Open Sky - music without boundaries. Emotive, exciting, transcendent, intimate, exhilarating.
The new band put together by Iona guitarist/keyboardist/producer Dave Bainbridge is all these and more. Music that will touch you.
Work has commenced on Open Sky's debut album, which should be ready for release later in 2008 - stay tuned!
DAVE BAINBRIDGE - Keyboards / Guitars / Bouzouki / Mandolin
Graduated from LEEDS COLLEGE OF MUSIC with a First Class Pass (including Distinction in Arranging). Awarded the BBC Radio 2 BEST SOLOIST AWARD (Piano) in the BBC National Rehearsal Band Contest and the Leeds College of Music ‘SAM HOOD’ ROSEBOWL for ‘OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE’.
A multi-faceted career has followed - as a musician, composer for albums and films, arranger and producer. In 1989, Dave co-founded the band IONA with David Fitzgerald, as an outlet for his own compositions and with the aim to produce uplifting, atmospheric and adventurous music that point people to the rich heritage that has been left to us by the early Celtic Christians of these Isles.
Dave has recorded or performed with numerous artists (in many different genres) including;
Iona, Troy Donockley, Jack Bruce, Buddy Guy, Gloria Gaynor (USA), Mae McKenna, “Snake’ Davis, Paul Jones, Pete Brown, Phil Keaggy (USA), Bryn Haworth, Marti Webb, Jumoke, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Gary Boyle, Riding Lights Theatre Company, Graham Kendrick, Rockin’ Sidney (USA), Fenton Robinson (USA), Lurrie Bell (USA), Louisiana Red (USA), Woodthieves & Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Barry + Batya Segal (Israel), The All Soul’s Orchestra, Adrian Snell, Emiko Shiratori and Nick Beggs.
COMPOSING / ARRANGING CREDITS INCLUDE;
ALBUMS
'Iona' (9 albums)
‘The Eye of the Eagle’ - Bainbridge / Fitzgerald (& the St Edmundsbury Cathedral choir)
‘Veil of Gossamer’ - Dave Bainbridge
‘From Silence’ - Donockley / Bainbridge
‘When Worlds Collide’ - Donockley / Bainbridge
‘Breaking of the Dawn’ - Nick Fletcher / Dave Bainbridge
FILM CREDITS INCLUDE;
‘Snowdonia - Realm of the Ravens‘ (Natural World Series’ - BBC2)
‘Wilfred’ (Duchy Parade Films) - award winning short cinema film featuring Derek Jacobi and Edward Fox reading the poems of Wilfred Owen
‘The Last Coiner’ (Duchy Parade Films) - developing music for feature film
'The Lost Princess' (Duchy Parade Films) - short silent movie based on fictional account of the last days of Princess Anastacia of Russia
‘Timewatch’ (BBC2) - Battle of the River Plate - featured music from ‘From Silence’
‘Timewatch’ (BBC2) - Hadrian’s Wall - featured music from ‘When World’s Collide’
Mysteries of the World 2 - The Lost World Of El Dorado (BBC TV)
'World in Action' theme tune re-arranged - Granada TV
‘Future World’ - soundtrack for video installation
‘Bittersweet Project’ (Duchy Parade Films)- Music for online graphic novel on William Wilberforce
‘Working For Wool’ (Australian T.V.)
‘Northern Lights’ - Feature on artist JMW Turner (BBC North)
‘Discovering The Tyne Valley’ (Independent)
‘Tom Finney’ - general release video tribute to the famous footballer.
Dave's music has been featured on many other TV programmes, including on BBC1 / BBC2 / ITV / MTV / Channel 4 / Channel 5 / S4C / US Cable / Family Channel / Channel 7 Sports (Australia), used by contemporary dance companies in the UK, USA, Holland, Australia and Indonesia (in a specially commissioned piece titled Batik), theatre companies, various DVD projects and UNICEF - (fund raising film). Dave’s production work includes work on many albums.
Currently Dave divides his time between composing, producing, performing and recording with Open Sky, Iona, new contemporary jazz band Azalya and with work on film soundtracks and other recording projects.
PRESS QUOTES
(on Dave’s first solo album ‘Veil of Gossamer’)
'To my ears this is the most successful album of this type since Mike Oldfield’s masterpiece Ommadawn. Stunning.' www.progressiveears.com - Sept 2004
'...a sonic masterpiece...Bainbridge has given us what is in my humble opinion one of the best albums ever to be recorded.....some of the best music that he has ever written’
Chris MacIntosh aka Grandfather Rock www.tollbooth.org August 2004.'
