Spiro is a British instrumental musical group based in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

, England, consisting of

Jane Harbour Jane Harbour is a British violinist and composer. She is the main composer in the group Spiro, which she formed in 1993. Her composition work has also included writing for theatre, live film and TV, and for other ensembles including the exper ...

(violin, viola) Alex Vann (mandolin) Jason Sparkes (piano accordion) and Jon Hunt (guitar). To date they have released four albums on the UK label

Real World Records Real World Records is a British record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1989 by English musician Peter Gabriel and original members of WOMAD. A majority of the works released on Real World Records feature music recorded at ...

History

The band was formed in 1993 by violinist and composer

, whose classical and electronica influences met with the punk influences of Vann and Hunt. Their early experiments centred around reworking traditional folk tunes, particularly those of the North of England, but Harbour's growing fascination with minimalist systems began to impact on the group and were evident by the time of the independently released ''Pole Star'' (1997), which fused both influences. The album was critically well received, and the band continued to play live, including writing and performing for theatre. However no further albums were released until the BBC's use of several Pole Star tracks brought them to the attention of manager Alan James and Real World Records, for whom they have recorded three further studio albums, ''Lightbox'' (2009), ''Kaleidophonica'' (2012) and ''Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow'' (2015). The latter two in particular largely feature original melodies and more intricate composition. Real World also re-released ''Pole Star'' (2014), a vinyl-only compilation album ''Repeater'' (2016) and a mini-album, ''The Vapourer'' (2013), with live recordings by the group and Moog versions of two of their compositions by Portishead's Adrian Utley. The band have toured internationally, and in 2016 received nominations for the

BBC Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British r ...

and Songlines Awards.

Members

*Jane Harbour (violin, viola; 1993 to present) *Alex Vann (mandolin; 1993 to present) *Jason Sparkes (accordion; 1993 to present) *Jon Hunt (acoustic guitar; 1993 to present)

Recordings

*''Lost in Fishponds'' (recorded as 'The Famous Five') (CD, Uncle, 1994) *''Pole Star'' (Uncle, 1997) *''Lightbox'' (

, 2009) *''Kaleidophonica'' (

, 2012) *''The Vapourer'' (with Adrian Utley,

, 2013) *''Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow'' (

, 2015) *''Repeater'' (

, 2016)

References

External links

*Tassell, Nigel
Spiro
spiromusic.com/about.html. Accessed 2009-10-17.
Spiro

website. Accessed 2009-10-17.
Spiro

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

website. Accessed 2009-10-17.
Review of ''Lightbox''
by Robin Denselow. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', 19 June 2009.
Review of ''Kaleidophonica''
by Colin Irwin.

BBC website BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, the children ...

, 2012.
Review of ''Kaleidophonica''
by Robin Denselow. ''

'', 16 February 2012. {{Authority control Musical groups from Bristol British instrumental musical groups Musical groups established in 1993 Real World Records artists