Brian Eno
Birthday: 1948-05-15
Place of Birth: Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, UK
Synopsis
Brian Eno is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer, and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.
Eno was a student of Roy Ascott on his Groundcourse at Ipswich Civic College. Then he studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex, England, taking inspiration from minimalist painting. He joined the band Roxy Music as synthesiser player in the early 1970s. Roxy Music's success in the glam rock scene came quickly, but Eno soon tired of touring and of conflicts with lead singer Bryan Ferry. Eno's solo music has explored more experimental musical styles and ambient music. It has also been extremely influential, pioneering ambient and generative music, innovating production techniques, and emphasising "theory over practice".
Eno pursues multimedia ventures in parallel to his music career, including art installations, a newspaper column in The Observer, a regular column on society and innovation in Prospect magazine, and "Oblique Strategies" (written with Peter Schmidt), a deck of cards in which cryptic remarks or random insights are intended to resolve dilemmas.
Acting
We Are As Gods
as Self
“We are as gods and might as well get good at it.” This is the audacious opening line of the Whole Earth Catalog, a compendium of wonderful tools compiled by counterculture legend Stewart Brand. A psychedelic experimenter, cyberspace pioneer, and environmentalist, he is now urging humanity to use our god-like powers to reframe our relationship with time and life itself. Today, Stewart is using biotech to resurrect extinct species. He and a team of scientists travel to Siberia to collect ancient DNA in an effort to make a hybrid Woolly Mammoth. Former allies in the environmental movement vow to stand in his way, but Stewart forges ahead in his life-long mission to conserve the whole earth.
We Are Many
as Self
The story of the biggest demonstration in human history, which took place on 15th February 2003, against the impending war on Iraq.
David Bowie: Five Years
as Self
Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.
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Brian Eno: Another Green World
as Self
The master of reinvention engages with fellow influential minds, including Richard Dawkins, Malcolm Gladwell, David Whittaker and Steve Lillywhite, in a series of conversations on science, art, systems analysis, producing and cybernetics
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Classic Albums: U2 - The Joshua Tree
as Self
Release in March 1987, U2's The Joshua Tree quickly became the fastest-selling album in British chart history, selling almost 250,000 copies within the first week of release. In the US, it was equally successful, topping the Billboard album chart for nine weeks, spending 58 weeks in the Top 40 there and earning a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The story of the making of The Joshua Tree is told here, via interview and archive film footage, with contributions from band members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. U2’s long-time manager Paul McGuinness reveals how the album catapulted the band into the category of rock superstars, and there are contributions from Elvis Costello in the role of a major U2 fan, re-mix producer Steve Lillywhite, and of course co-producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. Packed with reminiscences and powerful performances, this is the story of one of the most famous and best records of the Eighties, a true Classic Album.
