Philip Clemo

Philip James Clemo was born on 3 August 1964 in Insch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In his teens Clemo studied guitar with Scottish singer-songwriter Iain MacDonald. Whilst Clemo was listening to the likes of Patti Smith, Television and Talking Heads, MacDonald introduced him to a different generation of artists including Nick Drake, Tim Buckley, Van Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. Clemo began performing in North East Scotland folk clubs mainly accompanying singers with acoustic guitar. ==Developed style==

Moving to London in 1982, influenced by the works of guitarists Robin Guthrie of The Cocteau Twins and Tom Verlaine of Television, Clemo began recording his own work. In the studio Clemo builds complex and densely textured compositions, developing them through a process of composition and improvisation, with contributions from a diverse group of musicians. During the final stages he extensively reconfigures, interweaving instrumental, vocal and recorded material, disguising origin and cultural references. and creating something which is "mesmeric and completely addictive". ==Musical career==

Sound – Inhale the Colours Clemo's first two albums were collaborative works with violinist Ysanne Spevack, aka Mee. Soundzero A second collaborative album Soundzero was completed in 1999, but only released in March 2008. Both albums featured, amongst others, Phil Slater on trumpet and Tarlochan (Bobby) Singh on tabla. On Soundzero, Jazz singer Cleveland Watkiss, often heavily processed, made a guest appearance; whilst the album was also the first appearance of a British rhythm section, consisting of: Mark Sanders (drums); John Edwards (double bass); and Pete Lockett (percussion). During the same year, he became a judge for the first time at the British Composer Awards for The Ivors Academy, which he has since undertaken again in 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011. with critics describing it as intelligent "fourth world" electro-jazz. Mesmer Up to this point, one of Clemo's key instruments of choice to compose with was the guitar. But having become quite bored with what he was playing on it, and mainstream press, described as a form of contemporary chamber music with "improvisation, multi-level musical dialogue and sound design at its core." Dream Maps With contributions from 21 musicians including Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Evi Vine (voice), Byron Wallen (trumpet, flugelhorn), Oren Marshall (tuba), Thomas Bloch (glass harmonica, Ondes Martenot), Emily Burridge and Peter Gregson (cellos), Dream Maps was released on 9 September 2016 with a live launch with an 8-piece band including Arve Henriksen and Evi Vine at Kings Place, London, UK on 14 September. The concert was described by Richard Williams on thebluemoment.com as "Artfully mixed together with recordings of heartbeats and water by the sound engineer Phill Brown, the music washed gently but insistently over the clearly beguiled near-capacity crowd in Kings Place’s Hall 2... this was Clemo’s first live gig in 10 years; its success should encourage him." Dream Maps was well received by the media with Selwyn Harris in Jazzwise describing it as "Meditative, trance-like stillness… symphonic ambience… echoes of… Brian Eno and David Sylvian. Miles’ Sketches of Spain reimagined by Jon Hassell." Grant Moon in Prog (magazine) said that "Philip Clemo gets close to the edges on his extraordinary sixth album… utterly transfixing" and George Farbey in All About Jazz said "Mesmerising… irresistible and idiosyncratic. Within a jazz context, could even be regarded as a new kind of third stream" **** Philip Clemo discussed the making of Dream Maps on the BBC Radio 3 programme Jazz Now on 24 October 2016. Through the Wave of Blue Released on 1 November 2024, Through the Wave of Blue includes contributions from Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Theo Travis (soprano saxophone, flutes), Emily Burridge (cello), Simon Edwards (bass) and Martyn Barker (drums, percussion). ==Film-making==

Having started out professionally as a production film editor, including working on the BBC's Panorama, Shot using the same technical combination as The Air, Clemo made the short film Melt, which was shown at 2009 Reykjavik International Film Festival 2009 and 2010 London Short Film Festival. In late 2013, Clemo developed The Breath Project, encompassing film and art installation, produced by perfectmotion and Animal Monday. Breath illustrates the dramas of human life through the metaphor of landscape, from isolation and turmoil to exhilaration and transformation. Moving through the seven phases of human life, through ageing human forms and across different terrains of the human body, we see comparisons with the environments of planet Earth. Clemo has presented TEDX and TED talks about his work on Breath. He is currently working with Dr Thomas Moors and the charity Shout at Cancer on 'From Silence Into Song' which honours the legacy of the survivor trees of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hooking them up to sensors exactly 75 years after the bombs were dropped, and an extraordinary choir of cancer survivors who have learnt how to sing after the removal of their voiceboxes. Events around this project will extend into 2025 and 2026. ==Live performance==

Since 2016, Clemo has been performing with his Dream Maps Live band, working with a diverse group of musicians including Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Byron Wallen (trumpet, flugelhron), B. J. Cole (pedal steel), Evi Vine (voice), Simon Edwards (bass), Martyn Barker (drums, percussion), Emily Burridge (cello) and Steven Hill (guitar & keys). ==Discography==

ALBUMS: • Sound – Inhale the Colours, 1997, with Meena Ysanne (Ysanne Spevack) • soundzero, 1999 (but only released in 2008), with Meena Ysanne (Ysanne Spevack) • Ambiguous Dialogues, 2004 • The Rooms, 2008 • Mesmer, 2012 • Dream Maps, 2016 • Through the Wave of Blue, 2024 SINGLES: • Stalker (Phil Bodger & Martyn Barker remix), 2025 ==Filmography==

• Box in the Sun, 1990 • From the Morning On, 1990 • Objects and Observations, 1993 • Thieves – Unworthy promo, 1994 • An Altered Perspective (Journeys in the East), 1995 • Metal on Water, 1999 • Separated by Shadows (shown during 2005/6 UK tour), 2005 • The Air Holds Still on My Breath (Iceland Journey), 2009 • Melt, 2009 • Sigur Rós – Fjögur Píanó, 2012 • The Mesmer vignettes, 2012 • Return, 2013 • Wide-eyed, 2013 • Orchid, 2013 • The Memory of Objects: Château de Rochebonne, France, 2014 • Water in the Flow (with Evi Vine), 2016 • Shadow Seas (with Evi Vine), 2017 • First Breath (Journeys Through the Landscapes of Life), 2018 • Lark, 2018 • Evi Vine: My Only Son, 2019 • Hayley Ross: Dernier Baiser, 2019 • Magnetic (with Arve Henriksen & Evi Vine), 2021 • Ocean (for Biophonica, music Peter Hall, sound recordings Martyn Stewart), 2024 • Arctic (for Biophonica, music Peter Hall, sound recordings Martyn Stewart), 2024 • Forest (for Biophonica, music Peter Hall, sound recordings Martyn Stewart), 2024 • Maze, 2024 • Matriarch (Glitchkase), 2025 • Dawn, 2025 • Stalker (Phil Bodger & Martyn Barker remix), 2025 ==References==