Leafcutter John
Encyclopedia
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of John Burton, a UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
. He makes frequent use of Max/MSP
Max (software)
Max is a visual programming language for music and multimedia developed and maintained by San Francisco-based software company Cycling '74. During its 20-year history, it has been widely used by composers, performers, software designers, researchers, and artists for creating innovative recordings,...
in his compositions. Much of Burton's style is based in computer music
Computer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
and use of samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
of everyday sounds. However, he also has roots as a folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ian, and this influence is apparent in his more recent work.
Career
After graduating Fine Art Painting at Norwich School of Art (1996-1998), Burton moved to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and after a year pursuing a career as a performance artist began to concentrate on his musical work. He soon secured interest from Mike Paradinas
Mike Paradinas
Michael Paradinas , who works primarily under the name μ-Ziq in addition to a large number of aliases, is a British musician in the field of electronic music.-History:...
, owner of independent electronics label Planet Mu
Planet Mu
Planet Mu is an electronic music record label run by Mike Paradinas . It was based in Worcester until March 2007, then moved to London and has recently relocated to Broadstairs, Kent...
. Paradinas encouraged Burton to develop his electro-acoustic folk hybrid and his first full length release, Concourse EEP, was released in early 2000. His album, The Housebound Spirit, was a response to being mugged outside his London studio. The album deals with themes of increasing alienation
Social alienation
The term social alienation has many discipline-specific uses; Roberts notes how even within the social sciences, it “is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship”...
and agoraphobia
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions...
; indeed, Burton was housebound by increasingly severe panic attack
Panic attack
Panic attacks are periods of intense fear or apprehension that are of sudden onset and of relatively brief duration. Panic attacks usually begin abruptly, reach a peak within 10 minutes, and subside over the next several hours...
s for which he eventually had to seek therapy.
As Leafcutter John, Burton has played at festivals throughout Europe, North Africa, and Australia. In 2003, he headed the dis.lab event, curated by no.signal in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. 2004 was marked by performances at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
's club transmediale
Club transmediale
The annual CTM Festival festival is a music and visual arts event held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1999, the festival originally focused on electronic music, but has since evolved to cover a wide range of genres under the banner "festival for adventurous music and related visual...
festival, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
Confluences and others in Belgium, France, Spain, Manchester, Norwich, and a Live streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
event between New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and London. He is also a regular participant of the annual Le Placard festival.
Burton is also now a full time member of the contemporary British Jazz Mercury Music Prize nominee Polar Bear
Polar Bear (jazz)
Polar Bear is a British experimental jazz band led by drummer Seb Rochford with Pete Wareham on tenor and baritone saxophone, Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Tom Herbert on double bass and Leafcutter John on mandolin and electronics....
, founded by drummer Seb Rochford
Seb Rochford
Sebastian "Seb" Rochford is a British drummer who spans many musical genres.He comes from Aberdeen and has a large family of 2 brothers and 7 sisters...
, who won the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Jazz award for Rising Star in 2004.
Leafcutter John is also an accomplished remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
er, having worked on projects for: DJ /rupture
DJ /rupture
DJ /rupture is the pseudonym of Jace Clayton, a New York-based American DJ and producer. He used to play in the drum and bass collective Toneburst, and DJ'ed in Boston during the late 1990s...
, Mu-ziq/Speedy J
Speedy J
Speedy J , is a Dutch electronic music producer based in the city of Rotterdam. His breakthrough came with the release in 1992 of the minimal techno track Pullover...
, Electric Company, Badly Drawn Boy
Badly Drawn Boy
Damon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....
, Capitol K
Capitol K
Capitol K is the name under which Kristian Craig Robinson works as a musician combining electronica, found sounds and indie-pop. Born in Malta and raised in Dubai, Brunei and England, and now based in London, Capitol K is best known for the single Pillow which scraped into the top 100 UK Singles...
, and others.
Discography
- The Sky Is Darker Than the Road (1998)
- Concourse EEP (2000) Planet MuPlanet MuPlanet Mu is an electronic music record label run by Mike Paradinas . It was based in Worcester until March 2007, then moved to London and has recently relocated to Broadstairs, Kent...
(ZIQ017) 12" and CD - Microcontact (2001) Planet MuPlanet MuPlanet Mu is an electronic music record label run by Mike Paradinas . It was based in Worcester until March 2007, then moved to London and has recently relocated to Broadstairs, Kent...
(ZIQ022) CD - Zeagma (2001) Planet MuPlanet MuPlanet Mu is an electronic music record label run by Mike Paradinas . It was based in Worcester until March 2007, then moved to London and has recently relocated to Broadstairs, Kent...
(ZIQ036) 7" - The Housebound Spirit (2003) Planet MuPlanet MuPlanet Mu is an electronic music record label run by Mike Paradinas . It was based in Worcester until March 2007, then moved to London and has recently relocated to Broadstairs, Kent...
(ZIQ061) CD - The Forest and the Sea (2006) Staubgold Records (Staubgold 68) CD/LP
- "Tunis" (2010) Tsuku Boshi CD