Line #60 Music/BrianEno


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brian_eno.jpeg]]
2
3	->''"So tired, soul searching, I followed the sounds to a cathedral\
4	Imagine my surprise to find that they were produced by Brian Eno"''
5	-->-- '''Music/{{MGMT}}''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRiBrWY3NB4 "Brian Eno"]]
6
7	Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (born Brian Peter George Eno, 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 Music/RoxyMusic and his creation of the "Microsoft Sound."
8
9	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.
10
11	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 ''Music/HereComeTheWarmJets'' 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.
12
13	Simultaneously, Eno entered into a long TrueArt[=y=] collaboration with Music/RobertFripp 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.
14
15	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:
16	* Music/TalkingHeads' critically acclaimed ''Music/MoreSongsAboutBuildingsAndFood'', ''Music/FearOfMusic'', and ''Music/RemainInLight''.
17	* Every Music/{{U2}} album from ''Music/TheUnforgettableFire'' to ''Music/NoLineOnTheHorizon'' (except ''Music/{{Pop\|Album}}''), 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 Music/{{Passengers}} side-project, and even has a number of writing credits on ''No Line on the Horizon''.
18	* ''Music/ApolloAtmospheresAndSoundtracks'', the soundtrack for the Magazine/NationalGeographic film ''Film/ForAllMankind''. Wonderfully atmospheric music to accompany the story of the Apollo Project.
19	* Music/{{James}}' most successful album ''Laid'', its experimental companion piece ''Wah Wah'' and ''Millionaires''.
20	* A cameo on Music/{{Slowdive}}'s ''Souvlaki'', providing keyboards and treatments to the songs "Sing" and "Here She Comes." Notably, he declined the band's offer to produce the entire album, saying they were good enough to not need his help, but he did offer to collaborate with them.
21	* 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."
22	* Music/{{Ultravox}}'s debut ''Ultravox!'' (alongside the band and Steve Lillywhite).
23	* Music/{{Coldplay}}'s albums ''Music/VivaLaVidaOrDeathAndAllHisFriends'' (2008) and ''Music/MyloXyloto'' (2011). Notably, for ''Viva la Vida'', Eno point-blank told the band exactly what parts of their style completely sucked once he accepted the job and set out to correct those perceived flaws.
24	* Music/LaurieAnderson's ''Bright Red''.
25
26	He contributed heavily to Music/DavidBowie's "Berlin trilogy" (''[[Music/LowDavidBowieAlbum Low]]'', ''[[Music/HeroesDavidBowieAlbum "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 mis-credited as co-producing those albums; he ''did'', however, produce Bowie's later album ''Music/{{Outside}}''). He also released two critically acclaimed collaborations with Music/DavidByrne, ''Music/MyLifeInTheBushOfGhosts'' and ''Music/EverythingThatHappensWillHappenToday'', and co-produced Byrne's 2018 solo album ''Music/AmericanUtopia''. His involvement with the music industry is so deeply entrenched that his Website/{{Wikipedia}} article once included a detailed web diagram showing off just how many connections he has with other ProgressiveRock artists alone; he's ''that'' prolific.
27
28	Oh, and he made a cameo in the [[Recap/FatherTedS3E8GoingToAmerica final episode]] of ''Series/FatherTed'' as Father Brian Eno. He really ''does'' get everywhere.
