Jonathan Julian Hopkins (born 15 August 1979)
is an English musician and producer who writes and performs
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
. He began his career playing keyboards for
Imogen Heap
Imogen Jennifer Heap (born 9 December 1977) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Her work has been considered pioneering in pop and electropop music.
Heap classically trained in piano, cello and clarinet starting at ...
, and has produced but also contributed to albums by
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 ...
,
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
,
David Holmes and others.
Hopkins composed the soundtrack for the 2010 film ''
Monsters
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
'',
which was nominated for an
Ivor Novello Award
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
for Best Original Score. His third studio album, ''
Insides'', reached no. 15 on the US
Dance/Electronic Albums
Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Dance/Electronic Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling electronic music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by ...
chart in 2009.
His collaborations on ''
Small Craft on a Milk Sea
''Small Craft on a Milk Sea'' is a 2010 album by British musician and record producer Brian Eno. The album—his debut with Warp—was released in Japan on 19 October 2010, in the United States on 2 November, and the United Kingdom on 15 Novembe ...
'' with Brian Eno and
Leo Abrahams
Leo Matthew Abrahams (born 1977 in Camden, London) is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated with a multitude of professional musicians, including Brian Eno, Katie Melua, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, Regina ...
and ''
Diamond Mine
There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where dia ...
'' with
King Creosote
Kenny Anderson (born January 1967), known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest full length, '' Astronaut Meets Apple ...
both reached no. 82 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
.
Both of his albums ''Diamond Mine'' (2011) and ''
Immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
'' (2013) were nominated for the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
.
His fifth studio album ''
Singularity'' received a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album in December 2018.
Hopkins's sixth studio album, ''
Music for Psychedelic Therapy
''Music for Psychedelic Therapy'' is the sixth studio album by English electronic music producer Jon Hopkins, released on 12 November 2021 by Domino Recording Company.
Release
On 2 September 2021, Jon Hopkins announced the release of his sixth st ...
'', was released on 12 November 2021.
Early life and education
Jon Hopkins was born in 1979 in Kingston upon Thames and grew up in nearby
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
. He first became aware of
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
after hearing early
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
on the radio at the age of seven or eight, and also became a fan of
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
and the
Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...
.
These records inspired an early fascination with
synths
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
.
At the age of 12 Hopkins began studying piano at the Junior Department of the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
in London, where he continued until age 17.
The composers that were greatly influential to him whilst studying were
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
and
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
, and he eventually won a competition to perform a concert of Ravel's
Piano Concerto in G
Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major, was composed between 1929 and 1931. The concerto is in three movements, with a total playing time of a little over 20 minutes. Ravel said that in this piece he was not aiming to be profound but to enterta ...
with an orchestra.
For a time Hopkins considered becoming a professional pianist, only to decide classical performance was too formal and unnerving to pursue full-time.
As a teenager he also listened to
acid house
Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...
, early
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
,
grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
,
as well as
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 ...
artists such as
Acen
Acen Razvi is an English breakbeat hardcore/techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats ...
,
Seefeel
Seefeel are a British electronic and post-rock band formed in the early 1990s by Mark Clifford (guitar, programming), Daren Seymour (bass), Justin Fletcher (drums, programming), and Sarah Peacock (vocals, guitar). Their work became known for fu ...
, and
Plaid
Plaid () may refer to:
Fabric
* Full plaid, a cloth made with a tartan pattern, wrapped around the waist, cast over the shoulder and fastened at the front
* A synonym for tartan in North America
* A plaid shirt, typically of flannel and worn du ...
.
When Hopkins was 14 he got his first computer, an
Amiga 500
The Amiga 500, also known as the A500, is the first low-end version of the Amiga home computer. It contains the same Motorola 68000 as the Amiga 1000, as well as the same graphics and sound coprocessors, but is in a smaller case similar to that ...
, and started programming
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
material.
By the age of 15 he had saved up enough money from winning piano competitions to buy a low-level professional
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
synth
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
,
and on this he began creating his first full-length electronic compositions.
Career
1997–2004: Early years
After finishing his final exams at age 17, Hopkins accompanied his friend
Leo Abrahams
Leo Matthew Abrahams (born 1977 in Camden, London) is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated with a multitude of professional musicians, including Brian Eno, Katie Melua, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, Regina ...
to an audition for
Imogen Heap
Imogen Jennifer Heap (born 9 December 1977) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Her work has been considered pioneering in pop and electropop music.
