Simon Bookish

To date, Chadburn has released three solo albums under the name Simon Bookish. The first two, Unfair/Funfair (2006) and Trainwreck/Raincheck (2007), combined his voice with synthesizers and laptop computers. His use of spoken word on Trainwreck/Raincheck and in live performances drew comparisons with "Bowie and Baudrillard, Burroughs and Byrne".{{cite web|last=Brainlove|first=John|title=Review / Simon Bookish @ Nog Gallery, Durham|url=http://drownedinsound.com/gigs/14235/reviews/523689|accessdate=13 August 2013|archive-date=8 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308014523/http://drownedinsound.com/gigs/14235/reviews/523689|url-status=dead}} His third album, Everything/Everything (2008) featured an ensemble of brass instruments, saxophones, Farfisa organ, piano, and harp. Chadburn describes this album as "a big band song cycle about science and information".{{cite web |author=Luke Turner |title=Simon Bookish Goes Big Band To Sing Particle Physics And Linguistics |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/00592-simon-bookish-goes-big-band-to-sing-particle-physics-and-linguistics |date=7 November 2008 |work=The Quietus |accessdate=30 October 2009}}{{cite web|title=tomlab|url=http://www.tomlab.com/front/index.php?action=release_detail&release_id=224&release_strike=221&release_action=tracks&artist_id=32|accessdate=13 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524054210/http://tomlab.com/front/index.php?action=release_detail&release_id=224&release_strike=221&artist_id=32&release_action=tracks|archive-date=24 May 2012|url-status=dead}}

Chadburn's most recent release as Simon Bookish was Red and Blue EP (2015), an experimental piece based on correspondence between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.{{cite web|title=The Quietus Reviews Simon Bookish|date=14 January 2016 |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/19530-simon-bookish-red-and-blue-ep-review |accessdate=22 December 2016}}

He has provided remixes of songs for bands and artists such as Grizzly Bear, Franz Ferdinand, The Organ, Owen Pallett, Seb Rochford, and Late of the Pier.{{cite web|title=SIMON BOOKISH / LEO CHADBURN – REMIXES|url=http://www.simonbookish.com/remixes/|accessdate=13 August 2013}} He has also contributed tracks to the compilation albums Worried Noodles (2007),{{cite web|title=Simon Bookish Discography at Discogs|website=Discogs |url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/Simon+Bookish/-Appearances/-Albums|accessdate=13 August 2013}} a compilation of songs with lyrics by artist David Shrigley,{{cite web|title=BBC – collective|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A28050374|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130813210326/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A28050374|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 August 2013|accessdate=13 August 2013}} and The Wall Re-built! (2010), which celebrated the 30th anniversary of Pink Floyd's The Wall, for Mojo Magazine.{{cite web|title=Various – The Wall Re-Built! Disc Two (CD) at Discogs|website=Discogs |date=December 2009 |url=http://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Wall-Re-Built-Disc-Two/release/2088081|accessdate=13 August 2013}}

Chadburn has written a number of works for classical music groups. These include Unison: Things Are Getting Worse for a large ensemble of pianists,{{cite web|last=Cunningham|first=David|title=a lot of pianos...|url=http://www.stalk.net/piano/lotofpianos.htm|accessdate=13 August 2013}} X Chairman Maos, written for the ensemble Apartment House and performed at the De La Warr Pavilion to coincide with their Andy Warhol exhibition in 2011,{{cite web|title=Apartment House + Simon Bookish|url=http://www.dlwp.com/event/apartment-house-simon-bookish|accessdate=13 August 2013}} and Five Loops for the Bathyscaphe (2018), commissioned by the Britten Sinfonia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/28/london-sinfonietta-50th-anniversary-concert-review-britten-sinfonia-leo-chadburn|title=The week in classical: London Sinfonietta 50th anniversary concert; Britten Sinfonia - review|last=Maddocks|first=Fiona|date=2018-01-28|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-09-09}}

His string quartet, The Indistinguishables was written for the Canadian quartet Quatuor Bozzini and performed at the 2014 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.{{cite web|title=Leo Chadburn Composer's Kitchen 2014|url=http://www.quatuorbozzini.ca/en/evenements/31997/|accessdate=22 December 2016}} A performance by the quartet at Milton Court (Guildhall School of Music) in March 2019 with Gemma Saunders as narrator was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in September 2019.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0008pn4 New Music Show, BBC Radio 3, 21 September, 2019] His piece for chamber ensemble, Freezywater, commissioned by the Wigmore Hall, won a 2016 British Composer Award.{{cite web|title=BRITISH COMPOSER AWARDS|url=http://www.britishcomposerawards.com/composer_profiles.php?idc=1007&y=2016&u=27&idz=1006&w=1|accessdate=22 December 2016}} Chadburn was nominated for a second British Composer Award the following year, for his choral piece Affix Stamp Here,{{Cite news|url=https://www.m-magazine.co.uk/genres/classical/nominees-announced-british-composer-awards-2017/|title=Nominees announced for British Composer Awards 2017 - M Magazine|date=2017-10-26|work=M magazine: PRS for Music online magazine|access-date=2018-09-09|language=en-US}} written for the vocal ensemble EXAUDI.{{Cite news|url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/prospect-recommends-the-best-classical-music-this-month-4|title=Prospect recommends: The best classical music this month|last=Coghlan|first=Alexandra|access-date=2018-09-09|language=en-US}}

