The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) was an
avant-pop
Avant-pop is popular music that is experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener. The term implies a combination of avant-garde sensibilities with existing elements from popular ...
band led by English guitarist
Simon Jeffes. Co-founded with cellist
Helen Liebmann, the band toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The band's sound is not easily categorized, having elements of exuberant
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
and a
minimalist
In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
aesthetic occasionally reminiscent of composers such as
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
.
The group recorded and performed for 24 years until Jeffes died of an inoperable
brain tumour
A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...
in 1997. Several members of the original group reunited for three concerts in 2007. Since then, five original members have continued to play concerts of PCO's music, initially as the Anteaters, then as the Orchestra That Fell to Earth. In 2009, Jeffes' son
Arthur
Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur.
A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
founded a successor band simply called
Penguin Cafe. Although it includes no original PCO members, the band features many PCO pieces in its live repertoire, and records and performs new music written by Arthur.
History
After becoming disillusioned with the rigid structures of
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
and the limitations of
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
, in which he also dabbled, Simon Jeffes became interested in the relative freedom in
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
and decided to imbue his work with the same immediacy and spirit.
Describing how the idea of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra came to him, Jeffes said:
The group's debut album, ''
Music from the Penguin Cafe'', recorded from 1974 to 1976, was released in 1976 on
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
's experimental
Obscure Records label, an offshoot of the
EG label. It was followed in 1981 by ''
Penguin Cafe Orchestra'', after which the band settled into a more regular release schedule.
The band gave its first major concert on 10 October 1976, supporting
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...
at
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, a circ ...
. They went on to tour the world and play at a variety of music festivals as well as residencies on the
South Bank
The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England.
The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...
in London. From 1976 to 1996 they played in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and throughout Europe and the UK. In March 1987, they were the subject of an episode of the
ITV arts series ''
The South Bank Show
''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, a ...
'', where they performed "Air", "Bean Fields", "Dirt" and "Giles Farnaby's Dream".
Evolution
Simon Jeffes experimented with various configurations live and in the studio, including an occasional 'dance orchestra' and a quintet of strings, oboe, trombone and himself on piano. On the studio albums, he sometimes played several instruments, and brought in other musicians according to the needs of each piece.
There were a number of incarnations of the live band. Original members Gavyn Wright and Steve Nye left in 1984 and 1988 respectively. Bob Loveday replaced Gavyn Wright on violin. Gradually a regular lineup evolved around:
* Jeffes and Helen Liebmann
* Neil Rennie (ukulele), who joined in 1975
*
Geoffrey Richardson (viola,
cuatro
Cuatro, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4, number 4, may refer to:
* Cuatro (instrument), a family of Latin American string instruments, including:
** Cuatro (Venezuela)
** Puerto Rican cuatro
* Cuatro (TV channel), a Spanish free-to ...
, guitar, clarinet, mandolin, ukulele), who had joined in 1976 and co-wrote three pieces on ''Broadcasting from Home'' (1984)
* Julio Segovia (percussion), who answered an advert in ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' and joined in 1978 on percussion
* Paul Street (guitar, cuatro, ukulele), who joined in 1984 and left in 1988
*
Jennifer Maidman
Jennifer Maidman (formerly Ian Maidman, born 24 January 1958) is a British musician, singer, producer, songwriter, actress and author who has collaborated extensively with many internationally well known groups and artists. Her work appears on h ...
(percussion, bass, ukulele, cuatro), who joined in 1984
* Steve Fletcher (piano, keyboards) who replaced Steve Nye in 1988
*
Annie Whitehead
Lena Annie Whitehead (born 16 July 1955 in Oldham, Lancashire) is a British jazz trombone player.
Career
Whitehead learned the trombone in high school and participated in rock and jazz bands. When she was 16, she left school to become a member ...
(trombone), who had appeared on ''Broadcasting from Home'' (1984) and joined the live band in 1988
* Peter McGowan (violin), succeeding Bob Loveday
* Barbara Bolte (oboe)
Doug Beveridge also became a regular fixture at the live mixing desk. The album ''Concert Program'' (1995) is the definitive recording of this lineup, and includes many of the group's best-known pieces.
