Liam Howe
Encyclopedia
Liam Coverdale Howe is a London based record producer
, musician
and songwriter
.
, and released the white label
The Soul Of Indiscretion EP
. The act was subsequently signed to Clean Up Records, a subsidiary of One Little Indian Records
.
Whilst studying fine art
at Reading University
, Howe formed the production company Line of Flight with Corner and other art students Joe Wilson and David Westlake. They released The World as a Cone EP under this title in 1993. Line of Flight produced many of the acts on Clean Up Records, and contributed numerous remixes to the 1990s dance scene.
. With an album of material written, singer Kelli Dayton (who had been introduced to Howe and Corner through Derek Birkett of One Little Indian) was invited to sing, and the band Sneaker Pimps
was formed. The debut album Becoming X
was recorded in Howe's father's house in Elwick; a small village on the outskirts of Hartlepool. Howe and Corner produced the record under the 'Line of Flight' umbrella, with contributions from producers Jim Abyss and Flood.
Howe also played keyboards with Sneaker Pimps, throughout their worldwide promotion of their three albums to date.
" and "Spin Spin Sugar
", which led to collaborations with Marilyn Manson
, Placebo
, Echo & the Bunnymen
, Natalie Imbruglia
, Nerina Pallot
, and Emilíana Torrini
.
Howe and Wilson formed the band Ultrafox
in 2001, with the German twin
s, Claudia and Connie Holzer. Ice Skating was released on User Friendly Records.
Although Howe, Corner and Pickering have written a fourth Sneaker Pimps album, it remains unrecorded. Corner relocated to Berlin with the success of his solo project IAMX, whilst Howe stayed in the UK to further his writing/production career.
, The Whip
, Sophie Ellis-Bextor
, IAMX, Heypenny
, Yes Giantess, Dimbleby and Capper, Official Secrets Act, The Sound of Arrows
, Emmy the Great
, and Adele
.
In 2008 and 2009, Howe worked extensively on the Marina and the Diamonds debut album The Family Jewels
co-writing and/or producing the majority of tracks. The album entered the UK charts
on its week of release at #5.
In November 2010 the track 'Little Dreams' was released on the Ellie Goulding
reissue Bright Lights. The song was co-written and produced by Howe.
In the summer of 2010 Howe has been working with Tom Vek
's on his much anticipated second album Leisure Seizure
.
s, most notably The Saint
, Danny Boyle
's A Life Less Ordinary
and Alfonso Cuarón
's Y tu mamá también
. In 2009, he composed the soundtrack to the Sundance
multi award winning film Obselidia
, using an orchestra of obsolete instruments. Howe has directed music video
s for both Sneaker Pimps, and the electronic act, Motor. As a visual artist, Howe has exhibited installations in galleries such as London's Institute of Contemporary Arts
and the CCA Glasgow
.
. It is unknown exactly what the project name is, however he has previously released material under the name 'The Zip'. The record is believed to be a 'producers' record, whereby he has invited collaborators to contribute performances. Collaborations with Alan Vega
, Neneh Cherry
, Princess Superstar
, and Corner are expected for release in 2010.
In early 2010, Howe began co-writing and producing Island Records
CocknBullKid
, which is set for release in early 2011.
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, 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 songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
Musical beginnings
In 1992, he formed the dance act F.R.I.S.K. with fellow northerner and childhood friend Chris CornerChris Corner
Chris Corner is an English musician and songwriter. He was a founding member of the band Sneaker Pimps and is now active with the IAMX solo project.He has been living in Berlin since 2006, where he has set up his new IAMX studio for music and visual work....
, and released the white label
White label
White label records are vinyl records with adhesive plain white labels affixed. Test pressings, usually with Test Pressing written on the label, with catalogue number, artist and recording time or date, are produced in small quantities to evaluate the quality of the disc production...
The Soul Of Indiscretion EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
. The act was subsequently signed to Clean Up Records, a subsidiary of One Little Indian Records
One Little Indian Records
One Little Indian Records is a London-based independent record label that rose from the ashes of punk record company Spiderleg Records. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarchist punk bands, and managed by ex-Flux of Pink Indians Derek Birkett. The first success came with A.R. Kane and...