Chadburn is currently an associate composer of the London Symphony Orchestra,{{cite web|url=http://lsosoundhub.co.uk/composers/|title=Composers – LSO Soundhub|accessdate=13 August 2013}} who performed his piece Brown Leather Sofa in 2013.{{cite web|url=http://lso.co.uk/saturday-13-april-5pm-7-30pm|title=Saturday 13 April: 5pm & 7.30pm – London Symphony Orchestra [PDF]|accessdate=13 August 2013}}

Chadburn received an Ivor Novello Award nomination at The Ivors Classical Awards 2024. English Dancing Master, for pre-recorded voices and string quartet, was nominated for Best Small Chamber Composition.{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Mark |date=2024-10-15 |title=Nominations for The Ivors Classical Awards 2024 announced |url=https://ivorsacademy.com/news/nominations-for-the-ivors-classical-awards-2024-announced/ |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=The Ivors Academy |language=en-GB}}

Chadburn has released two albums under his own name, Epigram / Microgram (2013),{{Cite web|title=SIMON BOOKISH / LEO CHADBURN - EPIGRAM / MICROGRAM|url=http://www.simonbookish.com/epigram_microgram/|access-date=2020-07-25|website=www.simonbookish.com}} an instrumental album which utilises the Casio CZ-101 synthesizer as its only sound source, and The Subject / The Object (2020), which comprises two 20-minute long tracks of spoken word stream of consciousness and drone music.{{Cite web|title=The Quietus {{!}} Features {{!}} Spool's Out {{!}} Spool's Out: Cassette Reviews For July By Tristan Bath|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/28621-ukaea-bunkland-salmon-universe-lauren-doss|access-date=2020-07-25|website=The Quietus|date=21 July 2020 |language=en-us}}

Chadburn has collaborated on a number of projects with visual artists.{{cite web|title=SIMON BOOKISH / LEO CHADBURN – PROJECTS|url=http://www.simonbookish.com/projects.php|accessdate=13 August 2013}} In 2009, he wrote the score for Richard Grayson's video installation The Golden Space City of God (exhibited at Matt's Gallery, London and Artpace, San Antonio), which featured a choir shot on location in Texas singing cult religious texts.{{cite web|title=Matt's Gallery – Richard Grayson: The Golden Space City of God|url=http://www.mattsgallery.org/artists/grayson/exhibition-3.php|accessdate=13 August 2013}}{{cite news|last=Januszczak|first=Waldemar Januszczak|title=Give credit to the crunch; A rewarding trip to East End galleries proves to Waldemar Januszczak that at least our bad times beget better art|newspaper=Sunday Times|date=13 August 2013}}

In 2012, he collaborated with the artist Tanya Axford on a piece entitled The Path Made by a Boat in Sound (Three Down) for the Whitstable Biennale,{{cite web|title=Tanya Axford|url=http://www.whitstablebiennale.com/biennale-programme/section/weekend-one/projects/TanyaAxford.html|accessdate=13 August 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130813210320/http://www.whitstablebiennale.com/biennale-programme/section/weekend-one/projects/TanyaAxford.html|archive-date=13 August 2013|url-status=dead}} and with video artist Jennet Thomas, on her work School of Change, a "sci-fi musical film", again exhibited at Matt's Gallery.{{cite web|title=Matt's Gallery – Jennet Thomas: All Suffering Soon to End|url=http://www.mattsgallery.org/artists/thomas/exhibition-2.php|accessdate=13 August 2013}}

He went on to work with the conceptual artist Cerith Wyn Evans on a choral work for performance at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2013, based on Samuel Beckett's prose text Imagination Dead Imagine.{{cite web|title=An exhibition exploring art and cinema at the Irish Museum of Modern Art|url=http://www.imma.ie/en/page_236744.htm|accessdate=13 August 2013}}

Chadburn has also written music for the theatre, working with the Royal National Theatre on a new musical score for their 2007 production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, in which he also played the part of "The Singer".{{cite web |author=Sam Marlowe |title=The Caucasian Chalk Circle |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article1503784.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316183509/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article1503784.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 March 2007 |date=13 March 2007 |work=The Times |accessdate=29 July 2009}}

As a performer, he has contributed to the albums of Leafcutter John, Max de Wardener, Patrick Wolf, Serafina Steer and Saint Etienne, credited with recorders, bass clarinet and vocals.{{cite web|title=Leo Chadburn Discography at Discogs| website=Discogs |url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/Leo+Chadburn?anv=L.+Chadburn|accessdate=13 August 2013}} He is also credited as a producer on classical percussionist [http://jobyburgess.com Joby Burgess]' album 24 Lies Per Second (2013).{{cite web|title=24 Lies Per Second – Joby Burgess, Powerplant {{!}} Credits – AllMusic|website=AllMusic |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/24-lies-per-second-mw0002438398/credits|accessdate=13 August 2013}}

