Philip_Jeck

Philip Jeck

Philip Jeck

English composer and artist (1952–2022)

Philip Jeck (15 November 1952 – 25 March 2022) was an English composer and multimedia artist. His compositions were noted for utilising antique turntables and vinyl records, along with looping devices and both analogue and digital effects.[3] Initially composing for installations and dance companies, beginning in 1995 he released music on the UK label Touch.

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Early life

Jeck was born in England in 1952.[6][3][7] He studied visual arts at Dartington College of Arts in Devon.[3][8] He became interested in record players after visiting New York in 1979 and being introduced to the work of DJs such as Walter Gibbons and Larry Levan.[9]

Career

Jeck started exploring composition using record players and electronics in the early 1980s. In his early career, he composed and performed scores for dance and theatre companies, including a five-year collaboration with Laurie Booth.[3] He also composed scores for dance films Beyond Zero on Channel 4 and Pace on BBC 2.[10][11] Jeck was perhaps best known for his 1993 work Vinyl Requiem with Lol Sargent, a performance for 180 Dansette record players, 12 slide-projectors and two film-projectors.[3] Although he initially intended to perform it only once, he went on to organise further performances of the installation.[7] It won the Time Out Performance Award in 1993.[3][12]

Jeck signed with Touch in 1995 and proceeded to release his best-known works on the label, including Surf (1998), Stoke (2002), and 7 (2003). In 2004, he collaborated with Alter Ego on a 2005 rendition of composer Gavin Bryars's The Sinking of the Titanic.[3] His 2008 album, Sand, was named the second best album of that year by The Wire.[13] Many of his studio releases are pieced together from recordings of his own live performances and stitched together with a MiniDisc recorder.[3] His final music credit came in 2021 with Stardust, a collaboration with Faith Coloccia.[14]

He collaborated with artists including Jah Wobble, Jaki Liebezeit, David Sylvian and Janek Schaefer.[3]

Death

Jeck died on 25 March 2022, aged 69, following a brief illness.[15][8][14]

Discography

Studio and live recordings

  • Loopholes (1995, Touch)[16]
  • Surf (1998, Touch)[16]
  • Live in Tokyo (2000, Touch)[16]
  • Vinyl Coda I–III (2 CDs) (2000, Intermedium Records)[16]
  • Vinyl Coda IV (2001, Intermedium Records)[16]
  • Stoke (2002, Touch)[16][17]
  • 7 (2003, Touch)[16][18]
  • Sand (2008, Touch)[16][19]
  • Suite. Live in Liverpool (2008, Touch)[16]
  • An Ark for the Listener (2010, Touch)[16]
  • Cardinal (2015, Touch)[16][19]
  • Iklectik (2017, Touch)[16]

Collaborations

References

  1. [1]
    Gotrich, Lars (10 September 2019). "Viking's Choice: What I Learned From Aquarius Records, A Record Store For Big Ears". NPR. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. [2]
    Sherburne, Philip (28 March 2022). "10 Must-Hear Recordings by Experimental Turntablist Philip Jeck, Who Found Infinity in Vinyl's Grooves". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  3. [3]
    Bush, John. "Philip Jeck – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  4. [4]
    Clark, Philip (26 December 2015). "The playlist: best experimental music of 2015 – Laura Cannell, Philip Jeck and more". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  5. [5]
    Albiez, Sean (2017). Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 11. Bloomsbury. pp. 347–349. ISBN 978-1-5013-2610-3. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  6. [6]
    Staff. "Philip Jeck – CV" Archived 28 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine. www.philipjeck.com.
  7. [7]
    Rutherford-Johnson, Tim (2017). Music After the Fall: Modern Composition and Culture Since 1989. University of California Press. p. 215. ISBN 978-0-520-28314-5.
  8. [8]
    Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (28 March 2022). "Philip Jeck, acclaimed British experimental composer, dies aged 69". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  9. [9]
    Saunders, James. "Interview with Philip Jeck". The Ashgate Research Companion to Experimental Music. Ashgate. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  10. [10]
    Rowell, Bonnie (2000). Dance Umbrella: The First Twenty-one Years. Dance Books. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-85273-077-2.
  11. [11]
    "Pace". British Film Institute. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  12. [12]
    Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (28 March 2022). "Philip Jeck, acclaimed British experimental composer, dies aged 69". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  13. [13]
    "Biography". Philip Jeck official website. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  14. [14]
    Minsker, Evan (27 March 2022). "Philip Jeck, Experimental Composer and Turntablist, Dies at 69". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  15. [15]
    Minsker, Evan (27 March 2022). "Philip Jeck, Experimental Composer and Turntablist, Dies at 69". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  16. [16]
    "Philip Jeck – Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  17. [17]
    Richardson, Mark (26 November 2002). "Stoke". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  18. [18]
    Richardson, Mark (13 January 2004). "7". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  19. [19]
    Cornish, Dale (28 March 2022). "The Quietus | Features | Remember Them... | Remembering Philip Jeck". The Quietus. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  20. [20]
    "Philip Jeck – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  21. [21]
    Staff (21 October 2004). "Songs for Europe". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
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