History Music / BrianEno

He contributed heavily to Music/DavidBowie's "Berlin trilogy" (''[[Music/LowDavidBowieAlbum Low]]'', ''"Music/{{Heroes}}"'', and ''Music/{{Lodger}}''), to the point that he and producer Tony Visconti are considered the architects of those albums' sound (and Eno is often miscredited as co-producing those albums). He also released two critically acclaimed collaborations with Music/DavidByrne, ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'' and ''Everything That Happens Will Happen Today''.

Eno's interest in recording technology and experimental approaches can be traced to his studies at Ipswich Art School and the Winchester School of Art, but he had little actual musical training when he joined the glam rock band Music/RoxyMusic in 1971. Credited solely as "Eno," he provided synthesiser work, occasional backing vocals and "treatments," operating the mixing desk, tape recorders and serving as RecordProducer. He left the band in 1973 over a creative conflict with frontman Music/BryanFerry, taking his weirdness with him.

-->''So tired, soul searching, I followed the sounds to a cathedral''
-->''Imagine my surprise to find that they were produced by Brian Eno''
-->--'''Music/{{MGMT}}''', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRiBrWY3NB4 "Brian Eno"]]

With Music/{{U2}} (as Music/{{Passengers}}):

* BlackComedy: Some of his songs take a light-hearted approach to gruesome subject matter, like "Baby's on Fire," which is made of {{pun}}s about a person who's [[ManOnFire on fire]] ("They said that you were hot stuff / And that's what baby's been reduced to,") or "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More."

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: His music incorporates influence from many different genres, including WorldMusic, ElectronicMusic, AvantGardeMusic, GlamRock, and ProgressiveRock.

With Music/{{U2}} (as Passengers:)

* Music/{{Devo}}'s debut: ''Music/QAreWeNotMenAWeAreDevo!''. Eno was frustrated by Devo's obsession with sticking to the arrangements they had already demoed, and Devo later admitted that they should have listen a bit more to Eno's advice, and pointed that he always came up with "cool" synth parts that "we only used for three or four songs."

He contributed heavily to Music/DavidBowie's "Berlin trilogy" (''[[Music/LowDavidBowieAlbum Low]]'', ''"Music/{{Heroes}}"'', and ''Music/{{Lodger}}'',) to the point that he and producer Tony Visconti are considered the architects of those albums' sound. He also released two critically acclaimed collaborations with Music/DavidByrne, ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'' and ''Everything That Happens Will Happen Today''.

With Robert Fripp:

* BaldOfAwesome

* CoolOldGuy
* ConceptAlbum: ''Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy.)''

* {{Instrumentals}}

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly

* RecordProducer

* ScaryMusicianHarmlessMusic: His music since the '70s has tended towards the serene and floaty end of things, but as his published diaries reveal, [[HairTriggerTemper he has something of a temper]]. When he made ''Wrong Way Up'' with Music/JohnCale, they... Clashed.

* WordSaladLyrics

* Music/{{Devo}}'s debut: ''Music/QAreWeNotMenAWeAreDevo!''. Eno was frustrated by Devo's obsession with sticking to the arrangements they had already demoed, and Devo later admitted that they should have listen a bit more to Eno's advice, that pointed that he always came up with "cool" synth parts that "we only used for three or four songs."

* Music/{{Devo}}'s debut: ''Music/QAreWeNotMenAWeAreDevo!''. Eno was frustrated by Devo's obsession with sticking to the arrangements they had already demoed, and Devo later admitted that Eno always came up with "cool" synth parts that "we only used for three or four songs."

!"Oblique Tropes":

* A cameo on Music/{{Slowdive}}'s ''Souvlaki'', providing keyboards and treatments to the songs "Sing" and "Here She Comes." Notably, he refused the band's offer to produce the entire album, saying they were good enough to not need his help.

* ''Music/ApolloAtmospheresAndSoundtracks'', the soundtrack for the NationalGeographic film ''Film/ForAllMankind''. Wonderfully atmospheric music to accompany the story of the Apollo Project.

!"Tropes for Airports":

!Tropes:

Eno started a solo career almost immediately, bringing a ton of guest musicians in the studio that included all his old Roxy bandmates sans Ferry (Phil Manzanera, Andy [=MacKay=], Paul Thompson,) John Wetton and Robert Fripp from Music/KingCrimson, Simon King from Music/{{Hawkwind}} and Paul Rudolph of Music/ThePinkFairies -- an ensemble specifically chosen for its musical incompatibility. The resulting hodgepodge of humorous WordSaladLyrics, catchy rock melodies and experimental touches made ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' a notable success. He continued this [[AvantGardeMusic experimental]] rock sound for a string of similarly-acclaimed albums, ''Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)'', ''Another Green World'' and ''Before and After Science'', featuring just as many guest musicians pooled from famous bands as before.

* Music/TalkingHeads' critically acclaimed ''More Songs About Buildings and Food'', ''Music/FearOfMusic'', and ''Music/RemainInLight''.