Later bands
After Simon Jeffes' death in 1997, the band's members continued to meet occasionally, but there were no new recordings or public appearances for over ten years. The band briefly reformed in 2007, with the lineup as featured on ''Concert Program'' (minus Julio Segovia), with Jennifer Maidman now handling Simon's guitar parts. The original members, joined onstage by Simon Jeffes's son Arthur on percussion and additional keyboards, played three sold-out shows at the
Union Chapel in London.
After those concerts,
Arthur Jeffes
Arthur William Phoenix Young Jeffes (born 21 July 1978, Paddington, London, England) is an English composer, musician, and arctic explorer. He is the frontman of the musical group Penguin Cafe, a group he formed in 2007 to play the music of his ...
wanted to form a new group without any of the original PCO members. He called it "Music from the Penguin Cafe", later shortened to simply Penguin Cafe. The all-new ensemble, sometimes inaccurately billed as The Penguin Cafe Orchestra, played at a number of festivals in 2009, combining Penguin Cafe numbers with new pieces. In 2010, they appeared at the
BBC Proms
The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...
(with Northumbrian piper
Kathryn Tickell
Kathryn Tickell, Order of the British Empire, OBE, Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 8 June 1967) is an English musician, noted for playing the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle.
Music career Early life
Kathryn Tickell was born in Walsall, to parent ...
).
With the Penguin Cafe name now being used by Arthur, the original PCO members who wanted to continue playing their music needed an alternative name. Four of them, multiinstrumentalists Geoffrey Richardson and Jennifer Maidman, trombonist Annie Whitehead, and pianist Steve Fletcher, have since played some festivals as The Anteaters. They have been joined by percussionist Liam Genockey, well known as a member of
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, ...
, and who played live with the Penguins in Italy in the 1980s. The name 'Anteaters' came from an incident on the 1983 PCO tour of Japan when Simon Jeffes discovered there was a craze for penguins in the country. He joked that, if the fashion changed, the orchestra would have to change its name to 'The Anteater Cafe Orchestra'. In October 2011, the same lineup appeared at the Canterbury Festival in Kent, UK, performing two hours of original PCO music as The Orchestra That Fell To Earth. They have continued to perform under that name.
Notable pieces
Telephone and Rubber Band
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra's most famous piece may be "Telephone and Rubber Band", which is based around a
tape loop
In music, tape loops are loops of magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound when played on a tape recorder. Originating in the 1940s with the work of Pierre Schaeffer, they were used among ...
of a UK telephone ring tone intersected with a
reorder tone
The reorder tone, also known as the fast busy tone, or the congestion tone, or all trunks busy (ATB) tone is an audible call progress tone in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) that is
returned to a calling party to indicate that the cal ...
, accompanied by the twanging of a rubber band. It is featured on the soundtracks of
Nadia Tass
Nadia Tass (born Tassopoulou or Tassopoulos; ), is an Australian theatre and film director and film producer. She mostly makes films with her writer-producer husband David Parker, through their production company Cascade Films. Tass is known ...
's film comedy ''
Malcolm
Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to:
People
* Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward
* Clan Malcolm
* Maol Choluim de Innerp ...
'' (1986) and Oliver Stone's film ''
Talk Radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
'' (1988), and in a long-running advertising campaign for the
telecoms
Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...
company
One2One (now
EE). The 1996 single "
In the Meantime" by New York City-based English rockers
Spacehog
Spacehog is an English-American alternative rock band, formed in 1994 in New York City by four British men who were living in the city (lead vocalist and bassist Royston Langdon, rhythm guitarist Anthony Langdon, drummer Jonny Cragg and lead g ...
featured a tweaked and detuned sample of "Telephone and Rubber Band". It was also the trademark song of ''Caloi en su tinta,'' an Argentinean TV show about artistic animation. The tape loop was recorded when Jeffes was making a phone call and discovered he was hearing a combination of a ring tone and an engaged signal due to a fault in the system. He recorded it on an answering machine.
