Sea Radio Orchestra.
2002–2003: The City Church concerts
The North Sea Radio Orchestra first appeared in public via a series of successful concerts in various antique churches within the square mile of the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
–
St Martin, Ludgate
St Martin, Ludgate, also known as St Martin within Ludgate, is an Anglican church on Ludgate Hill in the ward of Farringdon, in the City of London. The church is of medieval origin, but the present building dates from 1677 to 1684 and was design ...
;
St Clement Eastcheap
St Clement Eastcheap is a Church of England parish church in Candlewick Ward of the City of London. It is located on Clement's Lane, off King William Street and close to London Bridge and the River Thames.
Clement was a disciple of St Peter th ...
and
St Olave Hart Street. Taking place during 2002 and 2003, these concerts were publicised mainly by word-of-mouth. They were very much self-motivated occasions with a slightly antique/Edwardian feel (complete with home-made
art-deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the United ...
-styled concert programmes designed by Sharron Fortnam).
Members of NSRO for the first concert included the Fortnams, percussionist Hugh Wilkinson, cellist/composer
Harry Escott
Harry Escott (born 9 September 1976) is a British composer living in London. He has composed the scores to several films, including ''Shame'' (2011), ''Hard Candy'' (2005), '' A Mighty Heart'' (2007), and '' Ali & Ava'' (2021), for which he won ...
and organist/composer James Larcombe (of
Stars in Battledress
Stars in Battledress (SiB) was an organisation of entertainers who were members of the British Armed Forces during World War II.
History
In Britain, during the Second World War, entertainment was considered an essential to keep morale high. I ...
), all of whom would continue in the ensemble long-term. Other performers included Nick Hayes (clarinet). Inspired by the success of the first few concerts, the NSRO began to expand (ultimately becoming a twenty-person ensemble). While the instrumentalists were mostly drawn from the classical world, the
vocal chorus contained former Shrubbies concert-mates and collaborators from the Fortnams' time on the London
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
circuit. These included current and former members of
Stars in Battledress
Stars in Battledress (SiB) was an organisation of entertainers who were members of the British Armed Forces during World War II.
History
In Britain, during the Second World War, entertainment was considered an essential to keep morale high. I ...
,
The Monsoon Bassoon
The Monsoon Bassoon were an English independent rock band active between 1995 and 2001, notable for their exceptionally complex and energetic music. During their lifespan, the band won the NME's Single Of The Week award three times (for three c ...
and
Sidi Bou Said
Sidi Bou Said ( ar, سيدي بو سعيد ') is a town in northern Tunisia located about 20 km from the capital, Tunis.
Named for a religious figure who lived there, Abu Said al-Baji, it was previously called Jabal el-Menar. The town it ...
.
Stars in Battledress
Stars in Battledress (SiB) was an organisation of entertainers who were members of the British Armed Forces during World War II.
History
In Britain, during the Second World War, entertainment was considered an essential to keep morale high. I ...
frontman Richard Larcombe (brother of James) also shared some lead vocal parts with Sharron Fortnam. Later on, the Fortnam's former Lake of Puppies bandmate
William D. Drake
William Derek Drake (born 7 February 1962) is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 ...
joined the ensemble as chorus singer and occasional solo pianist.
A few demo CDs were also made available at this time. These included early recordings of Craig Fortnam's settings of
Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
's "The Flower" and "Every Day Hath Its Night" and the
Zappa-esque "Nest of Tables". Early (and very positive) reviews of both the EP and the concerts appeared in underground publications including ''
Organ'' and ''Evophonic''.
2004–2006: The NSRO gains wider attention
In October 2004 the NSRO played a concert at Bush Hall in West London which was reviewed by
John L. Walters 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 ...
. Walters drew attention to the initial difficulties in classifying the ensemble's music but drew positive conclusions: “Is it ironic? Romantic retro? Or post-minimalist
post-modernity
Postmodernity (post-modernity or the postmodern condition) is the economic or cultural state or condition of society which is said to exist ''after'' modernity. Some schools of thought hold that modernity ended in the late 20th century – in the ...
? Behold the eleven-piece
chamber orchestra
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...
beneath the chandeliers of Bush Hall, and you realise that Craig Fortnam, their leader and chief composer, is utterly serious in his quest for accessible, intelligent, non-trivial music…. What makes the NSRO special is Fortnam's gift for
orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...