* The soundtrack for the NationalGeographic film ''Film/ForAllMankind''. Wonderfully atmospheric music to accompany the story of the Apollo Project.

* Music/{{Devo}}'s debut: ''Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!''. Eno was frustrated by Devo's obsession with sticking to the arrangements they had already demoed, and Devo later admitted that Eno always came up with "cool" synth parts that "we only used for three or four songs."

He contributed heavily to Music/DavidBowie's "Berlin trilogy" (''Low'', ''"Heroes"'', and ''Lodger'',) to the point that he and producer Tony Visconti are considered the architects of those albums' sound. He also released two critically acclaimed collaborations with Music/DavidByrne, ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'' and ''Everything That Happens Will Happen Today''.

Brian Eno (b. May 15, 1948) is an enormously influential and prolific musician, composer, RecordProducer, singer and music theorist, even though he describes himself as a [[SelfDeprecation "non-musician"]]. A former art school student, Eno has an enormous amount of credits under his belt that includes his [[TropeCodifier popularisation]] of ambient music, {{Sampling}} and world music, his co-authoring of the "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategies Oblique Strategies]]" collection of cards alongside Peter Schmidt, his groundbreaking use of the studio as an instrument, his critically acclaimed solo career, his well-regarded work as a RecordProducer, his stint in the glam rock band RoxyMusic and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking his creation of the "Microsoft Sound"]].

Eno's interest in recording technology and experimental approaches can be traced to his studies at Ipswich Art School and the Winchester School of Art, but he had little actual musical training when he joined the glam rock band RoxyMusic in 1971. Credited solely as "Eno", he provided synthesiser work, occasional backing vocals and "treatments", operating the mixing desk, tape recorders and serving as RecordProducer. He left the band in 1973 over a creative conflict with frontman Bryan Ferry, taking his weirdness with him.

Eno started a solo career almost immediately, bringing a ton of guest musicians in the studio that included all his old Roxy bandmates sans Ferry (Phil Manzanera, Andy [=MacKay=], Paul Thompson), John Wetton and Robert Fripp from KingCrimson, Simon King from {{Hawkwind}} and Paul Rudolph of ThePinkFairies--an ensemble specifically chosen for its musical incompatibility. The resulting hodgepodge of humorous WordSaladLyrics, catchy rock melodies and experimental touches made ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' a notable success. He continued this experimental rock sound for a string of similarly-acclaimed albums, ''Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)'', ''Another Green World'' and ''Before and After Science'', featuring just as many guest musicians pooled from famous bands as before.

Simultaneously, Eno entered into a long {{True Art}}y collaboration with Robert Fripp based around a tape-delay system nicknamed "Frippertronics" and minimalist influences. Eno and Fripp released three albums together: ''(No Pussyfooting)'', the first, had exactly one 18-minute track per side. The minimalist direction of these albums along with an apocryphal story about staying in the hospital, eventually drove Eno to abandon rock and dedicate himself to ambient music, releasing another series of acclaimed albums starting with ''Music/Ambient1MusicForAirports'' which are considered landmarks of the genre. Since then, his solo music has largely been electronic and ambient in nature.

Ever since his career began, Eno has split his time between working by himself and acting as a RecordProducer. In the latter capacity, he is known for applying his experimental approach in the studio and encouraging a band's creativity. His production work includes, among others:
* Music/TalkingHeads' critically acclaimed ''More Songs About Buildings and Food'', ''Music/FearOfMusic'' and ''Music/RemainInLight''.
* Every {{U2}} album since ''The Unforgettable Fire'' (except ''Pop''), alongside co-producer Daniel Lanois. Eno and Lanois are famous for playing a key role in creating both the band's ambient sound in TheEighties and their futuristic techno-rock sound in TheNineties with their production wizardry. Eno also served as a key player in the Passengers side-project, and even has a number of writing credits on ''No Line on the Horizon.''
* The soundtrack for the National Geographic film ''Film/ForAllMankind''. Wonderfully atmospheric music to accompany the story of the Apollo Project.
* James' most successful album ''Laid'', its experimental companion piece ''Wah Wah'' and ''Millionaires''.
* A cameo on {{Slowdive}}'s ''Souvlaki'', providing keyboards and treatments to the songs "Sing" and "Here She Comes". Notably, he refused the band's offer to produce the entire album, saying they were good enough to not need his help.
* Music/{{Devo}}'s debut ''Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!''. Eno was frustrated by Devo's obsession with sticking to the arrangements they had already demoed, and Devo later admitted that Eno always came up with "cool" synth parts that "we only used for three or four songs".
* Ultravox's debut ''Ultravox!''

He contributed heavily to DavidBowie's "Berlin trilogy" (''Low'', ''"Heroes"'' and ''Lodger''), to the point that he and producer Tony Visconti are considered the architects of those albums' sound. He also released two critically acclaimed collaborations with Music/DavidByrne, ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'' and ''Everything That Happens Will Happen Today''.