29	----
30
31	!Discography:
32	!!Solo albums:
33	* ''Music/HereComeTheWarmJets'' (1974)
34	* ''Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)'' (1974)
35	* ''Another Green World'' (1975)
36	* ''Discreet Music'' (1975)
37	* ''Before and After Science'' (1977)
38	* ''Music/Ambient1MusicForAirports'' (1978)
39	* ''Music for Films'' (1978)
40	* ''Ambient 4: On Land'' (1982)
41	* ''Music/ApolloAtmospheresAndSoundtracks'' (1983)
42	* ''Music for Films Volume 2'' (1984)
43	* ''Thursday Afternoon'' (1985)
44	* ''Nerve Net'' (1992)
45	* ''The Shutov Assembly'' (1992)
46	* ''Neroli'' (1993)
47	* ''Extracts from Music for White Cube'' (1997)
48	* ''The Drop'' (1997)
49	* ''Lightness: Music for the Marble Palace'' (1998)
50	* ''I Dormienti'' (1998)
51	* ''Kite Stories'' (1998)
52	* ''Music for Civic Recovery Centre'' (2000)
53	* ''Compact Forest Proposal'' (2001)
54	* ''January 7003: Bell Studies for the Clock of the Long Now'' (2003)
55	* ''Another Day on Earth'' (2005)
56	* ''Small Craft on a Milk Sea'' (2010)
57	* ''FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE'' (2022)
58
59	!!Collaborative albums:
60	!!!With Music/RoxyMusic:
61	* ''Music/{{Roxy Music\|Album}}'' (1972)
62	* ''Music/ForYourPleasure'' (1973)
63
64	!!!With 801:
65	* ''June 1, 1974'' (1974)
66	* ''801 Live'' (1976)
67
68	!!!With Music/DavidBowie:
69	* ''Music/LowDavidBowieAlbum'' (1977)
70	* ''Music/HeroesDavidBowieAlbum'' (1977)
71	* ''Music/{{Lodger}}'' (1979)
72	* ''[[Music/{{Outside}} 1. Outside]]'' (1995)
73
74	!!!With Music/HaroldBudd:
75	* ''Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror'' (1980)
76	* ''The Pearl'' (1984)
77
78	!!!With Music/TalkingHeads:
79	* ''Music/MoreSongsAboutBuildingsAndFood'' (1978)
80	* ''Music/FearOfMusic'' (1979)
81	* ''Music/RemainInLight'' (1980)
82
83	!!!With Music/DavidByrne:
84	* ''Music/MyLifeInTheBushOfGhosts'' (1981)
85	* ''Music/EverythingThatHappensWillHappenToday'' (2008)
86	* ''Music/AmericanUtopia'' (2018)
87
88	!!!With Music/JohnCale:
89	* ''Wrong Way Up'' (1990)
90
91	!!!With Music/{{Cluster}}:
92	* ''Cluster & Eno'' (1977)
93	* ''After the Heat'' (1977)
94	* ''Begegnungen'' (1984) - compilation of collaborative work
95	* ''Begegnungen II'' (1985) - compilation of collaborative work
96	* ''Old Land'' (1985) - compilation of collaborative work
97
98	!!!With Music/RobertFripp:
99	* ''(No Pussyfooting)'' (1973)
100	* ''Evening Star'' (1975)
101	* ''The Equatorial Stars'' (2004)
102	* ''Beyond Even (1992-2006)'' (2007)
103
104	!!!With Music/JonHassell:
105	* ''Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics'' (1980)
106	* ''Fourth World, Vol. 2: Dream Theory in Malaya'' (1981)
107
108	!!!With Music/RickHolland:
109	* ''Drums Between the Bells'' (2010)
110
111	!!!With Music/{{Laraaji}}:
112	* ''Ambient 3: Day of Radiance'' (1980)
113
114	!!!With Music/{{U2}} (as Passengers):
115	* ''Original Soundtracks 1'' (1995)
116
117	!!!With [[Music/PublicImageLtd Jah Wobble]]:
118	* ''Spinner'' (1995)
119	----
120	!!''Oblique Tropes'':
121	* {{Ambient}}: TropeCodifier, if not TropeMaker. Also TropeNamer.
122	* AsTheGoodBookSays: "Needles in the Camel's Eye" is an allusion to one of Jesus' aphorisms ("It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven").
123	* 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."
124	* BoDiddleyBeat: "Blank Frank."
125	* CampStraight: He was one in the early part of his career, with his feathers and makeup.
126	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Well, it's his style. The results he achieves suggest that he has his feet on ''some'' sort of ground.
127	* ConceptAlbum: ''Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)'' is a loose one.
128	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Ambient 4: On Land'' is much darker than his previous ambient outings,with many considering it a TropeMaker for Dark Ambient.
129	* DeadpanSnarker: Comes across this way in interviews.
130	* DroneOfDread: ''Ambient 4: On Land'' has this on every track. The high-pitched synth note in "Baby's on Fire" also qualifies.
