ADEM

ARTIST / MUSICIAN / PRODUCER / STRING ARRANGER

seconds are acorns is the first solo album of original material for nine years from Adem, founder member of postrock band Fridge alongside Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden and one half of Silver Columns with Johnny Lynch aka The Pictish Trail. It is at once connected to his previous albums, Homesongs (2004) and Love And Other Planets (2006), and a departure from them. It is rich in detail but resonant with his biggest, boldest, most confident melodies to date. These are personal songs, sung with typical heartfelt candour, that have the potential to be heard by the broadest audience of Adem’s career. He may sing, on the new record, “There is no need for grand gestures,” but there is a sense on seconds are acorns of a musician seizing the opportunity to create music that is at once intimate yet epic in scope.

Notwithstanding the gap between releases, Adem has hardly been idle. The pop polymath has been involved in a wide variety of projects, from music to the movies. His skills reaching far beyond that of a knob-twiddler, Adem excels as a people-manager, collaborator, inspirer, musician, vocal-coach, explorer, problem-solver. Adem always has the bigger picture in mind but never misses the detail. Focussed, friendly and very, very talented, we cannot wait to see what he does next.

Adem is a multi-disciplinary producer. He has spent years honing his recording techniques, particularly capturing original and rich character from instruments, electronic, acoustic and vocal; often thinking outside of the box and working with idiosyncratic approaches. He has worked across and bent many genres and is just as happy programming beats and electronics as he is arranging orchestras or beautifully recording a simple acoustic guitar.

Importantly, Adem's approach as a producer is based not just his technical prowess, but firmly rooted in his skills as a musician and band member – He understands how musicians work and feel, whether in a band or as a solo artist and prides himself on getting the best out of whoever he is working with. As a singer and multi-instrumentalist, Adem has a great ear for a melody, hook and rhythm and can draw those things out of performers (and is no slouch at laying down tracks when wanted/needed); this, coupled with his studio skills built up over years of exploratory work make him an excellent and exciting producer.

Adem started producing records early, releasing two albums and numerous 7”, 12” and EP’s in the late 90's as FRIDGE before leaving secondary school. The ultra-cool post-rock outfit were known for their 'studio-as-instrument' approach and Adem and his bandmates were called in by producer-legend Arthur Baker to lend their sound and techniques to help produce the album 'Twisted Tenderness' by Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner's project 'Electronic'. As Fridge continued, Adem started to release solo material using the imaginitive moniker 'Adem'. His records, released by Domino Records, starting with 'Homesongs' have received widespread critical acclaim and were at the forefront of the folktronica movement - not expected from an alternative experimental musician - and he founded, curated and ran the Homefires festival ('event of the year' – Time Out), setting him as a tastemaker in the scene, with debut/early uk performances from many artists such as Joanna Newsom, Bat for Lashes, Andrew Bird and Grizzly Bear alongside established artists such as (smog) and Bert Jansch; this led to an invitation from David Byrne to collaborate at Carnegie Hall in New York. He threw another creative curveball by releasing an energetic electro-pop collaboration under the moniker Silver Columns on trend-setter label Moshi Moshi, garnering further respect from the critics and remixing many bands from Underworld to Foals.

Adem has toured his own projects internationally and as a guest musician for artists including Philip Selway (Radiohead), Hot Chip, Damo Suzuki, Vashti Bunyan and Badly Drawn Boy, playing various instruments.

Adem has scored for film, major theatre and dance companies and has collaborated at an international level with world-class practitioners in those worlds. His composition work has recently been recognised winning the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers.

ADEM PRODUCER DISCOGRAPHY

ALBUMS

Adem - Homesongs (Domino)

Adem - Love and other planets (Domino)

Adem - Takes (Domino)

Adem - Seconds are acorns (Label Oneiric/Caroline intl)

Philip Selway (Radiohead) - Weatherhouse (Bella Union)

The Pictish Trail - Future Echoes (Lost Map)

Jo Mango - Murmurations (Olive Grove records)

Barbarossa - Bloodlines (Memphis Industries)

Megan Wyler - Through the noise (Nowever Records)

Lowlowlowlalalalovelovelove - Feels, feathers, bog and bees (Other Electricities)

(Co-Production)

*FRIDGE:

Ceefax (Output)

Semaphore (Output)

Sevens and Twelves (Output)

Eph (Go!Beat)

Happiness (Text)

The Sun (Text)

*SILVER COLUMNS:

Yes and dance (Moshi Moshi)

EPs, singles etc.

*numerous FRIDGE, Adem and Silver Columns releases spanning about 20 years

Lau - Lau vs Adem EP (Reveal Records)

Beth Jeans Houghton - Golden/Night Swimming 7" (Static Caravan)

Louis Franck – Twockers EP (F&S)

Charlotte Hatherley - Wrong notes (album track on New Worlds) (Little Sister)

Earl Shilton - Aphiotic (album track on Sanguinaria) (Invisible Spies)

Additional production

Bat for lashes – Glass – Two Suns

Hot Chip – Flutes – In Our Head

Hot Chip – So glad to see you – The Warning

Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou - Quality first, last and forever (Heavenly)

Victoria Hume – Delirium (Lost Map)

Badly Drawn Boy - Being Flynn (Original soundtrack)

Many Remixes from Underworld to Foals, Explosions in the Sky to Rodelius, New Young Pony Club to Manic Street Preachers

String Arrangements

Years and years – Eyes Shut

Foxes – Amazing

Hot Chip – Started Right

Hot Chip – Dark Night

The Pictish Trail – Far Gone (Don’t leave)

The Pictish Trail – Easy With Either

Barnes Courtney – Through The Night

Barnes Courtney – Goodbye John Smith

Feature Films

In The Loop (Iannucci)

The Ones Below (Farr)

Free Rainer (Weingartner)

Wayland’s Song (Jobson)

The Affected (Thomson)

Contributed to many others including Dead Man’s Shoes (Meadows) and scored many short films for festival release.

Royal Shakespeare Company

Scored an entire season for the Main Theatre RST(stratford-upon-avon) and month residency at the Roundhouse, London. Plays including The Tempest and Twelfth Night.

Rambert

Co-composed original score for the inaugural Event for their South Bank building. Collaboration with Merce Cunningham Company, Gerhard Richter and National Company of Contemporary Dance – shortlisted for Dance Event of the Year.

Ockham’s Razor

Co-scored ‘Tipping Point’ for ground-breaking, award-winning contemprorary post-circus performance company.

Various other commissions and scores for theatre, dance and other projects.