Heap classically trained in piano, cello and clarinet starting at ...
's backing band. Hopkins decided to audition as well, and was hired to handle both keyboard and samples, while Abrahams was hired as guitarist.
He toured with the new band for the entirety of 1998.
In 1999 Hopkins signed with boutique London label Just Music as a solo artist, and began recording his debut album ''Opalescent''. At the time he was also working part-time as a studio session musician.
''Opalescent'' attracted positive press attention upon its release, and several tracks were licensed to ''
Sex and the City
''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
''.
''
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 ...
'' reviewed it as "a beautifully realized debut. Using synth oozes, phased and echoed guitars and pianos and chilled beats, his wonderful tunes drift from calm to eerie power like a restless sea. It will delight any lovers of beautiful music." ''
DJ Magazine
''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...
'' gave it 4/5 stars, and stated "Piano, guitar strings and slow beats blend like the clouds at sunset (or an opiate smoothy) filtering in and out like elegantly wasted beauty. Darker drums add a further depth."
Hopkins released his second album, ''Contact Note'', on Just Music in 2004 while still working as a studio musician. The album slowly gained an underground following but failed to take off, and led Hopkins to become disillusioned with his solo career, and take a break from writing to learn how to become a producer.
2004–2007: Work with Brian Eno and Coldplay
By 2004, Abrahams had been collaborating for some time with
ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
musician and producer
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 ...
. Abrahams played some of Hopkins' second record for Eno, and Eno invited him to join them for a jam session. On the first day of their collaboration they came up with some of the music for Eno's upcoming album ''
Another Day on Earth
''Another Day on Earth'' is the twenty-fourth solo studio album by Brian Eno, released on 13 June 2005 in the UK and Europe through Hannibal Records, and on 14 June 2005 in the US.
Overview
This is the first Eno album to chiefly contain voc ...
'',
and Hopkins became a long-term collaborator.
Shortly afterwards Hopkins produced
King Creosote
Kenny Anderson (born January 1967), known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest full length, '' Astronaut Meets Apple ...
's album ''
Bombshell'', which initiated his relationship with the
Fence Collective
Fence Records is a Scottish independent record label based in Anstruther and Crail, Fife, Scotland, founded by musician King Creosote. Fence Records released records by James Yorkston, Rozi Plain, Lone Pigeon, U.N.P.O.C., Kid Canaveral, eagleow ...
. He also co-wrote tracks with DJ and composer
David Holmes for Holmes' ''Holy Pictures'' album, and remixed for
James Yorkston
James Yorkston (born James Patrick Yorkston Wright; 21 December 1971) is a Scottish folk musician, singer-songwriter and author from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife. He has been releasing music since 2001. As well as recording as a solo artist, ...
.
In 2007, Hopkins was invited by Eno, who was producing
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
's upcoming album ''
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'', often referred to as simply ''Viva la Vida'', is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 12 June 2008 on the Parlophone label. "Viva la vida" is a Spanish phrase that tra ...
'', to join the band in the studio for a day.
Hopkins ended up staying and contributing to the album for the next year, co-producing
several tracks and playing
organs
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a fu ...
,
harmoniums
The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...
, and other keyboard instruments on others. The intro to the track "
Violet Hill
"Violet Hill" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008). Built around a repeating guitar sound, it utilises a marching tempo, ...
" came from an improvisation with Hopkins and
Davide Rossi
Davide Rossi (born 7 August 1970) is an Italian violinist, string arranger, composer, conductor and a record producer, perhaps best known for having been the violinist, guitar and keytar-player for the British electronic music duo Goldfrapp fr ...
, the album's string arranger. Throughout this period Hopkins was periodically creating his own solo tracks, and his song "Light Through the Veins" was adapted to serve as the introduction to the album's first track "
Life in Technicolor
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...
". "Light Through the Veins" was also picked by the band to serve as the backing for the track "The Escapist", which is
hidden at the end of the album.
''Viva la Vida'' was released in 2008, and won
Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sever ...
at the
2009 Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...
and became the best-selling album of 2008. Coldplay asked Hopkins to serve as the pre-show DJ and opening act for their 2008 world tour.