, the deft and original way he puts deceptively simple materials in the hands of sophisticated performers. Melody pours from his pen on every page."
In 2005, the NSRO released their first formal EP ''The Flower'' (on seven-inch vinyl) on the tiny London independent label Oof! Records. It contained a re-recorded version of "The Flower", plus two more
Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
settings ("The Lintwhite" and "Move Eastward Happy Earth") and three instrumental pieces ("Music For Two Clarinets And Piano", "Organ Miniature No. 1" and "Nest of Tables"). On 22 October 2005 the NSRO played their first concert at
St Martin in the Fields,
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
, London.
On 31 July 2006 the North Sea Radio Orchestra performed at the Spitz, East London at a Music Orbit evening (a spin-off of the iF Festival) alongside NEM and Makeshift. The evening was presented as "a combination of
gamelan
Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...
, improvisation,
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 ...
and lyrical
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
." In September 2006, an NSRO track appeared on the
nu-folk
Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music.
Charac ...
compilation album ''Folk Off: New Folk and Psychedelia from the British Isles and North America'' – this was the Craig Fortnam solo performance of “Guitar Miniature”.
The NSRO performed at the Spitz again on 28 October 2006 (supported by
William D. Drake
William Derek Drake (born 7 February 1962) is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 ...
). This concert received a five-star review in the
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
which nominated the "superbly disciplined chamber ensemble" as "the kind of deserving enterprise the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
should really be throwing money at," and singled out praise for Sharon Fortnam's voice as possessing "dazzling, pre-industrial clarity." Reviewing the same concert, underground e-zine Bubblejam commented on the intimate quality of the music and the quality of the concert itself – "not unlike being at a church service or a poetry recital – the crowd were completely rapt and utterly silent." The reviewer also concluded "for an all too brief time, they evoke an atmosphere of timeless beauty in the otherwise harsh environs of the
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
. If I met an extra-terrestrial and wanted to communicate the concept of Englishness quickly and easily, I could do a lot worse than to play them the music of the North Sea Radio Orchestra."
2006: Release of debut album
In October 2006 the NSRO released their debut album – ''
North Sea Radio Orchestra
The North Sea Radio Orchestra (NSRO) is an English contemporary music ensemble and cross-disciplinary chamber orchestra (plus chorus). Formed in 2002, the NSRO was set up mainly as a vehicle for the compositions of its musical director, Craig F ...
'' – on Oof! Records. The album was recorded, engineered and mastered by former
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
member
Mark Cawthra
Mark Cawthra is an English musician and record producer working in the UK. He was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.
Biography
Cawthra's first serious musical activity was in an early (unnamed) music project with schoolfriend ...
and contained much of the ensemble's live set from the past three years. Tracks included Fortnam's settings of
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
's "Shelley's Skylark",
Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
' "He Gives His Beloved Certain Rhymes" and "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven", plus new instrumental "Kingstanding" and the part-instrumental/part-choral "Chimes". Other members also contributed material. William D Drake provided "Bill's March" and "
Mimnermus in Church" – the latter a Drake setting of a poem by
William Johnson Cory
William Johnson Cory (9 January 1823 – 11 June 1892), born William Johnson, was an English educator and poet. He was dismissed from his post at Eton College, Eton for encouraging a culture of intimacy, possibly non-sexual, between teachers and ...
with orchestrations by Craig Fortnam – and Sharron and Craig Fortnam co-wrote the folk song "Joy For My Heart".
The album received plenty of critical praise. Word Magazine called it "a beautiful debut.... unreservedly recommended," while Leeds Guide praised "a style of songwriting and a lyricism (nostalgic, pastoral, quaint) which is peculiarly English and suddenly, in their hands, timeless" and their reviewer dubbed the recording "one of the best albums, whatever the genre, that I have heard this year." Playlouder.com claimed that "North Sea Radio Orchestra splash colour into every corner of the speakers with a regal splendour and effervescent celebration of God, Nature or whatever it is you may wish to call it."