He has occasionally performed works by other experimental composers, including John Cage,{{cite web|title=Kammer Klang: Sebastian Roux + Jennifer Walshe + Lucy Railton/Leo Chadburn: 21 May 2013|url=http://www.cafeoto.co.uk/kammer-klang-sebastien-roux-jennifer-walshe-lucy-railton-leo-chadburn.shtm|accessdate=13 August 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130813210258/http://www.cafeoto.co.uk/kammer-klang-sebastien-roux-jennifer-walshe-lucy-railton-leo-chadburn.shtm|archive-date=13 August 2013|url-status=dead}} Gavin Bryars,{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/live-music-reviews/10868371/London-Contemporary-Music-Festival-review-round-up-enthralling.html|title=London Contemporary Music Festival, review round-up: 'enthralling'|last=Hewett|first=Ivan|date=2014-06-01|access-date=2019-01-30|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}} Christopher Fox,{{Cite web|url=https://foxedition.wordpress.com/new-work/|title=the works|date=2012-09-24|website=fox additions|language=en|access-date=2019-01-30}} Frederic Rzewski (whose piece Coming Together he presented at the first London Contemporary Music Festival in 2013){{cite web|title=LondonJazz: Review: Final Two Days at the London Contemporary Music Festival, Peckham|url=http://www.londonjazznews.com/2013/08/review-final-two-days-at-london.html|accessdate=13 August 2013}} and Jennifer Walshe (whose work he performed at the 2017 London Contemporary Music Festival).{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/dec/10/cavalleria-rusticana-pagliacci-review-royal-opera-lcmf|title=Cavalleria rusticana/ Pagliacci; London contemporary music festival – review|last=Maddocks|first=Fiona|date=2017-12-10|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-09-09}} Alongside actor Gemma Saunders, Chadburn recorded a spoken word version of artist On Kawara's twenty volume book, One Million Years [Past and Future], which was released as a limited edition four CD set.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lespressesdureel.com/EN/ouvrage.php?id=6698&menu=|title=On Kawara : One Million Years (Box set) – Les presses du réel|website=www.lespressesdureel.com|access-date=2019-01-30}}

In addition to his work as a musician, Chadburn has written reviews and articles about classical and pop music for The Quietus, Frieze, the New Statesman, and The Wire.{{cite web|title=LEO CHADBURN – WRITING|url=http://www.simonbookish.com/writing/|accessdate=13 August 2013}} He is the curator of the public concert series and the Summer festival at City, University of London.{{Cite web|url=https://www.city.ac.uk/people/staff/leo-chadburn|title=Leo Chadburn|website=City, University of London|language=en|access-date=2019-01-30}}

• Unfair / Funfair (2006, Use Your Teeth)
• Trainwreck / Raincheck (2007, Use Your Teeth)
• Everything / Everything (2008, Tomlab)

• Epigram / Microgram (2013, Library of Nothing)
• The Subject / The Object (2020, Library of Nothing)
• Slower / Talker (2021, Library of Nothing)
• The Primordial Pieces (2024, Library of Nothing)

• ANTICLOCK (2019) for ensemble (nine players). Premiered at Cafe OTO, London.{{Cite web|url=https://britishmusiccollection.org.uk/score/anticlock|title=ANTICLOCK|date=2019-04-29|website=British Music Collection|language=en|access-date=2019-05-05}}
• Five Loops for the Bathyscaphe (2018) for piano trio and recorded voices{{Cite web|url=http://www.planethugill.com/2018/01/my-five-loops-for-bathyscaphe.html|title=Five Loops for the Bathyscaphe|last=Hugill|first=Robert|access-date=2019-01-30}} for the Britten Sinfonia
• Affix Stamp Here (2016) for voices, analogue synthesizers and projections{{Cite web|url=https://brittenpears.org/2017/12/british-composer-awards/|title=British Composer Awards|date=2017-12-05|website=Britten-Pears Foundation|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-01-30}}
• Freezywater (2016) for piano, reed organ, strings, percussion and pre-recorded voices{{Cite web|url=http://www.simonbookish.com/works.php|title=SIMON BOOKISH / LEO CHADBURN - WORKS|website=www.simonbookish.com|access-date=2019-01-30}}
• The Indistinguishables (2014) for string quartet and pre-recorded voices
• Vapour Descriptors (2014) for two pianos
• Brown Leather Sofa (2013) for large orchestra
• X Chairman Maos (2011) for voice and amplified ensemble

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.simonbookish.com Official website]
• [https://soundcloud.com/simonbookish Simon Bookish on SoundCloud]

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Category:Living people

Category:British experimental musicians

Category:1978 births

Category:21st-century British composers

Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Category:Musicians from Leicestershire

Category:People from Coalville