.
Whilst studying fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
at Reading University
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
, Howe formed the production company Line of Flight with Corner and other art students Joe Wilson and David Westlake. They released The World as a Cone EP under this title in 1993. Line of Flight produced many of the acts on Clean Up Records, and contributed numerous remixes to the 1990s dance scene.
Sneaker Pimps
Wanting a bigger audience, Howe and Corner began writing for a more song based project. Ian Pickering, a lifelong friend of Howe's joined the writing team as a lyricistLyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
. With an album of material written, singer Kelli Dayton (who had been introduced to Howe and Corner through Derek Birkett of One Little Indian) was invited to sing, and the band Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps were a British trip-hop band formed in Hartlepool, England in 1994. They are best known for their first album Becoming X and particularly the singles "6 Underground", "Spin Spin Sugar", and "Tesko Suicide" from the same album...
was formed. The debut album Becoming X
Becoming X
Becoming X is the debut album from Sneaker Pimps released in 1996. The album was successful in the United Kingdom, while "6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar" would become hits in the US....
was recorded in Howe's father's house in Elwick; a small village on the outskirts of Hartlepool. Howe and Corner produced the record under the 'Line of Flight' umbrella, with contributions from producers Jim Abyss and Flood.
Howe also played keyboards with Sneaker Pimps, throughout their worldwide promotion of their three albums to date.
Branching out
Through the success of Sneaker Pimps, Howe's writing and production skills gained international recognition with hits such as "6 Underground6 Underground
"6 Underground" is a song by the British band Sneaker Pimps, from their 1996 album Becoming X. First released as a single in the UK in October 1996, the song reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and had moderate radio airplay in the United States...
" and "Spin Spin Sugar
Spin Spin Sugar
"Spin Spin Sugar" is a 1997 single released by Sneaker Pimps from their 1996 debut album Becoming X. The album version is in true Sneaker Pimps style and format. There is a driving bass line produced by synthesizer keyboard. As the bass drives there is a second synth loop playing above. The track...
", which led to collaborations with Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
, Placebo
Placebo (band)
Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...
, Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
, Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
, Nerina Pallot
Nerina Pallot
Nerina Pallot is a platinum selling, BRIT Award and Ivor Novello Award nominated British singer and songwriter. Although born in London, Pallot was brought up in Jersey to a half-French father and mother from Allahabad, India.-Early life:Pallot played piano as a child and wrote her first song...
, and Emilíana Torrini
Emilíana Torrini
Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, best known for her 2009 single Jungle Drum, 1999 album Love in the Time of Science and for performing "Gollum's Song" for Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.-Early life:Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of...
.
Howe and Wilson formed the band Ultrafox
Ultrafox
Ultrafox is an electropop band formed by German twins Claudia and Connie Holzer. Liam Howe and Joe Wilson of Sneaker Pimps were also involved in the band's creation. The band was formed in 2001, and their only album, Ice Skating, was released in June 2004...
in 2001, with the German twin
Twin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
s, Claudia and Connie Holzer. Ice Skating was released on User Friendly Records.
Although Howe, Corner and Pickering have written a fourth Sneaker Pimps album, it remains unrecorded. Corner relocated to Berlin with the success of his solo project IAMX, whilst Howe stayed in the UK to further his writing/production career.
Production and writing with other artists
Since Sneaker Pimps, Howe has written, produced and developed a whole host of respected artists including Cathy DaveyCathy Davey
Cathy Davey is an Irish singer-songwriter. She has released one extended play, "Come Over" , and three albums, Something Ilk , Tales of Silversleeve and The Nameless...
, The Whip
The Whip (band)
The Whip are a band whose founding members Bruce Carter and Danny Saville come from Oldham, Greater Manchester, England formed in 2006. The rhythm section is Nathan Sudders and Fiona "Li'l Fee" Daniel , who was previously in Colne based band Earl....
, Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s...
, IAMX, Heypenny
Heypenny
Heypenny is an indie rock band based in Nashville, Tennessee. They cite influences such as Wilco, Beatles, Coldplay, Radiohead and Elliott Smith.-Formation:...
