Early work (1979–1991) At school, Haigh was in a band called Labyrinth playing original material that was influenced by David Bowie and Roxy Music. In the early 1980s Haigh released a series of experimental ambient albums under the names Robert Haigh and Sema – the most notable being ‘Three Seasons Only’ and ‘Notes From Underground’. He also contributed to several
Nurse With Wound projects and formed an industrial avant-
funk band called
The Truth Club together with Trefor Goronwy, who would go on to join
This Heat. In a 1994 feature in
The Wire on ambient jungle by
Simon Reynolds, Haigh's influences were listed as
Pere Ubu,
The Pop Group,
Can,
Faust and
Neu! as well as
Miles Davis and
King Tubby.
Omni Trio (1992–2004) In the 1990s, Haigh developed a unique style of what has become known as ‘
ambient drum 'n' bass’ and released six EPs and six albums under the name Omni Trio to great acclaim. The Omni Trio sound is notable for its intricate breakbeat patterns, orchestrated production, atmospheric sound palette, sweetly melodic piano vamps, and creative use of sampled soul-diva vocals. Omni Trio was one of the original drum 'n' bass producers, who first released for
Moving Shadow as early as 1993. He produced several anthems in the period now known as
"old skool", including "Mystic Stepper (Feel Better)", "Renegade Snares", "Thru the Vibe", and "Living for the Future". All of these featured on his acclaimed first LP,
The Deepest Cut Vol 1 (1995), which was released under the title
Music For The Next Millennium that same year in the US through Sm:)e Communications. He followed this up with
The Haunted Science in 1996, which included the singles "Trippin' on Broken Beats" and "Nu Birth of Cool". Mainstream trends in dancefloor-oriented
drum 'n' bass rapidly diverged from his musical style, and subsequent albums
Skeleton Keys (1997), the
Detroit techno-influenced
Byte Size Life (1999), and
Even Angels Cast Shadows (2001) produced no big club hits on the scale of his early singles, but they further cemented his reputation as one of the finest album-oriented musicians in the genre. Indeed, he was the first drum'n'bass artist to produce six full-length artist albums. Many Omni Trio tracks feature on popular video games: "Renegade Snares" appears in the game
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, "First Contact" (from
Even Angels Cast Shadows) is featured in
Grand Theft Auto 3 and "Secret Life" is featured in the futuristic racing video game
Rollcage Stage II. Following the release of the sixth and final
Omni Trio album
Rogue Satellite in 2004, Haigh decided to cease recording as Omni Trio.
Current work (2005–present) Since Omni Trio, Haigh has released a series of modern classical and minimalist albums under his own name: the post
Minimalist From the Air (2006) and
Written on Water (2008), and the piano works:
Notes and Crossings (2009),
Anonymous Lights (2010),
Strange and Secret Things (2011), and
Darkling Streams (2013). On his decision to cease recording as Omni Trio he has said: "After
Even Angels Cast Shadows and especially the minimal structures of
Rogue Satellite, I felt that perhaps my work was done in this particular area. All along the intention was to do the Omni Trio stuff alongside producing and releasing piano based material under my own name. Then the Omni thing blew up much bigger than I had anticipated. But throughout the '90s I also kept writing piano and minimal themes. By the early 2000s the time seemed right to put the emphasis on developing this material." In January 2015, Haigh released an 18 track collection of piano compositions called
The Silence Of Ghosts. Much of the material on
The Silence of Ghosts is developed from piano improvisation. In a recent interview he states: "Most of my compositions start from freeform improvisation at the piano. Later I revisit the more compelling themes and from there, structures start to emerge. I never use formal notation just the odd rough diagrams and written reminders." ==Discography==