In the underground press, Art Rocker praised the NSRO for "doing something really quite special.....in their ability to ebb and sway and permeate through styles without erring away from the constant series of lush orchestrations", and hailed the record as "the most beautiful album of the year… could surely sway even the most ardent
distortion-pedal freak to step back and open their minds and hearts to this." Foggy Notions called it "an everchanging trip, blooming with melody and twinkling beauty from start to finish," while Subba Cultcha commented that the ensemble's music was "stepping easily between genres, sometimes classical, sometimes
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
; inspired and compelling and often magical, like the soundtrack to a film that hasn't been made yet. It's a thoughtful, melodic and calming record that is sure to attract fans way beyond its classical base." A review in Boomkat (while drawing attention to the NSRO's "idiosyncratic bombast", "cartoonishly
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
melodies" and "unbridled eccentricity") praised the orchestra's "considerable performance skills and elegant arrangements", and concluded that the album was "a fairly surreal experience all round."
2007–2008: Further afield
On 26 January 2007 the North Sea Radio Orchestra returned to Bush Hall for another concert (supported again by
William D. Drake
William Derek Drake (born 7 February 1962) is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 ...
). On 3 March they played their first concert outside London, at St Michael's Church,
Blewsbury, Berkshire. This was followed by another appearance at
St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields is the Anglican parish church of the St Giles district of London. It stands within the London Borough of Camden and belongs to the Diocese of London. The church, named for St Giles the Hermit, began as a monastery and ...
in London on 27 April. On 2 July the NSRO released the 7-inch vinyl-only EP ''End of Chimes''. This featured an edit of the album centrepiece "Chimes" plus three entirely new tracks ("Guitar Miniature No2", "Hurdy Gurdy Miniature", "The Tide Rises the Tide Falls") and was hailed as "a highly entertaining discovery" by Drowned in Sound and as "gentle, lush and frankly beguiling" by SoundsXP.
Later in the year, the NSRO performed two of their highest profile concerts to date – the first being a slot at the
Green Man Festival
The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...
in August, and the second being a performance at
the Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, ...
,
Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden.
History
Manor of Rugmere
Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentioned in ...
, London, on 19 November. In December 2007 the NSRO version of the hymn "O Come O Come Emanuel" appeared on the compilation album ''The Arctic Circle Presents: That Fuzzy Feeling'' ( a collection of Christmas songs). The NSRO played live to promote the album at a concert at the
Union Chapel, London on 5 December 2007 (alongside
Ellis Island Sound
Ellis Island Sound are an instrumental band from London, England, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Peter Astor (formerly of The Loft, The Weather Prophets) and David Sheppard (of State River Widening).
Background
The band formed in 1996, a ...
,
Mara Carlyle
Mara Carlyle (born 1974 or 1975) is an English singer-songwriter, producer, and arranger who also plays the musical saw and the ukulele. She was raised in Shropshire, England and now lives in London.
Career
Carlyle's first recorded appearance w ...
,
David Julyan and
The Dollboy Windpipe Arkestra).
2008 saw the North Sea Radio Orchestra performing more concerts outside London. During the first half of the year they made an appearance at the
Jacqueline Du Pre Music Rooms in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in January 2008, and performed at the
Friends Meeting House, Brighton on 16 March 2008 supported by Crayola Lectern.
The Brighton concert was notably in that (despite a very positive audience response) it generated the first negative press for the ensemble. ''
The Stool Pigeon'' criticised the nostalgic quality of the NSRO's music commenting that "it's frequently a fine and lovely thing. But in some ways it can't help feeling like a retreat… Certainly there are moments of beauty, but ultimately it's like stepping back into an alternate, pre-war England where rock'n’roll – not to mention mass industrialisation and immigration – never happened. Which is fine for a night, but I wouldn't want to stay."
Notorious underground music commentator
Everett True
Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...
was considerably more scornful in his Hugs And Kisses blog (reprinted in
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
), castigating the band for "po-faced snobbery" and "baroque warbling" and comparing them unfavourably to their more
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...
inclined support act: “Crayola Lectern tick the same high musicality boxes as the band that followed, sure: but possess one crucial factor that the North Sea Radio Malarkey just don’t, just don’t get. They have ''heart''.” Conversely, Chris Anderson of Crayola Lectern – in his own blogged review of the same concert – described the NSRO as "perfectly formed and rather marvellous... a magnificent creation."