Hopkins toured with the band for six months through England, the United States, and Japan.
He performed at venues including
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
and the London
O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to:
*The O2 Arena (London)
*O2 Arena (Prague)
*The 3Arena
The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decemb ...
,
with crowds as large as 20,000 people.
2008–2013: ''Entity''; production
![Jon Hopkins (3679985832)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Jon_Hopkins_%283679985832%29.jpg)
In 2008 Hopkins was commissioned by choreographer
Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...
to compose music for ''Entity'', a production of McGregor's "Random Dance" group. ''Entity'' was performed live at
Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...
in April 2008 to critical acclaim. A world tour followed throughout 2008 and 2009.
Hopkins also has co-writing or producing credits on albums by artists such as
David Holmes and Dan Arborise.
He is also known for remixing a variety of artists, including
Wild Beasts
Wild Beasts were an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in Kendal. They released their first single, "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants", on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and subsequently signed to Domino Records. They have rele ...
,
Nosaj Thing
Jason W. Chung (born January 27, 1985), better known as Nosaj Thing, is an American artist, record producer, and DJ based in Los Angeles, California. He has produced tracks for Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi, Julianna Barwick, and i ...
, Imogen Heap,
Four Tet
Kieran Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting UK albums such as '' Rounds'' ( ...
,
and
James Yorkston
James Yorkston (born James Patrick Yorkston Wright; 21 December 1971) is a Scottish folk musician, singer-songwriter and author from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife. He has been releasing music since 2001. As well as recording as a solo artist, ...
.
He was also one of the few producers chosen by
Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to:
*BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC
** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music
*CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...
's
Rob Da Bank
Robert John Gorham (born 24 June 1973 in Portsmouth, Hampshire), known by the pseudonym Rob da Bank, is an English DJ and co-founder of music festivals Bestival, originally on the Isle of Wight and now moved to Lulworth, Dorset and Camp Besti ...
to remix film director
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
's first electronica release, "Good Day Today" / "I Know", which was released on Sunday Best Records.
2008–2009: ''Insides''
Hopkins signed to
Domino Recording Company
Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...
in late 2008.
Hopkins's third album, ''
Insides'', was released by Domino Records on 5 May 2009.
It included the track "Light Through the Veins", which had previously been used on the
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
album, ''
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'', often referred to as simply ''Viva la Vida'', is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 12 June 2008 on the Parlophone label. "Viva la vida" is a Spanish phrase that tra ...
''. Some of the tracks had been written by Hopkins sporadically since his last release, while others were based on the music he had composed for the ''Entity'' production.
Hopkins developed an intense live show to support the release, resulting in club and festival performances across Europe and the United States. He secured supporting slots with
The xx
The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...
,
Röyksopp
Röyksopp (), a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø formed in 1998. The duo consists of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland.
Berge and Brundtland were introduced to each other through a mutual friend in Tromsø, Norway. They enjoye ...
, and Four Tet.
Many of his live shows used background visuals featuring the animations of Vince Collins.
''Insides'' charted at no. 15 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' listed the album as one of the top ten electronic albums of 2009.
According to reviews, the album "takes its cues from
ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
electronica, but uses strings and piano, along with some very tasty beats and
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...
-influenced bass on some tracks."
''TinyMixTapes'' stated the album
strikes me as his single most aggressive release yet. His sense of timing, the clarity of his production, and the variety of effects he employs draw you into the story that each instrumental tells. Jon Hopkins is not a button-pushing man of presets; he is a bona fide composer and a trained pianist. Craftsmanship sets him apart, and allows ''Insides'' to be as incredibly moving as it is and always will be. It will easily be one of the best electronic albums of 2009.
Paul Clarke of the BBC wrote that
Hopkins scapable of producing music as epic, soaring and emotional as any power ballad in his own way. Take "Light Through The Veins" for example ... a close relative of Ulrich Schnauss
Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020.
Biography
Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...
' "In All the Wrong Places", it's a majestic piece of widescreen shoegazing
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...
which grows ever more expansive throughout its entire ten-minute duration ... no amount of reflected glory could ever fully illuminate ''Insides''' mysterious depths.
