Serafina Steer | |
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Background information | |
Born | London, England | 30 April 1982
Occupation | Harpist/ songwriter/ composer/ band leader/ teacher |
Instrument(s) | Harp, keyboard |
Labels | current: Fire Records; previous: Static Caravan Lost Map Records Stolen Recordings |
Serafina Steer (born 30 April 1982) is an English harpist, and songwriter based in London. [1] She is best known as a regular collaborator with Jarvis Cocker. In addition to harp, she plays keyboards, bass guitar and has composed for theatre and TV.
Steer has released various solo and collaborative albums with 'The Moths Are Real', produced by Cocker, garnering critical acclaim. [2] She writes for all-female post punk ensemble Bas Jan (Fire Records UK) who have released 3 albums. She was a member of Jarvis Cocker's 'Jarv Is' 2017-2022 during which time she co-composed the soundtrack for 'This Is Going To Hurt', a BBC/AMC adaptation of novel by Adam Kay.
Serafina Steer studied harp with Imogen Barford at Morley College, Eira Lynn Jones at Chetham's School of Music and at Trinity College of Music with Gabriella Dall'Olio. [3] [4]
In 2007 Steer released a 7" single and an album entitled Cheap Demo Bad Science on Static Caravan records. Recorded with Mike Lindsay of folktronica band Tunng, and Kristian Craig Robinson, aka Capitol K, the album opens with a cover version of Brian Eno's "By This River" but all other songs are her own.
In 2010 she released Change is Good, Change is Good, again on Static Caravan. It was described by Jarvis Cocker as one of his favourite albums of the year and well "worth a listen". Recording was interrupted when Steer's harp was stolen from her car. Benge made his collection of analogue synthesizers available to fill in the harp parts. Patrick Wolf described the album in The Observer as if "Stereolab and Shirley Collins made an album together about the trials of 21st-century romance." [5]
The 2013 album The Moths Are Real, on Stolen Recordings, was produced by Jarvis Cocker and began a long-running working relationship. The album featured an illustrious array of musicians including Steve Mackey, Seb Rochford, David Cunningham, Leo Chadburn with string arrangements by John Purton of The Manchester String Quartet. [6]
In 2017 she awarded a Paul Hamlyn composer award.
In 2019, she self released a tape of mainly instrumental compositions called 'The Mind Is A Trap'.
In 2015 she formed all female post punk trio Bas Jan whose first gigs were supporting The Decemberists on their 2015 UK+ EU dates. Steer featured on vocals, bass guitar and keyboards; composing the majority of the band's material. Their first album 'Yes I Jan', produced by Leo Abrahams and Leafcutter John was released on Lost Map Records 2018. The band had expanded and undergone a complete line up change by 2022's 'Baby U Know' (Lost Map). This album, recorded in lock down at Cafe Oto caused them to be signed by Fire Records with whom they went on to release 'Back To The Swamp' in 2023.
Frequent working collaborations with Jarvis Cocker since working together on The Moths Are Real evolved into improvising band project 'Jarv Is'. Their first album 'Beyond The Pale', features writing credits from Steer in particular on their lead single tracks House Music All Night Long and Must I Evolve.
Between 2010-11 Steer joined John Foxx and the Maths alongside Hannah Peel and Benge playing analogue synthesizers and bass guitar. In 2012 she appeared in the London Sinfonietta's New Music Show 3. [7]
In 2011 Branchage Film Festival, Jersey and PRS Women Make Music commissioned Steer to compose a live soundtrack to a film of her choosing. This resulted in 'Postman's Familiar', a psychedelic harp and stop-motion animation (by Sam Steer, brother) response to Kenneth Anger's Rabbit's Moon which was also performed at Glasgow and London Short Film Festivals.
In 2013 she performed with Patrick Wolf at Manchester Pride-pictured.
Steer has appeared both live and on record with musicians including John T.Gast, Patrick Wolf, Tunng, Olivia Chaney, Hannah Peel, Rozi Plain, Bat for Lashes, The Last Dinner Party, Pet Shop Boys, Memory Band, Cleo Sol, James Yorkston, Adem, Chrome Hoof, Shimmy Rivers and Canal, Simon Bookish.
Pulp are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. At their critical and commercial peak, the band consisted of Jarvis Cocker, Russell Senior, Candida Doyle (keyboards), Nick Banks, Steve Mackey (bass) and Mark Webber.
John Robert "Joe" Cocker was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright?" and "Unchain My Heart", were recordings of songs written by other song writers, though he composed a number of songs for most of his albums as well, often in conjunction with songwriting partner Chris Stainton.
Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Cocker has also pursued a solo career, and for seven years he presented the BBC Radio 6 Music show Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service.
Leafcutter John is the recording name of John Burton, a UK-based musician and artist. He makes frequent use of Max/MSP in his compositions. Much of Burton's style is based in computer music and use of samples of everyday sounds. However, he also has roots as a folk musician, and this influence is apparent in his more recent work.
