Jono Podmore - Kumo
Professor of the Practice of Popular Music
Composer, Producer, Programmer, Engineer
Orchestral Arranger
Born
in Liverpool in 1965 Jono began to play violin at the age of 10. He left
Liverpool to study electronic music at Middlesex University in 1983. By 1986 he
was composing music for theatre and TV (incl. Eugene Ionesco's Journeys Among The Dead and Stanley's Vision
for Channel
4 TV) and together with Peter Hope released the album Dry Hip Rotation.
In
1987 Jono joined The Corn Dollies as violinist and string arranger with international
touring and studio commitments including 2 albums. Following the split of the
band in 1990, he went to Japan to continue his studies in Karate. On returning
to London he began working as an engineer, producer, programmer and string
arranger with artists such as Jamiroquai, The Shamen, Jhelisa, Ian McCulloch, Robert Owens, D*Note,
Republica, Sunship, and A.P.E whilst continuing to compose and produce music for stage,
dance and screen.
In
1994 he began work with Mr. C (The Shamen) at Watershed Studios and Plink Plonk records. It was at this
point he began to compose and record under the name Kumo, founding 2 sister labels to Plink Plonk:
Autoi
(Drum n Bass) and Psychomat (Abstract Beats), and began to play the Theremin,
developing new techniques for live performance of electronic music.
After a string of singles and remixes as Kumo, March 1997 saw the release of his
first album Kaminari
to significant critical acclaim. A series of live dates and international DJ
commitments followed, including the Essential Music Festival, the Sonar
festival, and the Graz Biennale.
1997
was also the year that Jono moved temporarily to France to work as co-producer,
sound designer and sound engineer with Irmin Schmidt (of Can) on his opera Gormenghast which premiered in 1998, and
was re-staged in 2004. A selection from the opera was released on Spoon/Mute
records in 2000 (Spoon 44).
In
2000 he also worked with Tim Simenon on a new Bomb the Bass album, with Jose Padilla (Cafe del Mar compiler and DJ) on the album Navigator,
produced a number of tracks for Jaki Liebezeit (of Can)'s band Club Off Chaos, and October 2000 saw
the release of the 2nd Kumo album 1+1=1
on Spoon Records (Spoon 46).
In
2001, after extensive touring in Europe including the Sonar festival, the
London Jazz Festival and the Can Solo Projects tour, the first Irmin Schmidt
and Kumo album Masters
of Confusion (Spoon 45) was released worldwide. Also in 2001 the duo
were commissioned to create the sound installation Flies, Guys and Choirs by the Barbican
Centre as part of the Elektronik festival. The installation is now available as
a sonic experience for public spaces. They continue to perform and give
workshops together across Europe and at festivals such as Montreux Jazz, Sonar,
Triptych etc. They also work on film and TV music together including award
winning German TV series and dramas.
In
2002 Jono continued to work on new projects in Germany, Switzerland and the U.K
(with BJ
Cole and Jaki
Liebezeit amongst others) and a 3 track EP Kumo and Friends (e-tones 009) was released
on Electric Tones Records in early 2003.
For much of 2003 he worked closely with Spoon records on the Can DVD,
remixing Can
in 5.1, producing the Can
Solo Projects CD, and remastering the entire Can back catalogue - 14 albums
remastered and released on CD/SACD in 4 phases concluded in 2007. Other work in
2003 included mixing an album, film music and remixes with Corker/Conboy and lecturing at the Red Bull Music
Academy.
Alongside
the staging of a well-recieved and largely re-worked production of Gormenghast
in Saarbrźcken and Luxembourg in June 2004, Jono also mixed music for a number
of film and TV productions including The Hamburg Cell by Antonia Bird. A successful collaboration with BJ Cole was
released on the album Trouble
in Paradise and, after further live appearances together, work began on
a 2nd Irmin
Schmidt and Kumo album.
In
November 2004 Jono was appointed Professor of the Practice of Popular Music at
the Kšln
Musikhochschule (Cologne University of Music) where he runs regular
practical workshops in subjects ranging from dub to music business, and from
composing for film to house music. He has also forged a relationship with the International Film
School in Cologne and runs joint workshops between the 2 Academies.
In
early 2005 Jono wrote orchestral arrangements for the film Drei Grad KŠlter performed by the Nźremburg
Sinfoniker. He went on to mix the film music, exerpts being released on CD
in 2006. The film was awarded the Silver Leopard at the 58th Locarno Film
Festival.
As
work continued on the Irmin Schmidt and Kumo album, the duo also made remixes (incl. P.I.L);
performed live and gave workshops in Germany and Portugal; and, produced the
album dot i/o
for Japanese artist Mito Ichikawa released on P-Vine records, December 2006.
Jono moved to London in 2006 continuing work on:
composition for the series of art installations Tatlin's Tower and the World; mixing
the debut albums of Sun Zoom Spark and Biggi Orn Steinarsson; mixing jingles for FIFA for
the 2006 World Cup; recording Futon's album Painkiller
in Bangkok; studio and live work with U.K label City Rockers; and a new series of
recordings with Jaki Liebezeit, due for release in 2010.
The
2nd Irmin
Schmidt and Kumo album Axolotl
Eyes was completed in May 2007 and was released on Spoon/Mute Spring
2008. The 7 track album came with a bonus DVD containing the complete sound
installation Flies, Guys and
Choirs in 5.1, accompanied by a 2 hour film by Jono and Sandra Podmore
with Kate Shipp. The piece was installed at the Sonar festival, Barcelona and
the Chants Mechanique festival, Lille.
A
four track Kumo
ep entitled Metapolis
was released on iTunes with White Label Music and sales continue.
Throughout
2009 a major new Kumo project Horrorshow was developed. Consisting
of 9 soundtracks for 9 short films, Horrorshow will be available in
various multi-media and performance forms in 2010.
In
late 2009 Jono founded a new and ongoing analogue electronic music collective Metamono.
The first release: C15H14O6 is available now on
limited edition cassette at www.metamono.co.uk, and their soundtrack for the
feature film The Enemy Above will be available from May 2010. Jono also
began an ongoing collaboration with Philippe
Petit on Off to Titan,
a radical reworking of a Mahler symphony ready for performance with full
orchestra and release in 2011. Dry Hip Rotation,
Jono's first album with Peter Hope from 1986 was re-released in December 2009
on Klanggalerie Records.
In
April 2010 a new fully professional recording studio built and equipped to
Jono's specifications was opened at the Musikhochschule Kšln. This will be
followed by the inauguration of a record label to release students' work.
The process of editing and recovering previously
unreleased recordings by Can from 1968 - 1977 has recently begun, ready for release later
this year.
On
31st July 2010 Irmin
Schmidt and Kumo will be performing a special gala concert with full
orchestra at the Ludwigsburg Castle, near Stuttgart as part of the
Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele festival.
Jono
lives in London with his wife Sandra and daughter Lara.
25/04/10
LINKS:
Irmin
Schmidt and Kumo - My Space