Music for a Found Harmonium
Another famous tune featured in ''Malcolm'' (among other films) is "Music for a Found Harmonium", which Jeffes wrote on a
harmonium
The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...
he had found in a back street in
Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
, where he was staying in the summer of 1982 after the ensemble's first tour 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 ...
. He wrote that after installing the found
harmonium
The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...
"in a friend's house in one of the most beautiful parts at the edge of the city," he "frequently visited this instrument during the next few months, and I remember the time fondly as one during which I was under a form of enchantment with the place and the time."
"Music for a Found Harmonium" was used in the trailer for, and over the end credits of, the 1988
John Hughes John Hughes may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment Literature
*John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet
*John Hughes (1790–1857), English author
*John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet
*John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...
movie ''
She's Having a Baby
''She's Having a Baby'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed and written by John Hughes and starring Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern. It tells the story of a young newlywed couple who try to cope with married life and their par ...
''. In the credits, many film actors and celebrities of the time invent their favourite name for an imagined child. (It was not included in the soundtrack released from the movie.)
"Music for a Found Harmonium" gained exposure when it was released on the first
Café del Mar
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargile ...
volume in 1994. Because its rhythm, tempo and simple structure made it suitable for adaptation as a
reel
A reel is a tool used to store elongated and flexible objects (e.g. yarns/ cords, ribbons, cables, hoses, etc.) by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a '' spool''. Many reels also have flanges (known as the ''rims'') arou ...
, it was subsequently recorded by many
Irish traditional music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...
ians, including
Patrick Street
Patrick Street is an Irish folk group founded by Kevin Burke (formerly of The Bothy Band) on fiddle, Andy Irvine ( Sweeney's Men, Planxty) on mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica and vocals, Jackie Daly (De Dannan) on button accordion, and Arty Mc ...
,
De Dannan
De Dannan (originally ''Dé Danann'') is an Irish folk music group. It was formed in 1975 by Frankie Gavin (fiddle), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki), Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhrán) and Charlie Piggott ( banjo) as a result of sessions in ...
,
Kevin Burke and
Sharon Shannon
Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and Diatonic button accordion, melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shann ...
. An Irish traditional version was used on the soundtrack of the film ''
Hear My Song
''Hear My Song'' is a 1991 British comedy-drama film directed by Peter Chelsom, who co-wrote the screenplay with Adrian Dunbar, based on the story of Irish tenor Josef Locke. It was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 46th British ...
'', made in Ireland in the early 1990s. In 2004,
Patrick Street
Patrick Street is an Irish folk group founded by Kevin Burke (formerly of The Bothy Band) on fiddle, Andy Irvine ( Sweeney's Men, Planxty) on mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica and vocals, Jackie Daly (De Dannan) on button accordion, and Arty Mc ...
's cover of "Music for a Found Harmonium" was featured in the film ''
Napoleon Dynamite
''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American Independent film, independent Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt (producer), Chris Wyatt and Sean C. Covel (producer), Sean Covel, written by Jared and J ...
'', and the following year in the film ''
It's All Gone Pete Tong
''It's All Gone Pete Tong'' is a 2004 British-Canadian mockumentary-drama film about a DJ (Paul Kaye) who goes completely deaf. The title uses a rhyming slang phrase used in Britain from the 1980s (Pete Tong = "wrong"), referring to the BBC Ra ...
''. The Scottish folk rock band Rock Salt and Nails, from
Shetland
Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
, also recorded a version of the song for their debut album ''Waves'' in 1993. The piece is also featured in the 2016 film, ''
The Founder
''The Founder'' is a 2016 American Biographical film, biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel (filmmaker), Robert Siegel. Starring Michael Keaton as businessman Ray Kroc, the film depicts the story of h ...
''.
Still Life at the Penguin Cafe
Simon Jeffes composed music for the ballet
Still Life at the Penguin Cafe
''Still Life at the Penguin Cafe'' is a ballet choreographed by David Bintley and featuring music composed by Simon Jeffes, founder of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. It is also the title of the accompanying album. Geoffrey Richardson (musician), G ...
, largely based on earlier compositions for the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. (
Geoffrey Richardson co-wrote one of the pieces.) The ballet was first performed by the
Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...
in 1988, and the music was released as an album under Jeffes' name.