Capitol K is the name under which Kristian Craig Robinson works as a musician, producer, recording engineer and label manager.
Stephen Patrick Mackey was an English musician and record producer best known as the bass guitarist for the Britpop band Pulp, which he joined in 1989. As a record producer, he produced songs and albums by M.I.A., Florence + the Machine, The Long Blondes and Arcade Fire.
The Manvils are a Canadian rock band from Vancouver. The band consists of the singer, songwriter and guitarist Mikey Manville, bass guitarist Dave Fenton and drummer Jay Koenderman.
"Babies" is a song written and released by British rock group Pulp. Featuring lyrics about a boy spying on his friend's sister from a wardrobe, the song features a guitar riff that drummer Nick Banks had played for Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker. Though poppier and lighter than much of the band's earlier material, the band was pleased with the song and was released as a single.
Static Caravan Recordings is an independent record label based in the North West of England, whose artist releases include singles and albums by Darren Hayman, the Hornblower Brothers, Hannah Peel, Erland & the Carnival, Shady Bard, the Yellow Moon Band, Tunng, Peter Astor, Magnetophone, Fieldhead, Serafina Steer, Matters, Polyhymns, The Memory Band, FortDax, Matthew Edwards, and Boat To Row. The label focuses mainly on alt-folk and indie music.
"O.U. " is a song written and released by British pop band Pulp in 1992. Recorded with producer and former Pulp member Simon Hinkler, "O.U." would be the band's first single with Gift Records, with whom the band signed after conflicting with indie label Fire.
The Accidental were a folk band from the United Kingdom, made up of members of The Bicycle Thieves, Tunng and The Memory Band. The band members were Stephen Cracknell of The Memory Band, Sam Genders of Tunng, Hanna Caughlin of The Bicycle Thieves and singer-songwriter Liam Bailey. Other members of The Memory Band and harpist Serafina Steer also contributed. Their debut album, There Were Wolves, was recorded in Cracknell's London apartment with a computer and a pair of microphones, and was released by Thrill Jockey Records in April 2008.
Beth Jeans Houghton is an English multi-disciplinary musician, composer, artist, animator and video director. Their influences range from psychedelic rock, punk, blues, 1960s garage rock and soul. They create art under their birth name, Beth Jeans Houghton, using photography, illustration, animation, video, sculpture and embroidery. They have directed and animated music videos for multiple artists including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ezra Furman, and Laura Marling's band LUMP. They write, perform and produce music under the name Du Blonde.
Stolen Recordings is a British independent record label founded by two musicians, Paul Jones and Mérida Sussex and one artist, Rachael Robb, and is based in Tottenham, London. Stolen's first release was in May 2005. In 2009 they founded a publishing company, in association with Beggars Music, called "Stolen Publishing". Stolen's releases include albums by Thomas Cohen, Bo Ningen, East India Youth, Pete and The Pirates, and Serafina Steer.
The solo discography of Jarvis Cocker, an English musician, consists of five studio albums, six singles and numerous collaborations with other artists. He is best known as the founder, frontman and songwriter for the band Pulp.
Benjamin David Edwards, known professionally as Benge, is an English musician and record producer based in Cornwall, England. The main focus of his work is within the experimental electronic music field.
John Foxx and the Maths is a musical project featuring electronic music pioneer John Foxx, Benge and more recently Hannah Peel. The group specialises in the use of analogue synthesizers and drum machines. It was initially a studio based project working from Benge's studio in Shoreditch, London but has also engaged in live work.
The Moths Are Real is a studio album by the singer-songwriter Serafina Steer. It was released in January 2013 by Stolen Recordings. It was produced by Jarvis Cocker.
The Big Melt is a documentary film about the Sheffield steel industry which combines archive footage with a live soundtrack. It was produced by Heather Croall and Mark Atkin and Martin Rosenbaum and directed by Jarvis Cocker and Martin Wallace for the 20th annual Sheffield Doc/Fest in 2013, to celebrate the centenary of the steel industry. The film was made using footage from the BFI National Archive. The film was commissioned by BBC Storyville and BBC North in association with the BFI, using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Beyond the Pale is the debut studio album by British rock band Jarv Is, led by Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker. The studio album incorporates live recordings, and was defined by the group as an "alive album". It was released by Rough Trade Records on 17 July 2020, having been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and received widespread acclaim upon release, with multiple critics characterising it as Cocker's best work since Pulp.
Chansons d'Ennui Tip-Top is a 2021 studio album by Jarvis Cocker, released on 22 October 2021 by ABKCO Music & Records. It is a covers album, featuring twelve cover versions of French pop songs. It serves as a companion release to the soundtrack for Wes Anderson's 2021 film The French Dispatch. The songs are performed by Cocker in character as Tip-Top, a singer mentioned in the film. The album is often titled simply Chansons d'Ennui and credited to Tip-Top.