Higher Intelligence Agency

Last updated

Higher Intelligence Agency
Origin Birmingham, UK
Genres
Years active1992–present
MembersRobert (Bobby) Bird

Higher Intelligence Agency (HIA) is the main electronic music project of Birmingham, UK-based Robert (Bobby) Bird. The project was featured on Warp's Artificial Intelligence II compilation and went on to release the critically acclaimed albums Colourform (1993) and Freefloater (1995).

Contents

Biography

HIA was formed by Bird in 1992 around the same time as he and a small group of collaborators began an experimental electronic music club night called Oscillate. Bird brought his drum machines and keyboards to the club night and improvised live in-between playing records. After coming across a local label just starting up, Beyond Records, Bird produced Ketamine Entity for Ambient Dub Volume 1 followed by ‘Speedlearn' and ‘Solid Motion for an EP entitled Speedlearn. [1] These tracks were written by Bird together with Steve Savale, an early contributor.

HIA’s debut album Colourform (1993) was written and produced by Bird in his bedroom studio in Moseley, with additional contributions by members of the Oscillate collectiv: Savale, Dave Wheels & Fosit Forsythe. [2] Colourform has been described as "one of the British Ambient scene’s landmark releases" [1] and HIA went on to become regulars on the emerging live electronic music scene, playing at The Ambient Weekend Melkweg Amsterdam ('93) [3] Interference Festival Tresor Club Berlin, [4] [5] Tripping on Sunshine Festival Copenhagen, The Brixton Academy New Year's Megadog ('94), and the first ever Dance Music stage at Glastonbury ('95). [6] With Bird at the Helm, assisted by Dave Wheels, HIA played lengthy sets that ‘unfolded oscillated calm into boundless shifting voyages, heading out to beat frenzy and beyond, into the language of dreams’ [7]

Referring in Volume Magazine to the dub element inherent in HIA material at this time Bird said "I grew up with it ..I was in Handsworth a lot when I was young - the parties had dub all the time and I wanted to be a musician years before I left school. But I never dreamed I’d be programming electronic music " [8]

In 1994 HIA appeared on Warp Records' Artificial Intelligence II compilation with the track Selenite. [9] Colour Reform, an EP of remixes of tracks from Colourform, by Autechre, The Irresistible Force (aka Mix Master Morris), A Positive Life and Pentatonic, [10] was also released, becoming NME Vibes Single of the week. [11]

A second album Freefloater followed in 1995 released, written and produced by Bird, with additional contributions on individual tracks by Dave Wheels, Fosit Forsythe and Stef Pierlejewski. [12] Freefloater is considered to be HIA’s definitive album so far, [1] and an excellent example of ambient electro. [13] Writer Hari Kunzru described it as ’music in which the space in between is just as important as the notes. In a perfect world this is what NASA would play to space shuttle crews in orbit’ [14]

In 1995 Bird and Biosphere’s Geir Jenssen performed three concerts together on top of a mountain above Geir's home town of Tromso in Norway, using location recordings of the surrounding area as source material. Recordings from these concerts were subsequently released as Biosphere / Higher Intelliengece Agency album Polar Sequences (1996). [15] [16] The album was critically acclaimed and voted as one of the top 20 all time ambient releases by fans at Hyperreal.org [17]

A return invitation in 1997 for Geir to come to Birmingham and play a collaborative concert on the 12th floor of the Rotunda, using location recordings of Birmingham resulted in the HIA/Biosphere album Birmingham Frequencies released on Bird's Headphone label in 2000. [15]

Bird also made two collaborative albums with German ambient music producer Pete Namlook, SHADO and SHADO 11, and an album Higher Intelligence Agency Meets Deep Space Network with David Moufang Jonas Grossman and Dave Wheels.

