"Multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Jherek Bischoff is the missing link between the sombre undertones of Ennio Morricone and the unpredictability of John Cale" NME
The creation of Composed was informed by Jherek's history of playing in DIY bands, his fervent desire to make great pop music and his love affair with the potential of the orchestra. Though he claims to have only an amateur's ability in composition, it's no understatement to say that as an orchestral recording Composed is pretty much unique. Do It Yourself in the purest sense, he composed, produced, engineered and mastered the LP - recorded in it's entirety with a single microphone, an Mbox and a laptop running ProTools. Yet the album proves to be a consistently fascinating and uplifting body of work, testament to Jherek's writing and arranging skills.
"I recorded each individual musician of the 'orchestra' in their own living rooms," says Bischoff of the experience. "I then layered each instrument - sometimes one violinist playing one part twenty times - until it was the size of a huge orchestra. I spent the summer riding my bike from house to house recording each musician. I finished the album by taking a road trip to record all the singers in person, except for Caetano Veloso and David Byrne, who recorded their own parts at home."
Jherek's new approach was illuminated by a desire to shake up the business-as-usual routine of being an independent rock musician: "I realised a few years ago that being in several serious touring bands at the same time could be really frustrating, because I tend to work on music at least eight hours a day at home, and on tour you only get to make music for an hour a day. I realised that by producing records, doing soundtracks and collaborating on music for dance, I could be creatively involved with a ton of exciting music, and let it have its own legs without having to always be on tour."
Based in Seattle, Bischoff is equal parts composer, producer, performer and film scoring professional. In his 30 odd years, he has played in numerous bands and musical configurations. Once and future collaborators include Parenthetical Girls, Xiu Xiu, The Degenerate Art Ensemble, The Dead Science and Amanda "Fucking" Palmer.
