In The Nursery
Encyclopedia
In the Nursery are a neo-classical
/martial electronica
band, known for their cinematic sound. The duo has provided soundtrack
s to a variety of TV programmes and films, and is known for its rescoring of silent films.
Influenced by Joy Division
, the trio originally tagged along with the UK's industrial music
scene, releasing the six-track When Cherished Dreams Come True in June 1983. The "Witness (To A Scream)" single and Sonority EP followed before the band moved to the Sweatbox label for the fearsome Temper EP.
The full-length Twins was recorded without the departed Bennett at Bradford's Flexible Response Studio. The album adopted a more subtle approach by favouring theatrical atmospherics over industrial clatter. Multi-lingual vocalist Dolores Marguerite C made her debut on the Trinity EP adding French
narration to "Elegy'. Dolores and military-styled percussionist Q were added to the line-up on the subsequent Stormhorse, the soundtrack to an imaginary film that provided the cinematic blueprint for all their future recordings. The quartet's final recording for Sweatbox, 1988's Köda, completed the transition to a classical instrumental sound and utilised computer sequencing in the recording process for the first time.
Following the collapse of Sweatbox, the band moved to Third Mind Records to complete the delicate L'Esprit. The album was recorded with engineer Steve Harris who had contributed to Köda and would feature on all the band's subsequent releases. Sense and Duality were followed by a logical progression to real soundtrack work on 1993's psychological drama An Ambush of Ghosts. Their music has also featured in Interview with the Vampire
, Streetfighter II and The Rainmaker
, and in the late 90s the band was commissioned, as part of the Optical Music Series
, to provide new scores for the silent classics The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Asphalt
, and Man with a Movie Camera
. Anatomy of a Poet
, a concept album about the creative psyche, featured author Colin Wilson
reciting romantic poetry against a lush backdrop of strings, and also included a cover version of Scott Walker
's "Seventh Seal".
A retrospective compilation of their work was the first release on their own ITN Corporation label. Further concept albums have included Deco (inspired by the Art Deco
movement) and the ambitious Lingua, an exploration of language featuring vocal contributions from around the world. The Humberstones also record more dance-oriented material under the Les Jumeaux moniker, and as such were involved in pre-production work on Sabres of Paradise's classic techno anthem "Smokebelch".
The 2011 release Blind Sound is a more consistently dark album from the Humberstone brothers and features more real percussion than previous releases. In 2011, "White Robe" from An Ambush of Ghosts was used on a trailer for Game of Thrones
.
Neoclassical (Dark Wave)
Neoclassical Dark Wave refers to a music genre within the Dark Wave movement. It is characterized by the use of ethereal atmosphere and angelic female voices but also adds strong influences from classical music. Neoclassical Dark Wave is distinct from the academic art music form known as...
/martial electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
band, known for their cinematic sound. The duo has provided soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s to a variety of TV programmes and films, and is known for its rescoring of silent films.
Career
Twin brothers Klive and Nigel Humberstone and guitar player Anthony Bennett formed this Sheffield, England-based band in 1981.Influenced by Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
, the trio originally tagged along with the UK's industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
scene, releasing the six-track When Cherished Dreams Come True in June 1983. The "Witness (To A Scream)" single and Sonority EP followed before the band moved to the Sweatbox label for the fearsome Temper EP.
The full-length Twins was recorded without the departed Bennett at Bradford's Flexible Response Studio. The album adopted a more subtle approach by favouring theatrical atmospherics over industrial clatter. Multi-lingual vocalist Dolores Marguerite C made her debut on the Trinity EP adding French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
narration to "Elegy'. Dolores and military-styled percussionist Q were added to the line-up on the subsequent Stormhorse, the soundtrack to an imaginary film that provided the cinematic blueprint for all their future recordings. The quartet's final recording for Sweatbox, 1988's Köda, completed the transition to a classical instrumental sound and utilised computer sequencing in the recording process for the first time.
Following the collapse of Sweatbox, the band moved to Third Mind Records to complete the delicate L'Esprit. The album was recorded with engineer Steve Harris who had contributed to Köda and would feature on all the band's subsequent releases. Sense and Duality were followed by a logical progression to real soundtrack work on 1993's psychological drama An Ambush of Ghosts. Their music has also featured in Interview with the Vampire
Interview with the Vampire
Interview with the Vampire is a vampire novel by Anne Rice written in 1973 and published in 1976. It was the first novel to feature the enigmatic vampire Lestat, and was followed by several sequels, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles...
