Lawrence English (born 1976) is an Australian composer, artist, and curator from Brisbane. His work is broadly concerned with the politics of perception, specifically he is interested in the nature of listening, and sounds' capability to occupy the body.[2] He is the director of the imprint Room40, started in 2000. He and Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu have an ongoing collaboration named Hexa.[3]
Lawrence English | |
|---|---|
 English in 2023 | |
| Born | 1975 or 1976 (age 48–49)[1] |
| Education | Queensland University of Technology (BA, MA, PhD) |
| Known for | Sound |
| Website | lawrenceenglish |
Sound works
editEnglish's music is recognised as exploring "environmental and musical sources and is highly regarded for its intelligent invocation of perception, memory and space".[4] On his 2014 album Wilderness of Mirrors[5] he outlines his approach to composition "For me it's about a kind of struggle between almost nothing and almost everything. Sometimes one sound can be too much and other times 50 layers seems lacking in the depth you want to convey. I think at the heart of this question is dynamics, and I feel that's very much what this album is about. It's a slow reveal, I want it to be a seduction."[6]
He cites childhood experiences birdwatching for reed warbler with his father as the starting point for his interest in sound in space. He has stated, "If you just looked in the reeds you'd see nothing. If you listened you got an idea of space and a sense of where it might be, then you understood it. That's probably my first experience with these ideas of space and sound, which are basically the fundamental building blocks of what I've been interested in since then."[7] These experiences have led to a long engagement with field recordings, and more recently the development of theoretical approaches to the practice including his Relational Listening theory.[8]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Transit |
|
| Happiness Will Befall |
|
| Autumn |
|
| Plateau (with Ai Yamamoto) |
|
| Merola Shoulders (with Domenico Sciajno) |
|
| For Varying Degrees of Winter |
|
| Kiri No Oto |
|
| Studies for Stradbroke |
|
| Euphonia (with Tom Hall) |
|
| U (with Tujiko Noriko & John Chantler) |
|
| HB (with Francisco López) |
|
| A Colour for Autumn |
|
| It's Up to Us to Live |
|
| A Path Less Travelled (with Minamo) |
|
| And the Lived in |
|
| Songs of the Living |
|
| For / Not for John Cage |
|
| Lonely Women's Club |
|
| Suikinkutsu No Katawara Ni |
|
| Wilderness of Mirrors |
|
| A Path Less Travelled (with Stephen Vitiello) |
|
| Shadow of the Monolith (with Werner Dafeldecker) |
|
| Approaching Nothing |
|
| Cruel Optimism |
|
| Immediate Horizon (with Alessandro Cortini) |
|
| Selva Oscura (with William Basinski) |
|
| Lassitude |
|
| Field Recordings from the Zone |
|
| Observation of Breath |
|
| Viento |
|
| Eternal Stalker (with Merzbow) |
|
| Chthonic |
|
Awards
editQueensland Music Awards
editThe Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.[9]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008[10] | "Watching It Unfold" | Electronic song of the Year | Won |
References
edit- ^ a b "Interview: Lawrence English". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ Twells, John (19 August 2014). "I want to do things that have meaning". Fact Magazine. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Loren (24 July 2021). "Hexa returns (Lawrence English Jamie Stewart)". Scene Point Blank. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ Zuvela, Danni. "10 years of room40: privileging the ears". realtime. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ howe, brian. "wilderness of mirrors". Pitchfork.
- ^ Wallen, Doug. "I want it to be a seduction". Mess And Noise.
- ^ Clark, Alistair (8 October 2010). "Lawrence English". Crasier Frane. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ english, lawrence (18 November 2014). "A Beginners Guide To Field Recording". Fact Magazine.
- ^ "About the Queensland Music Awards". Queensland Music Awards. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Past Winners 2008". Queensland Music Awards. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
External links
edit