Michael Bearpark is an English

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

and

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

Work as scientist

Bearpark is a Principal Research Fellow in the Chemistry Department at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

. He works in computational

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, including method and software development with applications to modeling the excited electronic states of large molecules and their

photochemical Photochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of light. Generally, this term is used to describe a chemical reaction caused by absorption of ultraviolet (wavelength from 100 to 400 nm), visible (400–750&nb ...

reaction dynamics, as well as research into the coherent control of chemical reactions. He has also contributed to the development of the Gaussian

computational chemistry Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses computer simulations to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses methods of theoretical chemistry incorporated into computer programs to calculate the structures and properties of mol ...

codes.

Work as musician

Mostly known as an electric textural

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

and loop musician, Bearpark plays a central role in the band

Darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, make Photographic printing, prints and carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light-sensitive photographic materials, including ...

. He also has an ongoing duo project with German loop guitarist Bernhard Wagner, called Pedaltone.Michael Bearpark feature by Anil Prasad
''Guitar Player'' magazine, January 2009 Bearpark was a member of the live

No-Man No-Man are an English art pop duo, formed in 1987 as No Man Is an Island (Except the Isle of Man) by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson. The band has so far produced seven studio albums and a number of singles/outtake ...

band for the band's mini-tour of Europe in autumn 2008 (playing guitar alongside

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosi ...

). He has played on two No-Man releases - as a guest on the 2003 album ''Together We're Stranger'' and as a live band member on the 2010 ''Mixtaped'' concert DVD. Bearpark has also been a frequent collaborator with

singer

Tim Bowness Tim Bowness (born 29 November 1963) is an English singer and songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson. Music career In addition to recording albu ...

. He has played alongside Bowness in the 1980s North West-based art-rock bands After The Stranger and Plenty, the ambient-folk band

Samuel Smiles Samuel Smiles (23 December 1812 – 16 April 1904) was a British author and government reformer. Although he campaigned on a Chartist platform, he promoted the idea that more progress would come from new attitudes than from new laws. His prim ...

(founded by Bearpark himself) and the contemporary progressive rock band

Henry Fool ''Henry Fool'' is a 1997 American black comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Hal Hartley, featuring Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, and Parker Posey. Set like previous Hartley films in less affluent parts of Long Island, it re ...

(both of the latter projects also featuring multi-instrumentalist

Peter Chilvers Peter Chilvers was an inventor, engineer and promoter of sailing and windsurfing. He is credited with an early version of a sail powered surfboard. He died from lung cancer on 26 February 2015. Life Chilvers had been an engineer for Lotus an ...

). In turn, Bowness has been an occasional Darkroom member. Bearpark's other collaborations include work with

Richard Barbieri Richard Barbieri (born 30 November 1957) is an English musician, composer and sound designer. Originally a member of new wave band Japan (and their brief 1989–1991 reincarnation as Rain Tree Crow), he became the keyboard player in the prog ...

(of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

) and David Kosten's Faultline. He is a regular contributor to Improvizone, a regular London-based night of improvised instrumental music organised by drummer Andrew Booker. Most recently, Bearpark has formed a more straightforward rock band called Aimless Mules, which also features Andrew Booker (drums), Chris Wild (vocals), Nic Regan (bass) and Charles Fernyhough (guitar). Additionally, Bearpark is currently a member of the space rock band Hawkflawed, formed with musician Ghost of Wood and drummer/vocalist Simon Hill.

Selected discography as musician

as group member: *Darkroom, ''Carpetworld'' EP (3rd Stone Ltd., 1998) *Darkroom, ''Daylight'' (3rd Stone Ltd., 1998) *Tim Bowness/Samuel Smiles, ''World Of Bright Futures'' (Hidden Art, 1999) *Darkroom, ''Seethrough'' ( peoplesound.com, 1999 - re-issued on Burning Shed, 2003) *Tim Bowness/Samuel Smiles, ''How We Used To Live'' (Hidden Art, 2000) *Tim Bowness/Samuel Smiles, ''Live Archive One'' (Hidden Art, 2001) *Tim Bowness/Samuel Smiles, ''Live Archive Two'' (Hidden Art, 2001) *Darkroom, ''Fallout One'' (Burning Shed, 2001) *Darkroom, ''Fallout Two'' (Burning Shed, 2001) *Darkroom, ''Fallout Three'' (Burning Shed, 2002) *Darkroom, ''Freefall'' (Burning Shed, 2002) *Darkroom, ''The DAC Mixes'' (Burning Shed, 2002) *Pedaltone, ''Pedaltone'' (Burning Shed, 2006) *Ghost of Wood & Michael Bearpark, ''Ursa'' (Curated Doom, 2018) as guest musician: *Richard Barbieri/Tim Bowness, ''Flame'' (One Little Indian, 1994) *Faultline, ''Faultline'' EP (Fused & Bruised, 1998) *Faultline, ''Mute'' EP (Leaf, 1998) *Faultline, ''Closer, Colder'' (Leaf, 1999) *

Together We're Stranger ''Together We're Stranger'' is No-Man's fifth studio album released by the Snapper Music label in 2003. The first four songs are linked to form a 28-minute suite of continuous music with recurring lyrical and musical themes. The remaining thre ...

(KScope/Snapper Music, 2003) *

, ''Wherever There Is Light'' EP (KScope/Snapper Music, 2009) *

, ''Mixtaped'' live DVD (KScope/Snapper Music, 2010)

References

External links

Michael Bearpark's page in the academic listings at Imperial College, LondonDarkroom homepageInterview with Michael Bearpark in Guitar Player magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bearpark, Michael Living people English scientists English chemists English rock guitarists English male guitarists Avant-garde guitarists English experimental musicians Free improvisation Academics of Imperial College London English computer scientists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) British computational chemists No-Man members Henry Fool (band) members