'''Solo albums'''

* ''Extracts From Music for White Cube'' (1997)

* ''Small Craft On A Milk Sea'' (2010)

'''Collaborative albums'''

With the band 801:

With Harold Budd:

With the band Cluster:

With Jon Hassell:

With Rick Holland:

With Laraaji:

With {{U2}} (as Passengers)

With Jah Wobble

* BlackComedy: Some of his songs take a light-hearted approach to gruesome subject matter, like "Baby's on Fire", which is made of {{pun}}s about a person who's [[ManOnFire on fire]] ("They said that you were hot stuff/And that's what baby's been reduced to"), or "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More".
* BoDiddleyBeat: "Blank Frank".

* ConceptAlbum: ''Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)''

** The typewriter solo on "China My China".
** On Music/JohnCale's "Gun", Eno plays [[RoxyMusic Phil Manzanera]]. That is, Phil Manzanera takes a guitar solo, which is fed into Eno's keyboard, so Eno is {{Sampling}} him in real time.

* OverlyLongName: see AwesomeMcCoolname above
* ParachuteInATree: 'Mother Whale Eyeless' includes the line "Parachutes caught on steeples".
* PersonAsVerb: On Music/JohnCale's album ''Fear'', he isn't credited with playing any specific instrument - his contribution is simply listed as "[[AppliedPhlebotinum Eno]]." He's also credited for "Enossification" on Music/{{Genesis}}' ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway''.

* ScaryMusicianHarmlessMusic: His music since the 70s has tended towards the serene and floaty end of things, but as his published diaries reveal, [[HairTriggerTemper he has something of a temper]]. When he made ''Wrong Way Up'' with Music/JohnCale, they ... clashed.

* ''Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks'' (1983)

* ''Music/Ambient1:MusicForAirports'' (1978)

Simultaneously, Eno entered into a long {{True Art}}y collaboration with Robert Fripp based around a tape-delay system nicknamed "Frippertronics" and minimalist influences. Eno and Fripp released three albums together: ''(No Pussyfooting)'', the first, had exactly one 18-minute track per side. The minimalist direction of these albums along with an apocryphal story about staying in the hospital, eventually drove Eno to abandon rock and dedicate himself to ambient music, releasing another series of acclaimed albums starting with ''Ambient 1: Music for Airports'' which are considered landmarks of the genre. Since then, his solo music has largely been electronic and ambient in nature.

* Music/TalkingHeads' critically acclaimed ''More Songs About Buildings and Food'', ''Fear of Music'' and ''Remain in Light''.

* ''Ambient 1: Music for Airports'' (1978)

He contributed heavily to DavidBowie's "Berlin trilogy" (''Low'', ''"Heroes"'' and ''Lodger''), to the point that he and producer Tony Visconti are considered the architects of those albums' sound. He also released two critically acclaimed collaborations with David Byrne, ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'' and ''Everything That Happens Will Happen Today''.

With David Byrne:

* ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' (1974)

-->--'''Music/{{MGMT}}''', "Brian Eno"

The man's even got [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRiBrWY3NB4 a song written about him]], courtesy of {{MGMT}}.

* EverythingIsAnInstrument: The typewriter solo on "China My China".
** On Music/JohnCale's "Gun", he plays [[RoxyMusic Phil Manzanera]]. That is, Phil Manzanera takes a guitar solo, which is fed into Eno's keyboard, so Eno is {{Sampling}} him in real time.

Eno started a solo career almost immediately, bringing a ton of guest musicians in the studio that included all his old Roxy bandmates sans Ferry (Phil Manzanera, Andy [=MacKay=], Paul Thompson), John Wetton and RobertFripp from KingCrimson, Simon King from {{Hawkwind}} and Paul Rudolph of ThePinkFairies--an ensemble specifically chosen for its musical incompatibility. The resulting hodgepodge of humorous WordSaladLyrics, catchy rock melodies and experimental touches made ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' a notable success. He continued this experimental rock sound for a string of similarly-acclaimed albums, ''Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)'', ''Another Green World'' and ''Before and After Science'', featuring just as many guest musicians pooled from famous bands as before.

* {{Ultravox}}'s debut ''Ultravox!''

* AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}

* {{Sampling}}: Helped popularize the method with ''MyLifeInTheBushOfGhosts''.
* ScaryMusicianHarmlessMusic: His music since the 70s has tended towards the serene and floaty end of things, but as his published diaries reveal, [[HairTriggerTemper he has something of a temper]]. When he made ''Wrong Way Up'' with Music/JohnCale, they...clashed.

* TropeCodifier: For ambient music, arguably the same for generative music.

* PornStash: According to [[http://www.pretenders.org/eno.htm an interview]] he did with Chrissie Hynde (yes, [[Music/{{Pretenders}} that Chrissie Hynde]]), he had an impressive one in TheSeventies.