2009–2013: Pure Scenius, film scores
![Jon Hopkins (5571448335)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Jon_Hopkins_%285571448335%29.jpg)
In June 2009 Hopkins was invited by Brian Eno to play some solo shows at the Luminous Festival at the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
. A few weeks prior to leaving, Eno asked Hopkins to join with himself,
Underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
's
Karl Hyde
Karl Hyde (born 10 May 1957) is an English musician and artist. He is a founding member of British electronic group Underworld. Hyde has also released a solo album, made albums with Brian Eno and Matthew Herbert, and contributed towards the sco ...
, Leo Abrahams, and the Sydney-based improv trio
The Necks
The Necks are an Australian avant-garde jazz trio formed in 1987 by founding mainstays Chris Abrahams on piano and Hammond organ, Tony Buck on drums, percussion and electric guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar and double bass. They play i ...
in the group "Pure Scenius", the planned finale for the Luminous Festival.
They then improvised music based on pre-planned themes, putting on three 1½-hour shows in the Opera House with Hyde on vocals. Pure Scenius was repeated a year later in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, when Eno was curating the
Brighton Festival
Brighton Festival is a large, annual, curated multi-arts festival in England. It includes music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and family events, and takes place in venues in the city of Brighton and Hove in Engla ...
.
In 2009, Hopkins collaborated with Brian Eno and Leo Abrahams to score the
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
film ''
The Lovely Bones
''The Lovely Bones'' is a 2002 novel by American writer Alice Sebold. It is the story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from her personal Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while she ...
.''
In early 2010, Hopkins composed the score for the short film ''Rob and Valentyna in Scotland'' directed by Eric Lynne, which won an honourable mention for the short film-making award at
Sundance
A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony.
Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to:
Places
;Canada
*Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
*Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town
;United States
* Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated place ...
. Also in 2010 Hopkins was commissioned to create the soundtrack for the British science fiction film ''
Monsters
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
'', which was directed by
Gareth Edwards
Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey".
In 2003, in a poll of international ru ...
.
To create the score, Hopkins partly used string parts performed by arranger
Davide Rossi
Davide Rossi (born 7 August 1970) is an Italian violinist, string arranger, composer, conductor and a record producer, perhaps best known for having been the violinist, guitar and keytar-player for the British electronic music duo Goldfrapp fr ...
and guitar by Leo Abrahams.
The soundtrack album was released on 29 November 2010 on
Domino Records.
In 2011 the score was nominated for an
Ivor Novello Award
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
for Best Original Score.
2009–2012: Collaborations
Hopkins collaborated with
Tunng
Tunng are an English folk music band. They are often associated with the folktronica genre, due to the electronic influences evident in some of their work. Tunng are often noted for their use of unconventional instruments, including seashells a ...
on the EP ''Seven Gulps of Air'' in 2009, which was commissioned by designer Christopher Kelly for
London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...
.
''Seven Gulps of Air'' was listed as one of ''
Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
''
's singles of the year.
In 2010 Hopkins collaborated with Leo Abrahams and Brian Eno to create the album ''
Small Craft on a Milk Sea
''Small Craft on a Milk Sea'' is a 2010 album by British musician and record producer Brian Eno. The album—his debut with Warp—was released in Japan on 19 October 2010, in the United States on 2 November, and the United Kingdom on 15 Novembe ...
''. Released on
Warp Records
Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, A ...
in late 2010,
the album is based on a three-week session of improvisation wherein the artists recorded about six hours of material a day.
In 2011 Hopkins collaborated with Scottish musician King Creosote to create the album ''
Diamond Mine
There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where dia ...
'', which featured lyrics and vocals by Creosote sung over musical backdrops arranged and recorded by Hopkins. The album was a culmination of about seven weeks of work spread over seven years of recording and collaboration,
from whenever the two artists had the opportunity to get together. The album was released on 28 March 2011
to acclaim,
which included a glowing review from
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
. On 19 July 2011 Hopkins and Anderson were announced as nominees for the 2011
Barclaycard Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
, which is annually awarded for best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Also in 2011, the EP ''
Honest Words
''Honest Words'' is an EP by Scottish singer-songwriter King Creosote and English electronica musician Jon Hopkins, released on 19 September 2011 on Domino Records. The release is available on 12" vinyl and digital download.
