Leafcutter John is the recording name of John Burton, a UK-based musician and artist. He makes frequent use of

Max/MSP Max, also known as Max/MSP/Jitter, is a visual programming language for music and multimedia developed and maintained by San Francisco-based software company Cycling '74. Over its more than thirty-year history, it has been used by composers, per ...

in his compositions. Much of Burton's style is based in

computer music Computer music is the application of computing technology in music composition, to help human composers create new music or to have computers independently create music, such as with algorithmic composition programs. It includes the theory and ...

and use of samples of everyday sounds. However, he also has roots as a

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 ...

ian, and this influence is apparent in his more recent work.

Career

After graduating in Fine Art Painting at

Norwich School of Art Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) is a public university in Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom that specialises in art, design and media. It was founded as Norwich School of Design in 1845 and has a long history of arts education. It gained ful ...

(1996–1998), Burton moved to London and after a year pursuing a career as a performance artist, began to concentrate on his musical work. He soon secured interest from

Mike Paradinas Michael Paradinas (born 26 September 1971), better known by his stage name μ-Ziq (pronounced "music" or mu-zik), is an English electronic musician from Wimbledon, London. He was associated with the electronic style intelligent dance music (ID ...

, owner of independent electronics label

Planet Mu Planet Mu is an eclectic English electronic music record label created and run by Mike Paradinas. The label started out as a subsidiary of Virgin Records then Paradinas set up the label independent of Virgin. After releasing intelligent dance ...

. Paradinas encouraged Burton to develop his electro-acoustic folk hybrid and his first full-length release, ''Concourse EEP'', was released in early 2000. His album, ''The Housebound Spirit'', was a response to being mugged outside his London studio. The album deals with themes of increasing alienation and agoraphobia. His fourth album ''The Forest and the Sea'' was nominated for Best Album at the

Qwartz Electronic Music Awards The Qwartz Electronic Music Awards recognize new and electronic music with awards and grants in music and technologies categories. An annual event takes place in Paris. The Qwartz Awards are presided by the pioneer Pierre Henry. Besides the awards ...

2007 and was described by comedian

James Acaster James William Acaster (; born 9 January 1985) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and musician. As well as appearances on panel shows, he is known for the stand-up specials ''Repertoire'', co-hosting the food podcast ''Off Menu'' and co-p ...

as "a criminally overlooked record". In 2019, Burton released his seventh album ''Yes! Come Parade With Us'' on James Holden’s label Border Community, featuring

modular synth Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages ...

and field recordings from the

Norfolk Coast Path The Norfolk Coast Path is a long-distance footpath in Norfolk, running 83 miles (133.5 km) from Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea. It was opened in 1986 and covers the North Norfolk Coast AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). It links with ...

. Burton was a full-time member of the contemporary British jazz pioneers and

Mercury Music 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 ...

nominees Polar Bear, founded by drummer

Seb Rochford Sebastian Rochford is a British drummer and composer. He has recorded and released music as leader of the British band Polar Bear, as Kutcha Butcha and as part of numerous collaborations. Early life Rochford was born in Aberdeen and has a large ...

. He has performed with

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 a ...

Shabaka Hutchings Shabaka Hutchings is a British jazz musician, composer and bandleader. He leads the bands Sons of Kemet and Shabaka and the Ancestors. He is also a member of The Comet Is Coming, performing under the stage name King Shabaka. Hutchings has p ...

Serafina Steer Serafina Steer (born 30 April 1982) is an English harpist, pianist, singer and songwriter. Early life and education Steer is the daughter of composer Michael Maxwell Steer and stage designer Deirdre Clancy. She started learning the harp at ...

, Laura Jurd and

Talvin Singh Talvin Singh OBE (born 1970) is an English musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica s ...

, supported

Matmos Matmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore. M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their per ...

and

Otomo Yoshihide is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics. He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked i ...

, and been in Beck's band at the Barbican, London. In 2007, he performed at

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...

’s Meltdown Festival. He played alongside jazz pianist Michael Wollny at the opening night of the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

100 festival in January 2019. In autumn/winter 2019, he supported

The Comet Is Coming The Comet Is Coming is a London-based band who incorporate elements of jazz, electronica, funk and psychedelic rock. The band originally recorded for The Leaf Label, on which their debut EP ''Prophecy'' was released, on limited edition 12" ...

on their UK tour. Leafcutter John is also an accomplished producer and remixer, having worked on projects for:

DJ /rupture Jace Clayton, better known as DJ /rupture, is a New York-based American DJ, writer and interdisciplinary artist. In addition to his music, Clayton has established a blog identity with musical and non-musical posts on his website, "mudd up!". His ...

, Ed Dowie, Melt Yourself Down, Mu-ziq/ Speedy J, Electric Company,

Badly Drawn Boy Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show ''Sam and his Magic Ball'', which he saw ...

, Capitol K, Bas Jan and others. He lives in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, South Yorkshire.

Projects

Leafcutter John has engaged in several projects, both commissioned and

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

. Examples include installing microphones under a creaky wooden floor to record and manipulate the sounds in a software program, growing and constructing piezoelectric crystal microphones, touring the Grand Union Canal, building a laser "microphone" and creating a massive morse code chorus for BBC Radio 3. He has also worked on theatre, dance and poetry projects, including commissions from the

Handspring Puppet Company The Handspring Puppet Company is a puppetry performance and design company established in 1981 by Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Jon Weinberg and Jill Joubert. It is based in Cape Town, South Africa. History Jones and Kohler met at the Michael ...

, and choreographers

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 ...

and Shobana Jeyasingh. Burton is a prodigious instrument builder and uses a self-built light-controlled musical interface at his shows. He won the Qwartz Electronic Music Award for Innovation in 2015. In 2017, he was a recipient of an artists award from the

Paul Hamlyn Foundation Paul Hamlyn Foundation is a registered charity, and a company limited by guarantee which has been established in its current form since 2004, succeeding an earlier incarnation that was founded in 1987, which itself formalised established philanthr ...

Discography

* ''The Sky Is Darker Than the Road'' (1998) * ''Concourse EEP'' (2000)

(ZIQ017) 12" and CD * ''Microcontact'' (2001)

(ZIQ022) CD * ''Zeagma'' (2001)

(ZIQ036) 7" * ''The Housebound Spirit'' (2003)

(ZIQ061) CD * ''The Forest and the Sea'' (2006) Staubgold Records (Staubgold 68) CD/LP *''Tunis'' (2010) Tsuku Boshi CD *''Resurrection'' (2015) Desire Path Recordings (PATHWAY009) 12"/Digital *''Yes! Come Parade With Us'' (2019) Border Community (52BC) CD/LP

References

External links

Leafcutter John's Site
{{Authority control Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British electronic musicians British experimental musicians Alumni of Norwich University of the Arts Polar Bear (British band) members Planet Mu artists