The NSRO played in
Malvern
Malvern or Malverne may refer to:
Places Australia
* Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide
* Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
* City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne
* Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...
in July 2008 (although with only a two-person line-up) and returned in full strength to the
Green Man Festival
The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...
in August. On 27 September 2008 the NSRO performed an "open rehearsal" at the
Purcell Room
The Purcell Room is a concert and performance venue which forms part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London's leading cultural complexes. It is named after the 17th century English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats. The Purcell Roo ...
,
Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge).
It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...
, London in a double bill with
Ted Barnes
Clayhill was a British three-piece folk band comprising Ali Friend, Ted Barnes and vocalist Gavin Clark. They released their debut album ''Small Circle'' in 2004, and released two EPs and another LP, ''Mine at Last'' (2006). Throughout the su ...
. This was part of the Open Weekend event (itself part of the 2008 Cultural Oympiad).
2008: Release of second album ''Birds''
A second North Sea Radio Orchestra album – ''
Birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
'' – was released on 1 December 2008 on Oof! Records (with the band performing a concert at
St Martin in the Fields on 18 November 2008, to promote it). The album contained a version of previous EP lead track "The Flower" and another long-standing NSRO Tennyson setting, "Move Eastward Happy Earth", plus further settings of poems by
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
("Now Welcom Somer") and
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
("The Angel", "A Poison Tree" and "Golden Cage").
Reviews of the album were generally positive. Isle of Man Today described ''Birds'' as "effortlessly beautiful to listen to… NSRO manage to take you back centuries to an ancient form of music while retaining an eerie ability to remain thoroughly modern… ''Birds'' has a distinctly non-conformist sound but nevertheless achieves its aim with quiet, reserved gusto. NSRO aren't about to go on a media rampage shouting about how good they are; the whole project is far too middle-class for that. But by putting out ''Birds'' they are giving their audience a knowing wink. They realise they've created a fine piece of work and you can feel the confidence growing from track to track."
Cambridgeshire Times called the album "an intriguing proposition ''(which)'' feels at times like it's just been unearthed from an archaeological dig alongside some ancient flagstones. Organ, violins, clarinet, bassoon and oboe feature heavily alongside acoustic guitar, drum, percussion and choral parts, conjuring up images of royal court musicians… ''(The album)'' straddles the less crowded end of 60s folk and revives traditional chamber music, managing to sound timeless and refreshing rather than hopelessly outdated. A calming record of quality musicianship and carefully woven melodies." The review also praised Sharron Fortnam as being "a beguiling embodiment of a cut-glass English Rose singer, delicate, classical, strong and capable."
Reviewing ''Birds'' in issue 181, Mojo described the album as sounding like "
Tortoise
Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...
reworked by
Howard Goodall
Howard Lindsay Goodall (; born 26 May 1958) is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was na ...
" and suggested "there's charm and melody aplenty, but the churchier excursions suggest bourgeois smugness – Blake would not approve." In the underground music press, the Name Someone That's Not A Parasite music blog hailed the NSRO as "(the) band
British Sea Power
Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rival ...
wish they could be! These guys are like a latter day
Incredible String Band
The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially in the British ...
mess of uniquely Anglican eccentricity." Describing the NSRO's music as "kitchen-sink folk" Subba Cultcha commented that ''Birds'' was "something quite magical, but at times cringingly twee and fluffy, but in terms of artistic endeavour, it's a tour-de-force in no uncertain terms. Part classical, part folk, part something entirely new, if you fancy dipping your toe in something a bit different, then this is a great rock pool to do it in."
Organ lavishly praised the album, saying that "North Sea Radio Orchestra are blossoming in a rather fine way now with their inviting mix of delicate English prog and 20th century classical pastoral folk. Harmonically rich and fluid in a
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 ...
,
Art Bears
Art Bears were an England, English avant-rock Musical ensemble, 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 Kr ...
,
Incredible String Band
The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially in the British ...
kind of way... A fine mix of delicate English folk and something that has evolved out of fine traditions of chamber music… ''Birds'' is an album pulling gently in two distinct ways. One direction; nice, simple, sitting in a sunny field, female-voiced acoustic folk, the other towards a rarer thing, this fusion of English medieval progressive classical, chamber orchestral music, via
Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
,
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
,
Vernon Elliott
Vernon Pelling Elliott (27 July 1912 – 12 October 1996) was a British bassoonist, conductor and composer.
