Brian Eno: Oblique Music

by Sean Albiez, David Pattie (Editor)

On the back of his published diary Brian Eno describes himself variously a mammal, a father, an artist, a celebrity, a pragmatist, a computer-user, an interviewee, and a 'drifting clarifier'. To this list we might add rock star (on the first two Roxy Music albums); the creator of lastingly influential music ( Another Green World ; Music for Airports ); a trusted producer (for Talking Heads, U2, Coldplay and a host of other artists); the maker of large-scale video and installation artworks; a maker of apps and interactive software; and so on. He is one of the most feted and influential musical figures of the past forty years, even though he has described himself on more than one occasion as a non-musician.

This volume examines Eno's work as a musician, as a theoretician, as a collaborator, and as a producer. Brian Eno is one of the most influential figures in popular music; an updated examination of his work on this scale is long overdue.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

296 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 2014

Reviews

[Barry Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Eno has had a long and illustrious career as a sideman in Roxy Music, solo rock star, electronic composer/theorist/writer, producer and collaborator with a number of musicians from David Byrne to John Hassell, from Robert Fripp to Nico, from U2 to John Cale. This collection of essays, edited by Sean Albiez and David Pattie covers most aspects of his work. Just a few of the more interesting articles are "Before and After Eno: Situating 'The Recording Studio as Compositional Tool' by Sean Albiez and Ruth Dockwray, Elizabeth Ann Lindau's about "My Life in The Bush Of Ghosts," where she discusses the surprisingly convergent origins of ethnography and surrealism, Jonathan Stewart's on the fraught relations between Eno and Devo, Noel McLaughlin's on the cultural ramifications of Eno's English/Irish collaboration with U2. All, however, are at least interesting and informative and must-reads for fans of any aspect of Eno's varied career. A fine collection. - BH.

[Timothy Swartout · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of scholarly works regarding the work of, and place in modern musical culture of Brian Eno. It’s an interesting, yet dry( as one might expect from this type of book ) book, but is also illuminating for those of us who have interest in delving into the history of the”non-musician” who has had such a pervasive influence on modern music. He has had a hand in a large amount of popular music and most of us don’t realize it.
It addresses Eno’s techniques(studio as instrument, etc.) as well as his works with artists like David Byrne, U2, Devo, Roxy Music and many other lesser-knowns as well. I would have liked to read about his work with other artists, such as the band, James, or his partnership with Daniel Lanois and its details.
A dry, yet enjoyable read.

[Aaron Badgley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many different essays about Brian Eno, informative, and fun to read. I learned a great deal reading this book.