Perpetuum Mobile
Another of the group's well-known pieces is "Perpetuum Mobile" from their 1987 album ''
Signs of Life''. It has been used in several films, television and radio programmes, including as the main theme of the Australian stop-motion animated film ''
Mary and Max
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
'' (2009), and in the
television adaptation of ''The Handmaid's Tale''. Swedish DJ
Avicii
Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...
sampled the main melody for his song "Fade into Darkness". Because it was written in the
15/8 time signature, the melody seems to end and repeat one beat sooner than expected, giving it the feel of a perpetual motion device.
Numbers 1-4
Another piece called "Numbers 1-4" was featured in a dance film shown on
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001. It was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. Its original incarnation, the se ...
episode 1604, when Mr. McFeely brings the video in to show. The film featured dancers from Pittsburgh's
Dance Alloy Dance Alloy was a modern dance repertory company based in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's neighborhood of Friendship. It suspended operations in 2012 following a merger with the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater.
History and mission
The Pittsburgh Dance Allo ...
, who used fitness balls in the dance.
A number of pieces including "Numbers 1-4", "Perpetuum Mobile" and "Music for A Found Harmonium" were included on the soundtrack of the Channel 4 documentary series
Road Dreams.
Uses by others
Covers
* "Music for a Found Harmonium" was covered as a
reel
A reel is a tool used to store elongated and flexible objects (e.g. yarns/ cords, ribbons, cables, hoses, etc.) by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a '' spool''. Many reels also have flanges (known as the ''rims'') arou ...
by the group
Patrick Street
Patrick Street is an Irish folk group founded by Kevin Burke (formerly of The Bothy Band) on fiddle, Andy Irvine ( Sweeney's Men, Planxty) on mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica and vocals, Jackie Daly (De Dannan) on button accordion, and Arty Mc ...
on their 1990 album ''
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'', and subsequently by other folk acts including
Galician band Matto Congrio in 1993, the
California Guitar Trio
California Guitar Trio (CGT) is an acoustic–electric band (music), band formed in Los Angeles in 1991 with the aim of expanding the potential of acoustic guitars played in the New standard tuning (NST) introduced by Robert Fripp on Guitar Cra ...
on their ''Echoes'' album (2008), and by Irish accordion player Sharon Shannon on her first album. The tune was also covered by the
pan-celtic
Pan-Celticism (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Pan-Cheilteachas'', Breton: ''Pan-Keltaidd'', Welsh: ''Pan-Geltaidd'', Cornish: ''Pan-Keltaidh'', Manx: ''Pan-Cheltaghys''), also known as Celticism or Celtic nationalism, is a political, social and cultur ...
violin ensemble
Celtic Fiddle Festival
Celtic Fiddle Festival is a group of Celtic fiddlers active since 1993. Representing three branches of Celtic culture, the members were Johnny Cunningham from Scotland, late of Silly Wizard, Kevin Burke from Ireland, best known for the Bothy ...
in 1993, at the time consisting of former
Silly Wizard
Silly Wizard were a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students— Gordon Jones (guitar, bodhran, vocals, bouzouki, mandola), and Bob Thomas (guitar, mandolin, man ...
fiddler
Johnny Cunningham
Johnny Cunningham (27 August 1957 – 15 December 2003) was a Scottish folk musician and composer, instrumental in spreading interest in traditional Celtic music.
Johnny Cunningham was born on 27 August 1957 in Portobello, Edinburgh. He was ra ...
,
Bothy Band
The Bothy Band are an Irish traditional band, originally active during the mid 1970s. They quickly gained a reputation as one of the most influential bands playing Irish traditional music. Their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity had a signific ...
fiddler
Kevin Burke, and
Kornog fiddler
Christian Lemaitre, on their self-titled debut album.
* "Music for a Found Harmonium" was the basis for a mix by
The Orb
The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential ...
which appeared (along with both the original and the cover version by Patrick Street) on Penguin Cafe Orchestra's 1996 "best of" album, ''Preludes, Airs and Yodels'', and subsequently on The Orb's own 2001 remix compilation "
''Auntie Aubrey's Excursions Beyond the Call of Duty - The Orb Remix Project, Volume 2''". The title was given as "Pandaharmonium" on the former and "Music for a Found Harmonium (Pandaharmoniumorb
mix)" on the latter.