Following on from ...
'', a Hopkins collaboration with King Creosote, was released on Domino Records. In April 2012, this was followed by another collaboration with King Creosote: ''The Jubilee'', also on Domino.
Hopkins wrote the score for the 2013 film by
Kevin Macdonald, ''
How I Live Now
''How I Live Now'' is a novel by Meg Rosoff, first published in 2004. It received generally positive reviews and won the British Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the American Printz Award for young-adult literature.
Plot
Fifteen-year-o ...
''.
2013: ''Immunity''
''
Immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
'' is Hopkins' fourth studio album, released on 4 June 2013, by Domino Records.
Among the artists that contributed vocals were long-time collaborator King Creosote, and Corin Roddick and Megan James of the band
Purity Ring
Purity rings (also known as promise rings, abstinence rings, or chastity rings) are rings worn as a sign of chastity. Since the 1990s, in the United States, Christian organizations, especially Catholic and evangelical Christian groups, promoting ...
.
It was recorded and produced in Hopkins' London studio, with Hopkins often using homemade sound effects or the natural sound of the room.
Stated ''
MixMag
''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights.
History
The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...
'', "''Immunity'' is an album of organic techno and exquisite mini-symphonies."
''Immunity'' peaked at no. 13 on
Top Electronic Albums
Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Dance/Electronic Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling electronic music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by ...
by ''Billboard'' in the United States.
In Britain it was nominated for the 2013
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
for best album.
The album met with a largely positive reception among critics, receiving perfect scores from ''Mixmag''
and
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 ...
,
and 4/5 from ''The Guardian.''
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
described ''Immunity'' as a "remarkably visceral, sensual, confident electronic record,"
and MusicOMH called it a "modern classic".
The video for the single 'Open Eye Signal' directed by
Aoife McArdle
Aoife McArdle ( ) is an Irish director, writer, and cinematographer working in film and television.
Early life
Aoife McArdle grew up in Omagh, Northern Ireland.
She studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin where, alongside cr ...
won best cinematography at the
UK Music Video Awards
The UK Music Video Awards is an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence and innovation in music video and moving image for music. The awards began in 2008. There is a wide range of opportunities for UK individuals and companies to ...
.
2014–present: ''Asleep Versions'', ''Singularity'', and ''Music for Psychedelic Therapy''
In 2014 Hopkins co-produced the song "
Midnight
Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...
" for Coldplay's 2014 album ''
Ghost Stories
A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...
'', and released an
EP titled ''Asleep Versions'' on 10 November. The EP includes (according to
Domino Records) "four decelerated, dreamlike re-imaginings" of four tracks featured on his album ''
Immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
''. The EP has additional vocals from
Raphaelle Standell-Preston
Raphaelle Standell-Preston (born February 1, 1990) is a Canadian musician and songwriter, currently the frontwoman of Braids and Blue Hawaii. She releases solo music under the name Indiensoci. Her vocal style has been described as slipping "from ...
of the band
Braids
A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair.
The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...
& regular collaborator
King Creosote
Kenny Anderson (born January 1967), known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest full length, '' Astronaut Meets Apple ...
, and artwork from Robert Hunter.
Hopkins' fifth studio album, ''
Singularity'', was released on
Domino Records on 4 May 2018. It was nominated for the
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
award for
Best Dance/Electronic Album
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several categ ...
.
Hopkins' sixth studio album, ''
Music for Psychedelic Therapy
''Music for Psychedelic Therapy'' is the sixth studio album by English electronic music producer Jon Hopkins, released on 12 November 2021 by Domino Recording Company.
Release
On 2 September 2021, Jon Hopkins announced the release of his sixth st ...
'', was released on 12 November 2021.
It comprises ambient music designed to accompany
psychedelic trips, including a track incorporating words from the spiritual leader
Ram Dass
Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...
.
Live performances
![Hopkins Sentrum Scene 2022 210342](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Hopkins_Sentrum_Scene_2022_210342.jpg)
Hopkins has performed at music festivals such as
Moogfest
Moogfest is a music and technology festival held annually or bi-annually in Durham, North Carolina that honors engineer Robert Moog and his musical inventions.
This multi-day, multi-venue event hosts artists and audiences from throughout the w ...