'Bainbridge's guitar playing is superb; his electric solos conjure Eric Johnson and Allan Holdsworth, while his acoustic technique dazzles, thanks to a remarkable dexterity and the use of unusual tunings.... ....Looking deeper, the music is genuinely touching, possessing a spiritual quality that speaks to the soul and inspires various states of positivity, from peaceful tranquility to breathless exhilaration. Layers of wordless vocals - courtesy of Joanne Hogg (Iona), Rachel Jones (Karnataka), and Mae McKenna - and McKenna's heartfelt renderings of Gaelic hymns (in the original language) lend an ethereal, otherworldly quality to much of Veil Of Gossamer.....Best of 2004, hands down.' www.progressiveworld.net August 2004
'Albums of this quality are a rare thing and make life and music absolutely worthwhile. Besides the outstanding compositions and musicians, the production is flawless and the artwork fits the theme of the music as if the artist knew the story (which wasn't the case!). So, an absolutely amazing album, filled with nothing but beauty, beauty we all need in our lives, whether we admit it or not.' www.progpower.de August 2004
'I fear that my words might not do justice to the haunting and beautiful guitar that opens The Everlasting Hills (part 1); or misses the beauty of the vocals accompanied by Troy Donockley's Uilleann Pipes in (part 2)......Veil Of Gossamer is a truly wonderful album combining the best of Iona's Celtic atmospheres along with some splendid guitar work from Dave Bainbridge, and great performances from the assembled cast.'
www.dprp.net. Holland Sept 2004
‘Sitting here stunned after my first full listen to Veil Of Gossamer, I've not the command of words to convey the true gratitude to Dave Bainbridge for what has instantly become one of my favorite recordings of all time.’
Kenneth L. Solomon - Progressive Soundscapes Radio August 2004.
GABRIEL ALONSO - Percussion / Drums
was born in Annecy, France. His father was a drummer, and inspired Gabriel to first pick up a pair of drum sticks. His love for drumming grew, and at the age of eleven he started studying at the local conservatoire, and was there introduced to classical percussion and orchestral work. His passion for music and percussion grew. He was awarded the gold medal in percussion from Grenoble conservatoire, he then went to the conservatoire in Creteil, Paris where he also was awarded gold, and finally he got his place in the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris, and was placed in the class of Jacques Delecluse. He graduated with first class honours, along with his certificate for teaching.He was appointed head of percussion in the conservatoire in Grenoble, drum and percussion teacher in the Jazz school in Chambery, and timpanist for the Orchestra of Grenoble. He held these posts until 1993. His musical career had so far taken him all over the world studying , teaching and performing Jazz, classical and contemporary styles. He has travelled internationally to perform with Orchestras (including the English Northern Philharmonia) and bands, in concerts and Jazz festivals, and continues to do so.
Now living in England, he balances his time between performance, teaching and production. He has worked more recently with artists like Graham Kendrick, Gloria Gaynor, Songs of Praise, BBC. His versatility is his strength, he performs with and arranges for bands with a broad spectrum of styles. His love of orchestral music is reflected in his arrangements and scores. He composed and orchestrated a ballet for a French dance company which was filmed and broadcast on French television. He was recently commissioned to write a piece of music for children’s voices and percussion which was a great success live, and was later recorded.
Gabriel’s work with image and sound is a long standing passion. He has been composing music for films, cartoons and documentaries since 1994, and places his wealth of musical experience and style into his work, resulting in original and innovative scores.
During a trip to South America, he was touched by the gospel. The revelation of Christ completely transformed his life, and he left France in 1993, and went to England where he studied at a Bible school. Following this he joined the leadership team of ‘Leadership Training School’ Nottingham, and also began to travel to different nations sharing the word of God. He is now based in the North of England, with his wife Andrea, and they serve a local church (Five Towns Christian Fellowship). He is director and founder of EdMF (Ecole des Ministeres Francophones) a school of ministry for French speaking leaders, which is based in England. He and Andrea travel to many nations serving the body of Christ through music and preaching.
ANDREA ALONSO - Vocals / Flutes / whistles
Andrea was born in England, and grew up in Castleford, West Yorkshire. Her parents, Trevor and Lynn Jones were in full time ministry pastoring the local church. In her late teens she studied music over three years (harmony, flute and voice) and then went on to teacher training college and graduated with a BA in Education.
Andy met Gabriel (Gaby) in Lincoln, England in 1989, and married him in 1993. She and Gaby now live back in West Yorkshire, and are active members of the Five Towns Christian Fellowship.
Her time is divided between teaching and travelling. She works as a session musician and performer in various countries as she sings in English or French. She travels widely with Gaby to church, conference and concert settings, and in her spare time she teaches music lessons from home!
Andy holds responsibility for the children’s work in her local church, a thriving group of children and teachers!
Her debut album was released over two years ago now in both English and French and has been a real success. The next one is in bud!