*
Avicii
Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...
samples a section of "Perpetuum Mobile" in his dance track "
Fade into Darkness" (previously known as "Penguin"); the
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...
/Avicii collaboration "
Collide" also uses the same piano hook.
* "Music for a Found Harmonium" was used as part of a tune set ("Guns") by
Roving Crows
Roving Crows are a four-piece Irish folk rock band, based in Worcestershire, England. Since forming in 2009, they have released three albums and received a number of awards.
History Formation and self-titled demo
Singer-Songwriter Paul O'Neil ...
on their ''Deliberate Distractions'' album (2013)
* The main theme of "Music for a Found Harmonium" was used by
Earl 16
Earl Sixteen (born Earl John Daley, 9 May 1958)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, , p. 152 is a Jamaican reggae singer whose career began in the mid-1970s.
Biography
Daley grew up in Waltham Park R ...
on his 1997 track "Steppin' Out".
* A string quartet arrangement of "Music for a Found Harmonium" was used in the Japanese TV series ''
Quartet
In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...
'' (2017).
Film
* Penguin Cafe Orchestra music featured on the 1986 Australian cult film ''
Malcolm
Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to:
People
* Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward
* Clan Malcolm
* Maol Choluim de Innerp ...
'', written by David Parker and directed by Nadia Tass. The film won the 1986 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film. The opening theme is "Music for a Found Harmonium", and during the film features "Paul's Dance", "Yodel 1", "Yodel 2" and "Telephone and Rubber Band". The closing theme is "The Ecstasy of Dancing Fleas".
* The first trailer for the
John Hughes John Hughes may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment Literature
*John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet
*John Hughes (1790–1857), English author
*John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet
*John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...
movie ''
She's Having a Baby
''She's Having a Baby'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed and written by John Hughes and starring Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern. It tells the story of a young newlywed couple who try to cope with married life and their par ...
'' consisted of edited-together, increasingly fast, dialogue-free clips from the movie with only this musical piece playing over them.
* "Telephone and Rubber Band" was used in the final sequence and at the start of the closing credits of ''
Talk Radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
'' (1988), directed by
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
.
* "Perpetuum Mobile" was used as the main theme for the documentary ''
The Union: The Business Behind Getting High'' (2007), the animated Australian film ''
Mary and Max
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
'' (2009), the Swedish movie ''
Slim Susie
''Slim Susie'' () is a 2003 Swedish comedy-crime film. It was directed by Ulf Malmros and written by Malmros and Petteri Nuottimäki. It is considered Ulf Malmros's most popular film.
Plot
The film is set in a small industrial town in Värmland, ...
'' (2003) and the documentary ''
Project Nim'' (2011). It was also featured in a Season 1 episode of ''
The Handmaid's Tale
''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
''.
* "Music For a Found Harmonium" is featured in ''
Napoleon Dynamite
''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American Independent film, independent Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt (producer), Chris Wyatt and Sean C. Covel (producer), Sean Covel, written by Jared and J ...
'' (2004), and the 2016 film ''
The Founder
''The Founder'' is a 2016 American Biographical film, biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel (filmmaker), Robert Siegel. Starring Michael Keaton as businessman Ray Kroc, the film depicts the story of h ...
''.
Radio/podcasts
* ''
This American Life
''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...
'', a popular show on public radio in the United States, has often used the band's "Perpetuum Mobile" to accompany its stories, and news programs on
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
have at times used the ringtone from "Telephone and Rubber Band" as
bumper music
Bumper music, also known as a bump, is a radio broadcasting term for short clips of signature songs or theme music used to transition between different elements of a program. These clips typically last no longer than fifteen seconds. Bumper mus ...
between pieces.
* ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' magazine has used "Perpetuum Mobile" in its weekly
podcasts
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...
.
* The Australian
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
Radio National
ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
...
weekly broadcast o
The Music Showuses "Perpetuum Mobile" as its theme music.