131	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His first two albums were far more evocative of the GlamRock sound he had developed during his time in Music/RoxyMusic; only after this would he begin to delve more and more into experimental, ambient territory, with ''Another Green World'' and ''Before and After Science'' both containing strong avant-garde elements evocative of his forthcoming sound and ''Discreet Music'' between them being his first full-on ambient record. He wouldn't fully embrace the genre though until ''Ambient 1: Music for Airports'', after which he never touched more traditional rock in his solo work again.
132	* EpicRocking: For a certain definition of the term, his ambient music often qualifies; "Discreet Music" is over thirty minutes long and it's nowhere close to being his longest song. ''Neroli'' is a single-track album that runs for almost an hour.
133	* EverythingIsAnInstrument:
134	** The typewriter solo on "China My China."
135	** On Music/JohnCale's "Gun," Eno plays [[Music/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.
136	* FadingIntoTheNextSong: Quite a few songs, particularly on albums like ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' and ''Another Green World''.
137	* FluffyFashionFeathers: Wore these with Music/RoxyMusic and the ''Music/HereComeTheWarmJets'' era.
138	* GenreMashup: His music incorporates influence from many different genres, including WorldMusic, ElectronicMusic, AvantGardeMusic, GlamRock, {{Jazz}}, ClassicalMusic, and ProgressiveRock.
139	* {{Guyliner}}: In his time with Music/RoxyMusic and his early solo career.
140	* {{Improv}}: A key component of his songwriting process.
141	* {{Instrumentals}}: Much of his work is instrumental, especially his {{ambient}} stuff.
142	* LastNameBasis: In Music/RoxyMusic and on his first solo albums, he was credited simply as "Eno."
143	* LiteraryAllusionTitle: ''Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)'' is one to a Chinese opera of the same name.
144	* OverlyLongName: Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno.
145	* ParachuteInATree: "Mother Whale Eyeless" includes the line "Parachutes caught on steeples."
146	* 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\|Band}}' ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway'' (which amounts to distortion effects on Peter Gabriel's vocals).
147	* 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, though Hynde later admitted to embellishing her account.
148	* PunBasedTitle: He has quite a few of them: "Seven Deadly Finns", "Golden Hours", "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More" (a play on the slogan of Turkish Airlines, which had recently suffered one of the worst air crashes in history), and so on.
149	* RecordProducer: One of the most famous.
150	* RenaissanceMan: A composer, performer, producer, diarist, video artist...
151	* RhythmTypewriter: Used in "China My China":
152	--> ''These poor girls are such fun \
153	They know what God gave them their fingers for \
154	(To make [[LampshadeHanging percussion over solos]])''
155	* {{Sampling}}: Helped popularize the method with ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts''.
156	* 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''.
157	* SelfBackingVocalist: His vocal albums employ a lot of multiple vocal overdubs.
158	* ShoutOut: "Zawinul/Lava" is likely one to Joe Zawinul of Music/WeatherReport and Music/MilesDavis fame. "Kurt's Rejoinder" is a reference to poet/artist Kurt Schwitters, whose cut-up technique was an influence on Eno's lyrical writing style (and whose poem "Ursonate" is actually sampled in the song). The Judy of "Back in Judy's Jungle" is punk musician [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Nylon Judy Nylon]].
159	* SignificantAnagram: "King's Lead Hat" is one for Music/TalkingHeads, a band Eno admired and whom he would soon begin producing.
160	* TakeThat: "Dead Finks Don't Talk" from his solo debut sounds a lot like a swipe at Bryan Ferry, who had recently thrown him out of Music/RoxyMusic. Eno pretty much admits it, although he says the correspondence was unconscious.
161	* TropeCodifier: For ambient music, and arguably also for generative music.
162	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: "China My China":
163	-->''I remember a man who [[DrivenToSuicide jumped out of a window over the bay]]\
164	There was hardly a raised eyebrow''
165	* WordSaladLyrics: He has a habit of choosing words for their sound rather than their meaning, resulting in liberal amounts of this.
166	* WorldMusic: ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'' helped popularize the fusion of rock with world music known as worldbeat.

Context Music / BrianEno