ANDY GREEN - Keyboards
Andy was born in Bristol in the south-east of England. His parents and grandparents were musical and sought to instill in him their love for music. He was taken along to piano lessons from the age of 5, but it was at the age of 13 when through a family friend he discovered the freedom of playing by ear and improvisation. With the purchase of a 4 track and Roland keyboard the hours soon got eaten up with one recording after another. After a short recording course at a studio in Hull as a 16 year old it became evidently clear to him that in some way he wanted to pursue a career in music. It was also at this point when Dave (Bainbridge) and Andy first struck up a friendship.
Andy attended Salford University gaining an honours degree in Popular Music and Recording. While there he studied Jazz piano, arranging, composition and studio skills.
While at college Andy began working with Christopher Norton (of CN Productions and Microjazz fame) and has been involved with him in producing music for albums, tv, etc for the past 12 years. He has also worked for the BBC, EMI, Boosey and Hawkes and has had various pieces of original music used on radio and TV.
Over the years Andy has worked with many different people both in a live and studio setting. As well as Dave, Gaby and Andy, these have included Dave Markee, Bryn Haworth, Terl Bryant, Eddie Espinosa, Andy Park, Mike Haughton, MIC, Tim Hughes, Dan Wheeler, Jarrod Cooper, Marilyn Baker, Eden’s Bridge etc etc
He and his wife Wendy and their family are now based in Manchester. Together they now run Cornerhouse Productions working on various music projects for companies and individuals both in the UK and worldwide.
STEVE LAWSON - Basses / Looping Textures
Trying to pin down just what it is that Steve Lawson does can be tricky - he’s a solo bassist who spends a lot of his time making very unbasslike noises. He’s ambient experimenter who likes pop tunes too much to go strictly soundscape, but is way too atmospheric to sit comfortably in the ‘instrumental rock’ category. His electronica leanings produce some amazing hi-tech sounds, but he resolutely avoids programmed beats, making the eventual hybrid of jazz, electronica, ambient, new age and ‘new acoustic’ influences infuriatingly hard to pigeonhole.
Having released six CDs on his own Pillow Mountain Records label, Steve has carved out a niche for himself as a composer and improvisor making music for the sake of itself. Whether playing completely solo, in his acclaimed duo with American singer Lobelia or in one of the many duo and trio line-ups to be spawned by The Recycle Collective, Lawson’s remit is to soundtrack the moment, to somehow put across in music the thoughts and emotions that can’t be put into words.
He’s managed to find a substantial audience, which has lead to headline shows across Europe and The US, major theatre tours in the UK opening for Level 42 and the 21st Century Schizoid Band, releasing six acclaimed albums, sold out shows at the Edinburgh Festival and reams of international press, radio play, and praise from critics, fans and fellow musicians alike.
“The richness of this music makes for a
rewarding listening experience on all levels
and I think Steve’s approach represents a
real step forward for the art of solo bass.” - Michael Manring
“Lawson’s writing and his phenomenal command
of the possibilities of looping creates a compelling
and surprising variety of sounds one would never
imagine the bass capable of producing.” - JazzWise
2008 looks to be a busy year for Steve Lawson, with other releases schedule for the year including another solo album, as well as the much anticipated duo album with Lobelia. Watch this space!
Quotes
“…Steve’s complex array of sound and rare, intimate touch are rapidly turning him into one of the most influential bassists in the world.” - Bass Guitar Magazine (uk)
“Lawson’s writing and his phenomenal command of the possibilities of looping creates a compelling and surprising variety of sounds one would never imagine the bass capable of producing.” - JazzWise magazine (uk)
“When I first heard Steve Lawson it made me go home and practice my bass again, it was inspiring to hear his use of bass loops with great melodies. He doesn’t play like a bass player, he plays like a musician. I am going to rip off every idea he has ever had!!” - Matt Bissonette (bassist to the stars)
“one of today’s most inventive and original sounding voices on the electric bass. He is a pioneering innovator in the art of looping.” - cliff engel, www.bassically.net
“I highly recommend [grace and gratitude]. As Steve’s playing and concept grow he makes ever more gorgeous and engaging music that really demonstrates the expressive depth of the bass. The richness of this music makes for a rewarding listening experience on all levels and I think Steve’s approach represents a real step forward for the art of solo bass.” Michael Manring (solo artist)
Pleased to virtually meet you! Thank you for joining my circle of cyber friends and for excepting the add. K E E P * O N * P R O G I N'!! Take care and have yourselves and an inspiring week. Warm Regards from Toronto, Canada.
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Hello, OS! Nice to be "friends" here, too! I am SO looking forward to hear what you all are cooking up for us. Just seeing the pics of you rehearsing has me excited for what you are creating.
May God bless you as you work and create together!