* "Scherzo and Trio" is the theme music for
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
's ''
Round Britain Quiz
''Round Britain Quiz'' (''RBQ'') is a panel game that has been broadcast on BBC Radio since 1947, making it the oldest quiz still broadcast on British radio. It was based on a format called ''Transatlantic Quiz'', a contest between American an ...
''.
* "Pythagoras's Trousers" was the theme music for
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
's ''
Basic Black''.
Television
* "Pythagoras's Trousers" was the theme music for
TVE La 1's gameshow ''Juego de niños''.
Personnel
*
Simon Jeffes – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, cuatro, ukulele, bass, voice,
Omnichord
The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It allows users to play distinctive harp-like arpeggios produced through an electronic strum plate, simulating the experience of ...
,
Dulcitone
A dulcitone is a keyboard instrument in which sound is produced by a range of tuning forks, which vibrate when struck by felt-covered hammers activated by the keyboard.
The instrument was designed by Thomas Machell of Glasgow in the 1860s, at the ...
, penny whistle, pitch pipes, harmonium, shakers, drums,
ring modulator
In electronics, ring modulation is a signal processing function, an implementation of frequency mixing, in which two signals are combined to yield an output signal. One signal, called the carrier, is typically a sine wave or another simple wa ...
, rubber band, electronic organ, milkbottles, triangle, violin, drum,
Linn Drum computer, soloban, spinet,
Prophet V, fretless guitar,
Bluthner and
Bosendorfer pianos, zebra drum, tape, pianica, mandolin, electric aeolian harp
*
Helen Liebmann – cello
*
Steve Nye
Steve Nye is an English music producer for several artists.
Career
Nye started out as a tape op at AIR Studios in London in 1971, where producer Rupert Hine discovered him.
There he got into engineering (and later producing) many well-known ...
– electric piano, cuatro,
Bluthner piano,
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
piano, harmonium
*
Gavyn Wright
Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, ...
– violin
*
Geoffrey Richardson – viola, slide guitar, bass, bongos, metal frame, ukulele, mandolin, electric guitar, penny whistle, clarinet
* Ian Maidman (later
Jennifer Maidman
Jennifer Maidman (formerly Ian Maidman, born 24 January 1958) is a British musician, singer, producer, songwriter, actress and author who has collaborated extensively with many internationally well known groups and artists. Her work appears on h ...
) – percussion, bass guitar, ukulele, cuatro, electric guitar, zebra drum.
*
Emily Young
Emily Young FRBS (born 1951) is a British sculptor, who has been called "Britain's greatest living stone sculptor". She was born in London into a family of artists, writers and politicians. She currently divides her time between studios in Londo ...
– vocals
*
Michael Giles
Michael Rex Giles (born 1 March 1942) is an English drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, best known as one of the co-founders of King Crimson in 1968. Prior to the formation of King Crimson, he was part of the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles a ...
– drums
*
Dave DeFries – trumpet, fluegelhorn
*
Annie Whitehead
Lena Annie Whitehead (born 16 July 1955 in Oldham, Lancashire) is a British jazz trombone player.
Career
Whitehead learned the trombone in high school and participated in rock and jazz bands. When she was 16, she left school to become a member ...
– trombone
*
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and viola, violist.
His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and has since expanded into jazz music, jazz, klezmer, and other music genres.
Early life and ...
– violin
*
Naná Vasconcelos
Juvenal de Holanda Vasconcelos, known as Naná Vasconcelos (2 August 1944 – 9 March 2016), was a Brazilian percussionist, vocalist and berimbau player, notable for his work as a solo artist on over two dozen albums, and as a backing musician wi ...
– clay pot, twigs
*
Kathryn Tickell
Kathryn Tickell, Order of the British Empire, OBE, Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 8 June 1967) is an English musician, noted for playing the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle.
Music career Early life
Kathryn Tickell was born in Walsall, to parent ...
– Northumbrian small pipes
*
Chris Laurence
Chris Laurence (born 6 January 1949) is an English musician. Born in London, he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and primarily works with jazz and classical music. In the classical world he was principal double bass with th ...