,
Mutek,
Beacons Festival, and
Electric Zoo
Electric Zoo is an annual electronic music festival held over Labor Day weekend in New York City on Randall's Island. The festival represents all genres of electronic music, bringing top international DJs and live acts from multiple countries to ...
,
and at venues such as Madison Square Garden
and the London O2 Arena.
As of 2014 he maintains a regular touring schedule both in England and internationally, playing at the
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
in June, with upcoming dates at the
Pitchfork Music Festival
The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by ''Pitchfork Media'' and held in Union Park in Chicago, Illinois. Starting in 2011, the festival announced a branch staged in Paris at Grande halle de la Villette. The fe ...
,
Electric Picnic
Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority shareholding in ...
and Time Music Festival and in 2015 at
Wonderfruit
Wonderfruit is an annual gathering that explores wonder through art, culture, music, and nature taking place at The Fields at Siam Country Club, outside Pattaya in Chonburi Province, Thailand. With an emphasis on experiences that explore the rela ...
in Thailand for the premiere of the iy_project, a collaboration with light artist,
Chris Levine
Chris Levine (born 1960) is a UK-based artist, working in the field of light art.
Chris Levine is a light artist with a multi-disciplinary approach that harnesses a diverse array of technology with the intention of revealing the ways in which l ...
.
Style and equipment
Style and genre
According to reviews, "Hopkins's aesthetic is perpetually intriguing. He transcends genres, melding digital coldness with subtle, bucolic textures; veering from skewed elegance to strange, unsettling depths."
"He makes powerfully emotive, instrumental music that consistently crosses genres, ranging from solo acoustic piano to explosive, bass-heavy electro."
Also, he "meticulously constructs lush, downtempo arrangements, blending digital beats and soothing ambience."
Equipment and software
As of September 2010 his studio setup relies on a
Logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...
system,
though all his previous releases were on
Cubase VST, used in conjunction with an old version of
SoundForge
Sound Forge (formerly known as Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, and later as Sony Sound Forge) is a digital audio editing suite by Magix Software GmbH, which is aimed at the professional and semi-professional markets. There are two versions of Sound Fo ...
.
He began using Logic because his old system was not powerful enough to include the video for film soundtracks.
His live setup includes
Ableton Live
Ableton Live is a digital audio workstation for macOS and Windows developed by the German company Ableton. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Ableton Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool f ...
and a chain of up to five
Kaoss Pad
The Kaoss Pad is an audio sampling instrument and multi-effects processor originally launched by Korg in 1999. It allows users to record and process audio samples and apply various effects using an X-Y touchscreen.
Features
Kaoss Pads allow use ...
s.
Personal life
Hopkins practices
autogenic training
Autogenic training is a desensitization-relaxation technique developed by the German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz by which a psychophysiologically determined relaxation response is obtained. The technique was first published in 1932. S ...
and
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...
, of which he says, "For me, it's not about relaxing. It can get music flowing in a way that's really uninhibited, and I want to spend as much time in that place as possible."
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Opalescent
Opalescence refers to the optical phenomena displayed by the mineraloid gemstone opalopalescent. 2019. In Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. Retrieved January 7, 2019, from https://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/opale ...
'' (2001)
* ''Contact Note'' (2004)
* ''
Insides'' (2009)
* ''
Immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
'' (2013)
* ''
Singularity'' (2018)
* ''
Music for Psychedelic Therapy
''Music for Psychedelic Therapy'' is the sixth studio album by English electronic music producer Jon Hopkins, released on 12 November 2021 by Domino Recording Company.
Release
On 2 September 2021, Jon Hopkins announced the release of his sixth st ...
'' (2021)
Further reading
*
*
*
*
"HT Interview: Jon Hopkins" Glide Magazine.27 June 2013
References
External links
*
*
Jon Hopkinson
Domino RecordsJon Hopkinson
Last.fm
Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...
Jon Hopkinson
CD Universe
CD Universe.com is an e-commerce site that sells music CDs, mp3 downloads, movies, and video games worldwide. CD Universe also offers a wide selection of miscellaneous items such as stuffed animals, jigsaw puzzles, board games, etc.
History
CD ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Jon
1979 births
Double Six Records artists
English electronic musicians
English record producers
Living people
Musicians from Kingston upon Thames