In recent years Bird has continued to play occasional live Higher Intelligence Agency concerts including at Detroit Electronic Music Festival, Ambient Festival Gorlice Poland, Boom Festival Portugal, O.Z.O.R.A. Hungary, and UK festivals Beat-Herder and Lunar, and more recently played the "Beyond the Tracks" festival in East Side City Park, Birmingham. [18]

Occasional remixes and tracks continue to appear, including 'Sky One' written for a Pete Namlook tribute compilation. [19]

In 2020 an HIA E.P of new material 'Discatron' was released and in 2021 an LP 'Song of the Machine' [20]

Aside from HIA Bird has also created multi-speaker sound installations for festivals, galleries, woodland spaces and performances [21] and played guitar for The Beat feat Ranking Roger [22]

Discography

YearTitleLabelNotes
1993ColourformBeyond / Waveform Solo album
1995FreefloaterBeyond / Waveform Solo album
1996Polar SequencesBeyondwith Biosphere (live)
1996Deep Space Network Meets Higher Intelligence AgencySource Recordswith Deep Space Network
1997S.H.A.D.O. FAX +49-69/450464 with Pete Namlook
1999S.H.A.D.O. 2FAX +49-69/450464with Pete Namlook
1999Birmingham FrequenciesHeadphonewith Biosphere (live)
2002 The Fire This Time Hidden ArtCompilation
2022Song of the MachineField recordings

See also

Related Research Articles

Mixmaster Morris is an English electronica DJ and underground musician who has also recorded as The Irresistible Force. His work in the 1990s blended ambient music and chill-out influences with UK dance styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambient music</span> Music genre

Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It is often "peaceful" sounding and lacks composition, beat, and/or structured melody. It uses textural layers of sound that can reward both passive and active listening and encourage a sense of calm or contemplation. The genre is said to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual", or "unobtrusive" quality. Nature soundscapes may be included, and the sounds of acoustic instruments such as the piano, strings and flute may be emulated through a synthesizer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaus Schulze</span> German composer and musician (1947–2022)

Klaus Schulze was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across six decades.

Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, the Black Dog, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uwe Schmidt</span> German composer, musician and producer

Uwe H. Schmidt, also known as Atom™, Atom Heart, or Señor Coconut, is a German composer, musician and producer of electronic music. He was active in the development of electrolatino, electrogospel, and aciton music. In the nineties, Schmidt moved to Chile and developed part of his career there, adopting the alias Señor Coconut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biosphere (musician)</span> Norwegian electronic musician

Geir Aule Jenssen is a Norwegian electronic musician and composer who records as Biosphere. A resident of Tromsø within the Arctic Circle, Jenssen is well known for ambient and ambient house pieces, often inspired by Arctic or mountain settings, and his use of loops and peculiar samples from science fiction and natural sources. His 1997 album Substrata was voted by the users of the Hyperreal.org website in 2001 as the best all-time classic ambient album. He has also composed several film scores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Dub Foundation</span> English electronica band

Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and guitar, which acknowledges a punk rock influence. Their music is known for its dub-inspired basslines, guitar parts inspired by the traditional Indian instrument the sitar, and fast rapping.

Pete Namlook was an ambient and electronic music producer and composer. In 1992, he founded the German record label FAX +49-69/450464, which he oversaw. He was inspired by the music of Eberhard Weber, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chopin, Wendy Carlos, Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd, and most importantly Klaus Schulze.

Tetsu Inoue (テツ・イノウエ) is a former electronic music producer from Japan. He primarily made various types of ambient music, such as ambient techno & lowercase, particularly on the label FAX. He has lived in Japan, San Francisco, and New York, and has collaborated with musicians such as Pete Namlook, Bill Laswell, Andrew Deutsch, Carl Stone, Terre Thaemlitz, Jonah Sharp, Taylor Deupree, and Uwe Schmidt. After the release of his last album Inland in 2007, Inoue completely disappeared from the public eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">System 7 (band)</span> British electronic music project

System 7 are a UK-based electronic dance music band. Due to the existence of another band called System Seven they were initially billed as 777 in North America. System 7 was also the name of the current version of the Macintosh operating system at the time, although this was not the reason for the temporary name change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FAX +49-69/450464</span> German record label

FAX +49-69/450464 was a German record label founded in Frankfurt in 1992 by ambient musician Peter Kuhlmann. It was originally devoted to Namlook's collaborations with other German electronic artists, primarily in hard trance and hardcore styles, but soon expanded with the debut of the ambient Silence and Air projects; consequently, ambient and downtempo music became the predominant focus of the label.

