Oriole
Biography
A sensory banquet of soaring melodies, colourful South American folklore, lively dances and emotional ballads of longing. Music that creates a rich, emotionally disquieting world that is at once familiar and dreamlike. A world of freedom, of movement, of dusty roads and traveling musicians in shaded market squares whose journey will never end. These are songs of magical realism mingling elements of fantasy, myth, desire and wanderlust in renderings that blur traditional distinctions between what is serious or trivial, melancholic or joyous.
Oriole's composer and guitarist Jonny Phillips was described by The Guardian as "A big new composing presence" and Time Out as "the brilliant F-IRE collective guitarist" on the release of the first Oriole album "Song for the Sleeping" in 2005. He has traveled widely blending the musical, folkloric and dance traditions of North Brazil, West Africa, Southern Europe and beyond. These Influences have been as important as the folkloric music of his own region and the church music of his composer parents.
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Here both the migrations of the composer and the band members have resulted in the creation of new musical hybrids; the physical and artistic travels being inseparable. Oriole have an award winning international line-up including drummer Sebastian Rochford, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, cellist Ben Davis, bassist Ruth Goller, percussionist Adriano Adewale Itauna, clarinettist Idris Rahman and piano player Nick Ramm. All top instrumentalists in their respective fields.
Members:
Jonny Phillips - guitar, composition
Ingrid Laubrock - saxophone
Idris Rahman - saxophone, clarinet
Ben Davis - cello
Nick Ramm - keyboards
Ruth Goller - bass
Sebastian Rochford - drums
Adriano Adewale - percussion
Official site: http://www.oriole-music.co.uk
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.