Born into a musical family in 1912, Elliott took up the bassoon at a very early age. From then on he had an eventful, busy and very music ...
,
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 ...
. In the end, it all works as a melodic spirited integral classical whole. Always more than just decorating modern music with classical instrumentation, at its core a real orchestra, this is something that's both timeless and enchantingly beautiful – a very fine, very enjoyable rather magical album."
2009–2010: Selective gigging, Arch Garrison, Vernon Elliott and ''Leader of the Starry Skies''
Following the release of ''Birds'', NSRO appearances and activity became rarer, partly due to Craig Fortnam's concentration on a smaller-scale project called Arch Garrison, the live line-up of which also featured Sharron Fortnam and James Larcombe. (The project's debut album was released on Double Six/Domino Records in February 2010.)
Despite this, North Sea Radio Orchestra performed several concerts in 2009. On 29 May they performed a free concert in Brixton Library, London, as part of Lambeth Readers and Writers Festival. On 11 July they performed at the 'Les Tombees de la Nuit' Festival in the Opera House in Rennes, Brittany. On 22 October they played at the Union Chapel, London, as part of the Marginalise Concert Series organised by the Arctic Circle label, performing the music of one of their leading influences,
Vernon Elliot
Vernon Pelling Elliott (27 July 1912 – 12 October 1996) was a British bassoonist, conductor and composer.
Born into a musical family in 1912, Elliott took up the bassoon at a very early age. From then on he had an eventful, busy and very music ...
(arranged by Craig Fortnam and fellow composer
Laura Rossi). The playlist featured music from the animated television series ''The Clangers'', ''Ivor the Engine'' and ''Pogles Wood''.
In December 2010, an NSRO cover version of the
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
song "March" appeared on ''
Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute To Tim Smith, Songbook 1'', a fundraising compilation album to benefit the hospitalised
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
leader
Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to:
Musicians
* T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter
*Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs
*Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and prod ...
.
2011–present: Third album ''I a Moon,'' fourth album ''Dronne''
The third North Sea Radio Orchestra album, ''
I a Moon'', was released on 4 July 2011. Craig Fortnam composed the music for the album during the winter of 2010/2011, and the album was recorded at various locations in southern England on his laptop computer.
Prior to release, the band announced a number of changes in approach. Firstly, the album would have a "darker, less pastoral sound" with new influences including
Krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental 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 ...
and experimental indie band
Deerhoof
Deerhoof are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noi ...
(and with more emphasis on synthesizer and percussion than previously). Secondly, that there would be a move away from setting poetry in favour of setting self-written lyrics. The band also announced that 'I a Moon' would be released on their own new label, called The Household Mark, on 4 July 2011.
The band also announced a series of live dates for summer 2011, including a repeat performance of the Vernon Elliot music at Kings Place, London, on 10 June, further visits to the Quaker Meeting House in Brighton (10 July) and St Martin-in-the-Fields (15 July) and appearances accompanying indie-folk band
Stornoway at the Eastleigh Festival (8 July) and at London's
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...
(9 July).
In September 2016, the ensemble released its fourth album, ''
Dronne
The Dronne (, also , ; oc, Drona) is a long river in southwestern France, right tributary of the Isle. Its source is in the north-western Massif Central, east of the town of Châlus (south-west of Limoges) at an elevation of . It flows south-wes ...
.'' On 2 January 2019, the band released ''
Gap Species'', a collection of recordings from 1998 to 2006, through
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...
.
Craig was invited to arrange for the NSRO
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...
's immortal masterpiece
Rock Bottom. Eventually in 2017 performed in Lyon live with John Greaves. The Henry Cow founder asked his label based in Italy, Dark Companion Records, if they could be interested in produce a show and an album. So Max Marchini of Dark Companion eventually produced the critically acclaimed "Folly Bololey" with Greaves and Annie Barbazza as lead singer.
The album has liner noted by Robert Wyatt and Jonathan Coe.