<i>Substrata</i> (album) 1997 studio album by Biosphere

Substrata is the third studio album by Norwegian electronic musician Geir Jenssen under the stage name Biosphere, released in 1997 by All Saints Records.

<i>Patashnik</i> 1994 studio album by Biosphere

Patashnik is the second album by ambient house musician Biosphere. It was originally released in 1994 by Origo Sound in Norway and by Apollo in the rest of the world. Its track "Novelty Waves" was used for a 1995 Levi's ad campaign.

<i>Dropsonde</i> (album) 2006 studio album by Biosphere

Dropsonde is an ambient album by musician Biosphere. Unlike his previous output, there is a notable jazz influence present on this album.

<i>The North Pole by Submarine</i> 1990 studio album by Bleep

The North Pole by Submarine is the only album released by ambient techno artist Bleep. Bleep was the one-time moniker of Geir Jenssen, who is more widely known as Biosphere. Shortly after North Pole was released, Jenssen moved in a far more ambient direction with his music, and changed the name under which he released his new music to avoid any comparison with "bleep house".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Chandra Savale</span> British musician

Steve Chandra Savale is a British musician. He joined Asian Dub Foundation in 1994 and has been the band’s longest-serving member. He developed a guitar style that maintained a punk aggression but could work within a Dub/Jungle foundation, utilising unusual textures and FX (1).He has co-produced and co-written on all nine of the bands’ official studio albums and initiated the concept of what become their live re-score of the film La Haine which they have played consistently since 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Moufang</span> German ambient techno musician (born 1966)

David Moufang is a German ambient techno musician. He records with his partner, Jonas Grossmann as Deep Space Network project and his solo releases as Move D. His other projects include Earth to Infinity, Reagenz, Koolfang, and Conjoint.

The Tromsø techno scene is the origin of many of Norway's most important artists within electronic music. The internationally best-known names are Röyksopp, Biosphere and Bel Canto.

Beyond Records was an English record label founded in Birmingham in 1992, best known for its ambient dub compilations, which were to define the genre.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Barr, Tim (2002). Techno The Rough Guide. Rough Guides ltd. pp. 171–172.
  2. ↑ "Colourform". Higher Intelligence Agency. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Toop, David (January 1994). "Mellow Fever". The Face (January 1994).
  4. ↑ "Red Bull Music Academy". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  5. ↑ Interference Berlin (29 November 2012), HIGHER INTELLIGENCE AGENCY - Whirligig, Interference Berlin, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 21 September 2016
  6. ↑ DorianPVP (20 April 2012), 1995 Glastonbury Dance Stage - Steve Hillage, John Peel and Kiss My Axe, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 21 September 2016
  7. ↑ Marcus, Tony (December 1993). "Electronic Rock'n'Roll!". I-D Magazine (123 December 1993).
  8. ↑ Mead, Helen (November 1993). "Higher Intelligence Agency". Volume (Eight).
  9. ↑ "Various - (Artificial Intelligence II) / (Motion) Ltd Box". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "The Higher Intelligence Agency - Colour Reform". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Reform". 15 March 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Freefloater". 24 March 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  13. ↑ "Freefloater - Higher Intelligence Agency | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  14. ↑ Kunzru, Hari (October 1995). "Higher Intelligence Agency Freefloater". Wired. No. October 1995.
  15. 1 2 "Biosphere and HIA 'Birmingham Frequencies'". www.ambientmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  16. ↑ "Hia* | Biosphere - Polar Sequences". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "CLASSIC AMBIENT RECORDINGS: The 2001 Survey". music.hyperreal.org. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  18. ↑ "Performance". 13 February 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  19. ↑ "Die Welt ist Klang: A Tribute to Pete Namlook". www.carpesonum.com. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  20. ↑ "The Higher Intelligence Agency". Discogs. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  21. ↑ "Bobby Bird-Musician/Artist". Bobby Bird-Musician/Artist. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  22. ↑ "The Beat (6) featuring Ranking Roger - Live At The Roundhouse". Discogs. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.