Craig Fortnam | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Craig Edward Fortnam [1] |
Born | September 1967 (age 56) Oxford, Oxfordshire, England [2] |
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Spouse(s) | Sharron Saddington (m. 2003) |
Craig Edward Fortnam (born September 1967) is an English composer, conductor and musician. Fortnam is a skilled guitarist and bass guitarist, specialising in nylon-string acoustic guitar (which he plays in a style drawing on classical and African techniques and the work of Nick Drake) and also sings. He is best known as the leader, conductor and principal composer of the North Sea Radio Orchestra, but also leads the smaller band Arch Garrison and was previously a key member of several other bands, most notably the Shrubbies and Lake of Puppies.
Fortnam trained in composition and guitar at Dartington College, England before moving back to London in the early 1990s to seek work as a musician. During this time, he played with several rock and folk bands connected with the cult English rock band Cardiacs, striking up a long-lasting relationship with several of the band members. Among the bands Fortnam played in was Lake of Puppies (a "psychedelic acoustic" band led by former Cardiacs keyboard player William D. Drake), in which he met his future wife and long-term collaborator Sharron Saddington (later to be known as Sharron Fortnam). Fortnam and Saddington went on to form a similar pop group called the Shrubbies with two more ex-Cardiacs, saxophonist Sarah Smith and drummer Dominic Luckman. [4] [5]
During this time, Fortnam wrote a wide variety of music including some contemporary classical compositions which were performed by ensembles including the Kreutzer Quartet and the Britten Sinfonia. [2]
Craig and Sharron Fortnam formed North Sea Radio Orchestra (also known as NSRO) in 2002 as a vehicle for Craig's more classically inclined compositions and Sharron's voice (an unusual soprano blending elements of folk, rock, and classical music). The ensemble grew from an octet to a twenty-person grouping including a vocal chorus and has released four albums of original compositions – North Sea Radio Orchestra (2006), Birds (2008) and "I A Moon" (2011) and 'Dronne' (2016). NSRO has received a large amount of critical acclaim and played a wide variety of venues including many historic London churches and the Roundhouse.
Fortnam founded a more folk-influenced project, Arch Garrison, in 2010 as a duo of himself on voice and nylon-string guitar and James Larcombe on keyboards. The debut Arch Garrison album, King of the Down, was released by Double Six records on 22 February 2010, followed by I Will Be A Pilgrim (The Household Mark, THM003) in 2014 and The Bitter Lay (Believers Roast, BR24) in 2020.
Since 2021, Fortnam has been releasing a mixture of song-based and instrumental music under his own name, beginning with Ark (Onomatopoeia) in 2021, and Instrumental Music 1 (Believers Roast) in 2022. A series of Bandcamp single releases put out over 2022 on a schedule based on the lunar calendar were compiled as Lunar One A Sides (Full Moon Releases Oct 2021 – Sept 22) and Lunar One B Sides (Full Moon Releases Oct 2021 – Sept 22)both released in November 2022 on Believers Roast and Bandcamp.
Fortnam was a featured musician on the soundtrack to the film A Mighty Heart (2007), playing both guitar and bass guitar. [6] and also played guitar on the soundtrack to the 2008 film Shifty (written by Molly Nyman and NSRO member Harry Escott). [7]
Albums
Singles and EPs
Compilation appearances
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The Monsoon Bassoon were an English independent rock band active between 1995 and 2001, notable for their exceptionally complex and energetic music. During their lifespan, the band won the NME's Single Of The Week award three times. They were an integral part of the "London math-rock" scene of the late 1990s and had a passionate underground following, particularly inspiring other bands.
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Kavus Torabi is a British-Iranian musician, composer, record label owner and radio broadcaster. A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field. Torabi was one of the founding members of the Monsoon Bassoon, was a member of cult progressive rock group Cardiacs, and fronts and plays guitar for the current lineup of legendary psychedelic band Gong.
The North Sea Radio Orchestra (NSRO) is an English contemporary music ensemble and cross-disciplinary chamber orchestra. Formed in 2002, the NSRO was set up mainly as a vehicle for the compositions of its musical director, Craig Fortnam, but has also performed works by William D. Drake and James Larcombe. The ensemble is notable for its post-modern fusion of Romantic music and later twentieth-century forms, and for its bridging of the worlds of contemporary classical music, British folk music, London art rock and poetry.
William Derek Drake is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 and 1992. He has also been a member of the Sea Nymphs, North Sea Radio Orchestra, Nervous, Wood, Lake of Puppies and The Grown-Ups, as well as pursuing a career as a solo artist. He is a distant cousin of the English singer-songwriter Nick Drake.
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Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith, Songbook 1 is a compilation album featuring cover versions of songs by Tim Smith, the songwriter behind Cardiacs, The Sea Nymphs, Spratleys Japs and his solo project OceanLandWorld. It was released on CD on 13 December 2010 on the Believers Roast label. The release date for download, via iTunes, was 20 December 2010.
North Sea Radio Orchestra is the first album by the English cross-disciplinary musical ensemble, North Sea Radio Orchestra. It was released in 2006 on Oof! Records.
Birds is the second album by the English cross-disciplinary musical ensemble North Sea Radio Orchestra. It was released on December 1, 2008, on Oof! Records.
I a Moon is the third album by the English cross-disciplinary music ensemble North Sea Radio Orchestra (NSRO). It was released on July 4, 2011, on the Household Mark label.
Knifeworld is a British-based psychedelic rock band led by Kavus Torabi. Originally a Torabi solo project, it became a full band in summer 2009.
LSD is the unfinished sixth and final studio album by the English rock band Cardiacs. Recording began following lineup changes, with the lead single "Ditzy Scene" released by Org Records in 2007 to tease the upcoming double album. It was due to be released in October 2008, promoted by singles in August and November as well as a reissue of the concert film All That Glitters Is a Mares Nest (1992). Production was indefinitely postponed after frontman Tim Smith had a cardiac arrest and stroke on 25 June 2008 leaving him unable to play or provide vocals.
The Shrubbies were an English pop group from Wallington, London, active from 1996 to 1998. The band was formed as Shrubby Veronica by Craig Fortnam, Sharron Saddington and the former Cardiacs members Sarah Smith and Dominic Luckman (drums). They gigged enthusiastically in London for several years and then split up as Fortnam was disillusioned with playing the traditional indie rock toilet circuit.
Believers Roast is a record label formed in 2009 by musician Kavus Torabi, initially to only release recordings by Torabi and his band Knifeworld. The label expanded with the fundraising album Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith in 2010 and has since released the collaborative album The Exquisite Corpse Game (2013) and albums by artists including Thumpermonkey, The Gasman, Karda Estra, Arch Garrison, and respective band members.