Core members of the group are flautist John Hackett (renowned in his own right for his UK solo albums and worldwide for his recordings and live performances with brother Steve Hackett); jazz and folk-influenced guitarist Richard Bolton; and founder-member Clive Williamson, who plays keyboards and percussion and whose years of experience as a Sound Designer at the BBC have helped to give Symbiosis its unique flavour.
Guest musicians include Ashley Drees (cittern, mandolin, percussion); Rupert Flindt (fretless bass); Ian Ritchie (soprano sax); Maloviere (violin, tsimbala) and Michele Dress (percussion).
Influences
Being at peace with nature or beside water; paintings by Monet and the Impressionists; the Zen poetry of Wang Wei; Kew Gardens; Sydney Harbour; New Zealand's bush and wildlife.
Musical influences include: Ambient (Eno, Paul Horn); Latin Jazz; Cool Jazz (Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Oscar Brown Jnr.); Classical (Fauré, Debussy, Satie, Sibelius, Holst, Dvorak); Gregorian Chant; John Hackett; 60's Rock (Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Cream); Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Gong, Soft Machine; Tangerine Dream; Weather Report.
Sounds Like
Symbiosis, mostly, with traces of: Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Paul Horn, Glen Velez, William Ackerman
Creating sounds that are either calming and refreshing or thought-provoking and atmospheric, British-based group Symbiosis are a unique fusion of ambient soundscapes with superbly played natural instruments such as flutes, guitar, woodwind and gentle percussion. Their best known albums for relaxing and healing are 'Touching the Clouds' and 'Amber and Jade', which are both over 70 minutes long and whose tracks blend one into another, creating a continuous flow of music suitable for massage, meditation, yoga or holistic therapies.
The group began by providing instrumental music and theme tunes for BBC radio and TV programmes in the UK. Their compositions have since been broadcast in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand and on the BBC’s World Service. Symbiosis can also be heard on retail projects from the BBC, Longman and best-selling author Denise Linn and they have established their own range of highly successful relaxation music albums in the UK, which are now sold globally through iTunes.
Symbiosis often include natural sounds in their compositions and in 1997, the group released their first pure sound effects album: 'AOTEAROA - Nature Sounds of New Zealand'. These uniquely relaxing recordings from the 'Land of the Long White Cloud' feature the beautiful calls of birds like the Tui, Bellbird and Kaka, as well as the sounds of Pacific shores, gentle rain, distant thunder, calming bush atmospheres, hot springs and even some bubbling mud! The album is now one of of their best sellers world-wide on iTunes and has been heard on many soundtracks including the BBC mini-series 'The Lost World' (2001).
Music by Symbiosis played an important part in "The Day They Made It Rain", a BBC documentary which won the Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for Best News Programme in 2002. ~ Their latest work is a rhythmic global fusion drawing influences and sounds from many cultures called 'Dancing in Your Dreams' and Symbiosis are currently planning to release many of the spare, darker soundscapes that they have written specially for TV, film and radio use through iTunes, MusicSupervisor.com and Pump Audio.
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Discography: Tears of the Moon (1988/2001); Song of the Peach Tree Spring (1988/1998); Touching the Clouds (1992/5); Lake of Dreams (1994); Autumn Days (1995/2007); Amber & Jade (1996); AOTEAROA - Nature Sounds of New Zealand (1997); Sea of Light (1999); The Comfort Zone (2002); Dancing in your Dreams (2005)
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