Ensemble members
Current ensemble members
*
Craig Fortnam
Craig Edward Fortnam (born September 1967) is an English composer, conductor and musician. Fortnam is a skilled guitarist and bass guitarist, specialising in nylon-string acoustic guitar (which he plays in a style drawing on classical and Afr ...
– composer, arranger, conductor, nylon-string acoustic guitar, piano, chamber organ, laptop computer, voice
* Sharron Fortnam – solo voice
*
James Larcombe
James Larcombe (1884–1957) was a Labor politician from Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.
Early life
James Larcombe was born in Rockhampton, Queensland on 25 April 1884. His father, also named J ...
– composer, chamber organ, piano, monosynth,
* Hugh Wilkinson – percussion
*
Harry Escott
Harry Escott (born 9 September 1976) is a British composer living in London. He has composed the scores to several films, including ''Shame'' (2011), ''Hard Candy'' (2005), '' A Mighty Heart'' (2007), and '' Ali & Ava'' (2021), for which he won ...
– cello
* Brian Wright – violin
* Luke Crookes – bassoon
* Nicola Baigent – clarinet
Previous ensemble members
* Nick Hayes – clarinet
* Nick Homes – clarinet
*
Richard Larcombe – solo voice, acoustic guitar
* Marit Lyngra – violin
* Dan Hewson – trombone
* Katja Mervola – viola
* Jen Underhill – violin
* Geraldine Peach – oboe, North Sea Chorus
*
William D. Drake
William Derek Drake (born 7 February 1962) is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 ...
– composer, piano, North Sea Chorus
* Suzi Kirby – North Sea Chorus
* Louise Harrison – North Sea Chorus
* Gideon Miller – North Sea Chorus
*
Kavus Torabi
Kavus Torabi ( fa, كاووس تورابى; born 5 December 1971) is a British-Iranian musician and composer, record label owner and broadcaster. A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field (prima ...
– North Sea Chorus
*
Melanie Woods – North Sea Chorus
* Dug Parker – solo voice, North Sea Chorus
* Luke Albery – solo voice, North Sea Chorus acoustic guitar
* Ben Davies – piano, chamber organ, North Sea Chorus
* Jez Wiles – percussion
* Sara Longe – violin
Musical connections
*
Craig Fortnam
Craig Edward Fortnam (born September 1967) is an English composer, conductor and musician. Fortnam is a skilled guitarist and bass guitarist, specialising in nylon-string acoustic guitar (which he plays in a style drawing on classical and Afr ...
also plays in Arch Garrison with NSRO bandmate James Larcombe (and sometimes Sharron Fortnam). Craig and Sharron Fortnam occasionally play acoustic alternative pop with William D. Drake under the name of The fFortingtons.
*
William D. Drake
William Derek Drake (born 7 February 1962) is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 ...
is a former member of
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
, Nervous, and Wood, and maintains a solo career as both songwriter and underground classical pianist
*
Harry Escott
Harry Escott (born 9 September 1976) is a British composer living in London. He has composed the scores to several films, including ''Shame'' (2011), ''Hard Candy'' (2005), '' A Mighty Heart'' (2007), and '' Ali & Ava'' (2021), for which he won ...
is a composer who has had pieces commissioned by Westminster Cathedral Choir, The Fitzwilliam String Quartet and The Chamber Ensemble of London, in addition to his work in film, TV and theatre. In collaboration with Molly Nyman, he has composed music for (among others) ''Hard Candy'', Channel 4's ''Poppy Shakespeare'' and Michael Winterbottom's ''A Mighty Heart'' and ''Road To Guantanamo''. His film music is performed by his own group, The Samphire Band, in which Craig Fortnam plays guitar.
* Richard and James Larcombe work together as
Stars in Battledress
Stars in Battledress (SiB) was an organisation of entertainers who were members of the British Armed Forces during World War II.
History
In Britain, during the Second World War, entertainment was considered an essential to keep morale high. I ...
and are frequent collaborators with
William D. Drake
William Derek Drake (born 7 February 1962) is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 ...
. Richard has also worked as Defeat The Young and Lost Crowns, and is the former frontman of Magnilda.
*
Kavus Torabi
Kavus Torabi ( fa, كاووس تورابى; born 5 December 1971) is a British-Iranian musician and composer, record label owner and broadcaster. A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field (prima ...
is the leader of
Knifeworld
Knifeworld is a British-based psychedelic rock band led by Kavus Torabi. Originally a Torabi solo project, it became a full band in summer 2009.