– bass
*
Wilfred Gibson
Wilfred Gibson (28 February 1942 – 21 October 2014) was an English violinist, session musician, and early member of the Electric Light Orchestra.
Early life
Wilfred Gibson was born on 28 February 1942 in Dilston, Northumberland. He received ...
– violin
*
Roger Chase
Roger Chase (born in London in 1953) is a British violist who currently teaches at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
Life
Roger Chase was born in London and studied under Bernard Shore (with occasional lessons fr ...
– viola
* Braco – drums
* Marcus Beale – violin
* Kuma Harada – bass
* Barbara Bolte – oboe
*
Stephen Fletcher – piano
* Peter McGowan – violin
* Giles Leaman – woodwinds
* Bob Loveday – violin
* Neil Rennie – ukulele
* Julio Segovia – percussion
* Jill Streater – oboe
* Peter Veitch – accordion
* Fami – drums
*
Trevor Morais
Trevor Morais (born 10 October 1944) is an English drummer who has been a member of several notable groups such as Faron's Flamingos, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, The Peddlers, Quantum Jump and the Elkie Brooks backing band. He is also a s ...
– drums
* Danny Cummings – percussion
* Paul Street – guitar
* Elisabeth Perry
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Music from the Penguin Cafe'' (1976) OBSCURE 7, later EGED27
* ''
Penguin Cafe Orchestra'' (1981) EGED11
* ''
Broadcasting from Home'' (1984) EGED 38
* ''
Signs of Life'' (1987) EGED 50 –
UK No. 49
* ''
Union Cafe
''Union Cafe'' is the fifth and final studio album by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, released in 1993 under the Zopf label. The album was originally released only as a CD and cassette. It was never released on vinyl until 2017, when a double LP edi ...
'' (1993) ZOPFD 001
Extended play
* ''
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra Mini Album'' (1983) EGMLP 2 –
Six-song mini-LP consisting of 2 previously released tracks, 2 live tracks, and 2 new compositions.
Live albums
* ''
When in Rome...'' (1988) EGED56
* ''Concert Program'' (1995) ZOPFD 002
Collections
* ''Preludes, Airs & Yodels'' (A Penguin Cafe Primer) (1996)
* ''A Brief History'' (2001) CDV 2954
* ''History'' (2001) Virgin Records LCO 3098
* ''The Second Penguin Cafe Orchestra Sampler'' (2004)
Simon Jeffes albums
* ''
'Still Life' at the Penguin Cafe'' (1990) DECCA 425 218-2
* ''Piano Music'' (2000) ZOPFD 003 –
Solo pieces, collected after Jeffes' death.
Related album
* ''Arcane'' (1994), credited to 'Assorted Artists'
''Arcane'' consists of recordings by diverse musicians brought together in August 1992 at the Real World studios in Wiltshire for a week of spontaneous collaborations and performances. No one musician appears on every track, but Jeffes is one of the more constant presences on this album and it includes new versions of previous PCO tracks "Yodel 3" and "Cage Dead". Amongst the many other collaborators are
Billy Cobham
William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
He was inducted into the '' Mode ...
,
Andy Sheppard
Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...
,
Jane Siberry
Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels (Jane Siberry song), Calling All Angels". She performed the theme so ...
,
Ayub Ogada
Job Seda (1956 – 1 February 2019), better known as Ayub Ogada, was a Kenyan singer. He was a singer favoring the nyatiti (an eight-stringed lyre with its origins credited to the Luo, a tribe in Nyanza Kenya) as his characteristic instrument. ...
,
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and viola, violist.
His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and has since expanded into jazz music, jazz, klezmer, and other music genres.
Early life and ...
, and
Nana Vasconcelos
Nana, Na Na or NANA may refer to:
People
* Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name
* Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname
* Nana (chief) (died 1896), Mimbreño A ...
.
Soundtracks
* ''
Night Shift
The shift plan, rota or roster (esp. British) is the central component of a schedule (workplace), shift schedule in shift work. The schedule includes considerations of shift overlap, shift change times and alignment with the clock, vacation, train ...