, Streetfighter II and The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker (1997 film)
The Rainmaker is a 1997 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon. Coppola wrote the script, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by John Grisham....
, and in the late 90s the band was commissioned, as part of the Optical Music Series
Optical Music Series
The Optical Music Series is a set of CDs by the English Neoclassical duo In The Nursery, released under their own ITN Corporation record label. These CDs are meant as companions to several classic silent films of the early 20th century. The series began in 1996 with the release of The Cabinet of Dr...
, to provide new scores for the silent classics The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Asphalt
Asphalt (1929 film)
Asphalt is a German silent film. The film was one of the last silent films released in Germany as the world was entering the era of sound film.-Crew:...
, and Man with a Movie Camera
Man with a Movie Camera
Man with a Movie Camera , sometimes called The Man with the Movie Camera, The Man with a Camera, The Man With the Kinocamera, or Living Russia is an experimental 1929 silent documentary film, with no story and no actors, by Russian director Dziga Vertov, edited by his wife Elizaveta...
. Anatomy of a Poet
Anatomy of a Poet
Anatomy of a Poet is the eighth studio album from the British electronica duo In the Nursery. It includes several tracks featuring samples of author Colin Wilson reading his favourite poetry...
, a concept album about the creative psyche, featured author Colin Wilson
Colin Wilson
Colin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
reciting romantic poetry against a lush backdrop of strings, and also included a cover version of Scott Walker
Scott Walker (singer)
Scott Walker, born Noel Scott Engel on January 9, 1943 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and the former lead singer of The Walker Brothers. Despite being American born, Walker's chart success has largely come in the United Kingdom, where his first four solo albums...
's "Seventh Seal".
A retrospective compilation of their work was the first release on their own ITN Corporation label. Further concept albums have included Deco (inspired by the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
movement) and the ambitious Lingua, an exploration of language featuring vocal contributions from around the world. The Humberstones also record more dance-oriented material under the Les Jumeaux moniker, and as such were involved in pre-production work on Sabres of Paradise's classic techno anthem "Smokebelch".
The 2011 release Blind Sound is a more consistently dark album from the Humberstone brothers and features more real percussion than previous releases. In 2011, "White Robe" from An Ambush of Ghosts was used on a trailer for Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones (TV series)
Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
.
Album discography
- When Cherished Dreams Come True (1983, mini-album)
- Sonority (1985)
- Temper (1985, EP)
- Twins (1986)
- Trinity (1987, EP)
- Stormhorse (1987)
- Köda (1988)
- Counterpoint (1989)
- L'Esprit (1990)
- Sesudient (1990, EP)
- Sense (1991)
- Duality (1992)
- An Ambush of Ghosts (1993, soundtrack)
- Anatomy of a PoetAnatomy of a PoetAnatomy of a Poet is the eighth studio album from the British electronica duo In the Nursery. It includes several tracks featuring samples of author Colin Wilson reading his favourite poetry...
(1994) - Deco (1996)
- The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1996, soundtrack)
- AsphaltAsphalt (1929 film)Asphalt is a German silent film. The film was one of the last silent films released in Germany as the world was entering the era of sound film.-Crew:...
(1997, soundtrack) - Lingua (1998)
- Man with a Movie CameraMan with a Movie CameraMan with a Movie Camera , sometimes called The Man with the Movie Camera, The Man with a Camera, The Man With the Kinocamera, or Living Russia is an experimental 1929 silent documentary film, with no story and no actors, by Russian director Dziga Vertov, edited by his wife Elizaveta...
(1999, soundtrack) - Groundloop (2000)
- Hindle WakesHindle Wakes (1927 film)Hindle Wakes is a 1927 British silent film drama, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Estelle Brody and John Stuart. The film is adapted from Stanley Houghton's 1912 stage play of the same name, and reunites Brody and Stuart following their hugely popular pairing in the previous year's...
(2001, soundtrack) - Engel (2001)
- Praxis (2003)
- A Page of MadnessA Page of Madness-External links:*...
(2004, soundtrack) - Electric Edwardians (2005, soundtrack)
- Era (2007)
- The Passion of Joan of ArcThe Passion of Joan of ArcThe Passion of Joan of Arc is a silent film produced in France in 1928. It is based on the record of the trial of Joan of Arc. The film was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and stars Renée Jeanne Falconetti...
(2008, soundtrack) - Aubade (2010, a collection of recordings from 1983–1985)
- Blind Sound (2011)
External links
- In The Nursery Official website
- Images of the Abbeydale Picture House, which appears on the cover of the Era album Interview 1990 from Prémonitions zine