, Yes Giantess, Dimbleby and Capper, Official Secrets Act, The Sound of Arrows
The Sound of Arrows
The Sound of Arrows is a Swedish electronic music group consisting of Oskar Gullstrand and Stefan Storm, both from Gävle, Sweden..The video to "Nova", their major label debut single, was premiered on influential music blog Popjustice on 21st February 2011...
, Emmy the Great
Emmy the Great
Emma-Lee Moss , known by her stage name Emmy the Great, is a London-based singer-songwriter. She has released two albums, First Love and Virtue.-Early life:Moss was born in Hong Kong to an English father and a Chinese mother...
, and Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
.
In 2008 and 2009, Howe worked extensively on the Marina and the Diamonds debut album The Family Jewels
The Family Jewels (album)
The Family Jewels received mostly positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews"...
co-writing and/or producing the majority of tracks. The album entered the UK charts
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
on its week of release at #5.
In November 2010 the track 'Little Dreams' was released on the Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding is an English singer-songwriter. In 2010 she became only the second artist to both top the BBC's annual Sound of... poll, and win the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards in the same year, following Adele's win of both in 2008...
reissue Bright Lights. The song was co-written and produced by Howe.
In the summer of 2010 Howe has been working with Tom Vek
Tom Vek
Thomas Timothy Vernon-Kell is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist musician who works under the name Tom Vek.-Career:...
's on his much anticipated second album Leisure Seizure
Leisure Seizure
Leisure Seizure is the second studio album by artist Tom Vek, released on 6 June 2011. The first single "A Chore" was released on 18 April 2011.-Track listing:...
.
Pictures
Howe's compositions have appeared in many filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, most notably The Saint
The Saint (film)
The Saint is a 1997 film based on the character of Simon Templar created by Leslie Charteris in 1928 for a series of books published as "The Saint." The film stars Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue and Rade Šerbedžija...
, Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle
Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...
's A Life Less Ordinary
A Life Less Ordinary
A Life Less Ordinary is a 1997 British black comedy film directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge. It stars Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, and Delroy Lindo.-Plot:...
and Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón Orozco is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film producer, best known for his films Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también, and A Little Princess.- Early life :...
's Y tu mamá también
Y tu mamá también
Y tu mamá también is a 2001 Mexican comedy-drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos. The film is a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys taking a road trip with a woman in her late twenties; it stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael García...
. In 2009, he composed the soundtrack to the Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
multi award winning film Obselidia
Obselidia
Obselidia is a 2010 American drama film written and directed by Diane Bell, starring Michael Piccirilli, Gaynor Howe and Frank Hoyt Taylor. The Film won two awards at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival: the Excellence in Cinematography award and the Alfred P...
, using an orchestra of obsolete instruments. Howe has directed music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s for both Sneaker Pimps, and the electronic act, Motor. As a visual artist, Howe has exhibited installations in galleries such as London's Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
and the CCA Glasgow
CCA Glasgow
The Centre for Contemporary Arts is an art gallery, performance space, cafe, and cinema on Sauchiehall Street, in Glasgow, Scotland. CCA also houses a number of cultural tenants, and has a flat for visiting artists....
.
Solo career
Howe is signed as a solo artist to Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. It is unknown exactly what the project name is, however he has previously released material under the name 'The Zip'. The record is believed to be a 'producers' record, whereby he has invited collaborators to contribute performances. Collaborations with Alan Vega
Alan Vega
Alan Vega For several years other sources stated that he was born in 1948 – see 'Myth' section is an American vocalist, primarily known for his work with electronic protopunk duo, Suicide...
, Neneh Cherry
Neneh Cherry
Neneh Mariann Cherry is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, and occasional DJ and broadcaster...
, Princess Superstar
Princess Superstar
Princess Superstar is an American emcee and DJ.Her musical style, as she describes it, is flip-flop — a mixture of 'hip hop, electroclash and electronica'.-Background:...
, and Corner are expected for release in 2010.
In early 2010, Howe began co-writing and producing Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
CocknBullKid
CocknBullKid
Anita Blay better known by her professional name CocknBullKid, is an English singer-songwriter. Her first releases were released under the name thecocknbullkid.-Career:...
, which is set for release in early 2011.