'' (1982) ("Cutting Branches for a Temporary Shelter")
* ''
Malcolm
Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to:
People
* Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward
* Clan Malcolm
* Maol Choluim de Innerp ...
'' (1986) ("Music For A Found Harmonium," "Paul's Dance," "Yodel 1," "Yodel 2," "Telephone And Rubber Band," "The Ecstasy Of Dancing Fleas")
* ''
Talk Radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
'' trailer (1988) ("Telephone and Rubber Band")
* ''Oskar und Leni'' (1999) (soundtrack was released on CD, containing 10 songs from ''Union Cafe'' and ''Concert Program'')
* ''
Chuck and Buck
''Chuck & Buck'' is a 2000 American black comedy drama film directed by Miguel Arteta and produced by Matthew Greenfield. It was written by and starred Mike White in the leading role. Arteta, Greenfield, and White met and first collaborated at We ...
'' (2000) ("Air a Danser," "Paul's Dance," "Prelude and Yodel," "Nothing Really Blue")
* ''
Slim Susie
''Slim Susie'' () is a 2003 Swedish comedy-crime film. It was directed by Ulf Malmros and written by Malmros and Petteri Nuottimäki. It is considered Ulf Malmros's most popular film.
Plot
The film is set in a small industrial town in Värmland, ...
'' (2003) ("Perpetuum Mobile")
* ''
The Good Girl
''The Good Girl'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film.
''The Good Girl'' premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and released to theatres on August 7, 2002, in the United States.
Plot
Justine Last is a bored thirty-year-old woman liv ...
'' (2002) ("Air" and "Steady State")
* ''
The Princess and the Warrior
''The Princess and the Warrior'' () is a 2000 German romantic drama film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. It follows the life of Sissi ( Franka Potente), a psychiatric hospital nurse who, after a near-death experience, enters into a relat ...
'' official soundtrack (2000) ("Nothing Really Blue")
* ''
Napoleon Dynamite
''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American Independent film, independent Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt (producer), Chris Wyatt and Sean C. Covel (producer), Sean Covel, written by Jared and J ...
'' official soundtrack (2005) ("Music for a Found Harmonium")
* ''
It's All Gone Pete Tong
''It's All Gone Pete Tong'' is a 2004 British-Canadian mockumentary-drama film about a DJ (Paul Kaye) who goes completely deaf. The title uses a rhyming slang phrase used in Britain from the 1980s (Pete Tong = "wrong"), referring to the BBC Ra ...
'' official soundtrack (2005) ("Music for a Found Harmonium")
*
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...
commercial (2006) ("Perpetuum Mobile")
* ''
3 lbs
''3 lbs'' (pronounced "three pounds") is an American medical drama television series created by Peter Ocko, that aired on CBS from November 14, 2006, to November 7, 2008, replacing the cancelled series ''Smith''. The show itself was then ca ...
'' episode "Lost for Words" (2006) ("Perpetuum Mobile")
* ''
Year of the Dog'' (2007) ("Music for a Found Harmonium")
* ''
All the Little Animals
''All the Little Animals'' is a 1998 drama film directed and produced by Jeremy Thomas and starring Christian Bale and John Hurt. Based on the 1968 novella of the same name by Walker Hamilton, it was adapted for the screen by Eski Thomas.
Th ...
'' music written by Simon Jeffes, performed and recorded by PCO members Geoffrey Richardson, Jennifer Maidman and Steve Fletcher
* ''
Capitalism: A Love Story'' (2009) ("Music for a Found Harmonium")
* ''
Mary and Max
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
'' (2009) ("Perpetuum Mobile", "Prelude and Yodel")
* Origin Energy "Sustainability Drive" commercial ("Perpetuum Mobile")
* ''
The Handmaid's Tale
''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'' (2017) ("Perpetuum Mobile")
* ''
It's a Sin
"It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, '' Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's ...
'' (2020) ("Telephone and Rubber Band")
References
External links
Official siteOfficial site of the Orchestra That Fell to Earth(musicians of the original PCO)
*
*
{{Authority control
Avant-pop groups
E.G. Records artists
Musical groups established in 1972
Musical groups disestablished in 1997
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2007
Virgin Records artists
Erased Tapes Records artists