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| BIO/DISCOGRAPHY IRMIN | BIO/DISCOGRAPHY KUMO | PERFORMANCE PROFILE | MASTERS OF CONFUSION | FLIES, GUYS AND CHOIRS | PRESS | CONCERTS | CONTACT |
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Born in Liverpool in 1965 Jono began to play violin at the age of 10. He left Liverpool to study electronic music at
Middlesex University in 1983. By 1986 he was composing music for theatre and TV (incl. Eugene Ionesco's Journeys Among
The Dead and Stanley's Vision for Channel 4 TV) and together with Peter Hope released the album Dry Hip Rotation.
In 1987 Jono joined The Corn Dollies as violinist and string arranger
with international touring and studio commitments including 2 albums. Following the split of the band in 1990, he went to Japan
to continue his studies in Karate. On returning to London he began working as an engineer, producer, programmer and string
arranger with artists such as Jamiroquai, The Shamen, Jhelisa, Ian McCulloch, Robert Owens, D*Note, Republica, Sunship,
and A.P.E whilst continuing to compose and produce music for stage and screen.
In 1994 he began work with Mr. C (The Shamen) at
Watershed Studios
and Plink Plonk records. It was at this point he began to compose and record under the name
Kumo, founding 2 sister labels
to Plink Plonk: Autoi and Psychomat, and began to play the Theremin, developing new techniques for live performance of
electronic music.
After a string of singles and remixes as Kumo, March 1997 saw the
release of his first album Kaminari to sigificant critical acclaim. A series of live dates and international DJ commitments
followed, including the Essential Music Festival, the Sonar festival, and the Graz Biennale.
1997 was also the year that Jono moved
temporarily to France to
work as co-producer, sound designer and sound engineer with Irmin Schmidt
(of Can) on his opera Gormenghast which premiered
in 1998, and was re-staged in 2004. A selection from the opera was released on Spoon/Mute records in 2000 (Spoon 44).
In 2000 he worked with
Tim Simenon on a new Bomb the Bass album,
with Jose Padilla (Cafe del Mar compiler and DJ) on
the album Navigator, produced a number of tracks for Jaki Liebezeit
(of Can)'s band Club Off Chaos, and October 2000
saw the release of the 2nd Kumo album 1+1=1 on Spoon Records (Spoon 46).
In 2001, after extensive touring
including the Sonar festival,
the London Jazz Festival and the Can Solo Projects tour, the first Irmin Schmidt and Kumo
album: Masters of Confusion
(Spoon 45) was released worldwide. Later the same year they created the sound installation
Flies, Guys and Choirs for
the Barbican Centre as part of the Elektronik festival. The installation is now available as a sonic experience for public
spaces. The duo continue to perform and give workshops together across Europe and at festivals such as Montreux Jazz, Sonar,
Triptych etc. They also work on film and TV music together including award winning German TV series and dramas.
In 2002 Jono
also worked on new projects in Germany, Switzerland
and the U.K (with B.J Cole and Jaki Liebezeit amongst others) and a
the track EP Kumo and Friends (e-tones 009) was
released on Electric Tones Records in early 2003.
For much of 2003 he worked
closely with Spoon records on the CanDVD:
remixing Can in 5.1, producing the Can Solo Projects CD,
and began remastering the entire Can back catalogue - a process due
to conclude in 2007. Other work in 2003 included mixing an album, film music
and remixes with Corker/Conboy and lecturing at
the Red Bull Music Academy.
Alongside the
staging of a well-recieved and largely re-worked
production of Gormenghast in Saarbrucken and Luxembourg in June 2004,
Jono also mixed music for a number of film and TV
productions including The Hamburg Cell by Antonia Bird.
A successful collaboration with BJ Cole was released on the album
Trouble in Paradise and, after further live appearances together, work began
on a 2nd Irmin Schmidt and Kumo album.
In November 2004 Jono was appointed Professor of Popular Music
at the Köln Musikhochschule (Cologne University of Music) where he runs regular practical workshops ranging from dub to
music business, composing for film to house music. He has also forged a relationship with the International Film School
in Köln and runs joint workshops between the 2 Academies.
In early 2005 Jono wrote orchestral
arrangements for the film
Drei Grad Kälter performed by the Nüremburg Sinfoniker. He went on to mix the film music, exerpts being released on CD
in 2006. The film was awarded the Silver Leopard at the 58th Locarno Film Festival.
As work continued on the Irmin Schmidt and Kumo album, the duo
also made remixes (incl. P.I.L); performed live and gave
workshops in Germany and Portugal; and, produced the album dot i/o for
Japanese artist Mito Ichikawa released on P-Vine records, December 2006.
Other work in 2006 includes: composition for the series of
art installations Tatlin's Tower and the World; mixing the debut albums
of Sun Zoom Spark and Biggi Orn Steinarsson;
mixing jingles for FIFA for the 2006 World Cup; recording Futon's
album Painkiller in Bangkok; studio and live work
with U.K label City Rockers; and a new series of recordings with Jaki Liebezeit, due for release in 2008.
The 2nd Irmin Schmidt and Kumo
album Axolotl Eyes was
completed in May 2007 and is available now on Spoon/Mute/Warners/P-Vine. The 7 track album comes with a bonus
DVD containing the complete sound installation Flies, Guys and Choirs in 5.1, accompanied by a 2 hour film by Jono
and Sandra Podmore with Kate Shipp. The DVD was screened at the 2007 Sonar festival, Barcelona.
A new four track Kumo ep
entitled Metapolis has recently
become available on iTunes and further releases are planned.
Current work includes mixing
the Magnetik North album
(featuring Jaki Liebezeit), mixing a new album by True Stories with
Box Saga and a series of edits for Damo Suzuki
and the Elysian Quartet.
Jono lives in London with his wife Sandra and daughter Lara.
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KUMO RELEASES
IRMIN SCHMIDT & KUMO -
BJ COLE & KUMO
Further information can be found at: |
JONO PODMORE
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