Brian Eno is 75 years old today
Brian Eno is 75 years old today.
An English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, Eno is known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.
A student of Roy Ascott on his Groundcourse at Ipswich Civic College, Eno then studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex, England, taking inspiration from minimalist painting. During his time on the art course at the Institute, he also gained experience in playing and making music through teaching sessions held in the adjacent music school.
He joined the band, Roxy Music, as synthesizer player in the early 1970s. Roxy Music's success in the glam rock scene came quickly, but Eno soon tired of touring and of conflicts with lead singer, Bryan Ferry.
Eno's solo music has explored more experimental musical styles and ambient music. He emphasized "theory over practice." He also introduced the concept of “chance music” to popular audiences — partially through collaborations with other musicians. Eno has also worked as an influential music and album producer.
By the end of the 1970s, Eno had worked with David Bowie on the seminal "Berlin Trilogy" and helped popularize the American band, Devo, and the punk-influenced "No Wave" genre. He produced and performed on three albums by Talking Heads, including Remain in Light (1980), and produced seven albums for U2, including The Joshua Tree (1987).
Eno has also worked on records by Laurie Anderson, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Paul Simon, Grace Jones and Slowdive. Eno pursues multimedia ventures in parallel to his music career, including art installations, a newspaper and magazine columns.
His "Oblique Strategies," written with Peter Schmidt, is a deck of cards in which cryptic remarks or random insights are intended to resolve dilemmas. Eno continues to collaborate with other musicians, produce records, release his own music and write.