Archive
Hidden Orchestra release new album, Dawn Chorus
Dawn Chorus is out now on Tru Thoughts Records.
Each track is set to a different one of Joe Acheson‘s dawn chorus recordings, and connected to his past travels and projects through many field recordings and appearances from diverse guest musicians.Dawn Chorus includes the 2016 track Wingbeats, and the recent single Still, and features Acheson’s trademark beat-driven orchestral textures with contributions from regular members of his imaginary orchestra – Jamie Graham (drums) and Tim Lane (drums and trombone), Poppy Ackroyd (violin), Su-a Lee (cello), Mary Macmaster (harps), Philip Cardwell (trumpet), Tomáš Dvořák (clarinet), Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn (Uillean pipes), and Jiří Javůrek (bass clarinet).
Pre-order vinyl and digital from Etch Shop and Bandcamp
Super-Limited Bundle now sold out – but limited edition ultraclear vinyl still available from Bandcamp and independent record stores.‘Pre-save’ the album to your Spotify library
Still Single & Video
Still was released as a single in May, featuring the full track, an edit, and an alternate ‘no drums’ version.
The track started out as a collaboration with Prague quartet Clarinet Factory.Check out the amazing video by Bristol collective Limbic Cinema (which includes Tom Lumen who is responsible for our live AV shows) –
Dawn Chorus London Album Launch
Soundcrash will be hosting our London album launch at Islington Assembly Hall on June 29th.
The show will feature a lot of the new album, and live visuals from Tom Lumen.Also delighted to announce that Poppy Ackroyd will be opening the night to showcase her new piano mini-album Sketches, her first release since signing to One Little Indian.
Max Cooper remixA symmetrical remix of Max Cooper‘s track Symmetry (feat. Tom Hodge), released on his Emergence Remixed album back in March.
Look out for Max returning the favour amongst an increasingly exciting lineup of producers on the Dawn Chorus Remixed album, which should be out towards the end of the year…
Thanks and Best Wishes
Hidden Orchestra
Hidden Orchestra announce new album + London launch show
Hidden Orchestra’s eagerly anticipated third album, ‘Dawn Chorus’ (out 16th June) is a highly personal, intricate and unique work from producer and composer Joe Acheson. The album is built around an expansive collection of birdsong and other field recordings, carefully captured across many years in diverse locations around the UK and abroad. Rich in detail and character, these sonic snapshots intertwine with layers of bass, drums, percussion and eclectic instruments – including piano, electro-harp, glockenspiel, Turkish mey and cello – for an emotive and transporting listen.
The first taste of this LP came in late 2016 with the “Wingbeats EP”, which captivated fans and tastemakers alike, the beautiful lead piece being strongly championed by Mary Anne Hobbs and picked for the BBC 6Music Recommends Playlist. Daytime and specialist airplay across BBC 6Music added to other high profile support from the likes of Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Late Junction (BBC Radio 3), BBC Radio Scotland and The Arts Desk, while the track was accompanied by a video featuring drone footage of breathtaking Icelandic scenery and birdlife.
The “Still” single, now streaming upfront ahead of its official May release, delivers the next exciting glimpse of this LP with a dramatic and dynamic, beat-laden soundscape built around a sonic sketch from Czech group Clarinet Factory layered with drums, strings, brass, piano and field recordings.
The ‘Dawn Chorus’ album will be launched with a gig at London’s Islington Assembly Hall on 29th June; revered around the world for their compelling shows, the live incarnation of Hidden Orchestra combines the duelling beats of two full drum kits (care of Jamie Graham and Tim Lane) with piano and violin from Poppy Ackroyd, and Acheson’s bass and electronics. Their recent performance at The Royal Albert Hall alongside The Pharcyde, Submotion Orchestra, Andreya Triana and Henry Wu was a milestone event building on a dizzying run of gigs this decade, from sellout AV shows at London’s Union Chapel and St John at Hackney to hundreds of headlines and festivals at home and around the world.
‘Dawn Chorus’ follows the ‘Night Walks’ (2010) and ‘Archipelago’ (2012) albums, which established Hidden Orchestra’s beat-heavy and multi-layered sound as a favourite with music fans of all stripes, gaining praise everywhere from The Independent, Clash and XLR8R to BBC 6Music and KCRW. With releases remixed by top producers including submerse, Mungo’s Hi Fi and Floex, Hidden Orchestra’s reworks of other artists include a notable commission for Bryan Ferry’s ‘Avonmore (The Remix Album)’. Anticipation for the new album has also been stoked in recent years by hugely popular mixtapes (which have gained hundreds of thousands of streams), side-projects, and those incendiary live shows.
A sonic experimenter and nature enthusiast, Joe Acheson has always captured field recordings and found sounds to incorporate in his Hidden Orchestra music, as well as using them in his award-winning work as a radio producer and soundtrack composer. Last year saw him developing this with “Marconi & The Lizard” – an EP born of an artist residency at Cornwall’s Lizard Point, commissioned by The National Trust and British Library. Released under the Joe Acheson solo name, this project was greeted with features in The Guardian and The Independent and radio support from Tom Ravenscroft (BBC 6Music) and Late Junction (BBC R3), creating even more interest in Acheson’s exciting musical explorations as the new Hidden Orchestra album continued to take shape in his studio.
Press/promo enquiries: Rosie@tru-thoughts.co.uk +44 (0) 1273 694617 | hiddenorchestra.com / tru-thoughts.co.uk
Welcome to LittleBig Hidden Orchestra
We’re delighted to announce the signing of Hidden Orchestra to LB.
Hidden Orchestra is the solo studio project of multi-instrumentalist composer/producer Joe Acheson, currently based in Brighton (UK).
The sound of Hidden Orchestra on record is an intense and varied sonic journey, and the live experience is no different. The innovative set-up, with two drummers as the ‘front man’, has caused excitement and amazement from their very earliest gigs, from fans and critics alike.
Since the release of ‘Night Walks’ in 2010, the band has toured in over 30 countries, building a devoted audience in many territories, selling out venues from Edinburgh and London through to Prague, Moscow, Athens and Istanbul.
The band has been continually developing several different spectacular live audiovisual setups in collaboration with Bristol-based artist Tom Lumen. Depending on the event, this can be a simple screen-based setup (for flying shows and festivals), through to installations of multiple screens, filled with bespoke visuals and live on-stage camera footage.
There have also been site-specific shows which feature extensive projection-mapping of the buildings’ architecture – this show can potentially be done anywhere.
Contact Debbie for bookings