Knifeworld has connections with various English musical projects both inside and outside the ro ...
(in which Craig Fortnam previously played bass), the current guitarist for both
Guapo and
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 ...
, and a former member of
The Monsoon Bassoon
The Monsoon Bassoon were an English independent rock band active between 1995 and 2001, notable for their exceptionally complex and energetic music. During their lifespan, the band won the NME's Single Of The Week award three times (for three c ...
and
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
. He has also worked with Spider Stacy (
The Pogues
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...
),
Chrome Hoof
Chrome Hoof are an experimental chamber rock orchestra based in London, England. The group was formed in 2000 by Cathedral bassist Leo Smee and his brother Milo Smee. Initially performing as a duo, their music was mostly electronic. Sinc ...
and
Mediaeval Baebes
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
* Kavus Torabi and Richard and James Larcombe are all members of
sea shanty
A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ''shanty ...
band Admirals Hard.
* Melanie Woods is a member of
Sidi Bou Said
Sidi Bou Said ( ar, سيدي بو سعيد ') is a town in northern Tunisia located about 20 km from the capital, Tunis.
Named for a religious figure who lived there, Abu Said al-Baji, it was previously called Jabal el-Menar. The town it ...
and also sings in Knifeworld.
* Luke Albery is also the frontman of the rock band Footsteps And Voices.
* Luke Crookes works with the Philharmonia Orchestra (London) and has recorded for Olympia Records: he is also a music educator and animator.
* Sara Longe is also a member of the Ebony Ensemble.
* Brian Wright is a member of Instrumental, a string sextet who perform extensively at contemporary music festivals in Europe, covering the music of electronic acts such as
Orbital,
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
, and
Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
.
* Sara Longe, Suzy Kirby, Harry Escott, Ben Davies and Sharron Fortnam have all worked with
Wildhearts
The Wildhearts are an English rock band, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as the Beatles and 1980s- ...
songwriter
Ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
(on the
''Yoni'' album).
Discography
Albums
* ''
North Sea Radio Orchestra
The North Sea Radio Orchestra (NSRO) is an English contemporary music ensemble and cross-disciplinary chamber orchestra (plus chorus). Formed in 2002, the NSRO was set up mainly as a vehicle for the compositions of its musical director, Craig F ...
'' (2006, Oof! Records)
* ''
Birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
'' (2008, Oof! Records)
* ''
I a Moon'' (2011, The Household Mark)
* ''
Dronne
The Dronne (, also , ; oc, Drona) is a long river in southwestern France, right tributary of the Isle. Its source is in the north-western Massif Central, east of the town of Châlus (south-west of Limoges) at an elevation of . It flows south-wes ...
'' (2016, The Household Mark)
* ''Folly Bololey - The Music Of Robert Wyatt NSRO/Greaves/Barbazza'' (2019, Dark Companion)
*''
Gap Species'' (2019, The Household Mark)
Singles and EPs
* "North Sea Radio Orchestra" (2003, private release)
* "The Flower" (2005, Oof! Records)
* "The End of Chimes" (2007, Oof! Records)
Compilation appearances
* ''Folk Off: New Folk and Psychedelia from the British Isles and North America'' (2006, Sunday Best Recordings – NSRO contributes “Guitar Miniature”)
* ''The Arctic Circle Presents: That Fuzzy Feeling'' (2007, Arctic Circle Records – NSRO contributes “O Come O Come Emanuel”)
* ''
Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith, Songbook 1'' (2011 – Believer's Roast – NSRO contributes 'March')
References
External links
North Sea Radio Orchestra homepageNorth Sea Radio Orchestra @ MySpaceNorth Sea Radio Orchestra “End Of Chimes” videoon YouTube
(interview with Craig Fortnam by Ben Graham), The Stool Pigeon, 22 June 2011
NSRO member Luke Crookes analyses Beethoven's Ninth Symphony – video on YouTube
{{Authority control
2002 establishments in England
British instrumental musical groups
British orchestras
Chamber music groups
Contemporary classical music ensembles
Crossover (music)
Musical groups established in 2002