Jem Finer
Encyclopedia
Jem Finer is an English
musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues
.
. After college he traveled Europe and spent some time working on a barge in France
. He settled in London
, where he met Shane MacGowan and Spider Stacy
, with whom he founded The Pogues.
Finer studied computer science in the 1970s, he has worked in a variety of fields, including photography, film, experimental and popular music and installation.
Primarily a banjo
ist, he also plays other instruments, including mandola
, saxophone
, hurdy-gurdy and the guitar
. Apart from Shane MacGowan
(with whom he co-wrote several songs, including "Fairytale of New York
"), Finer was the most prolific composer for the band.
He appeared on all the band's albums until their breakup in 1996; he was one of only three original members. During that time he also appeared on MacGowan's solo album The Snake and The Levellers
' self titled release; he continued working as a musician and composer after leaving The Pogues.
On 1 January 2000, the Finer-composed Longplayer
piece of music was started; this is designed to last 1000 years without ever repeating itself, and as currently implemented exists in both computer-generated and live versions.
His 1000 year long musical composition, Longplayer
, represents a convergence of many of his concerns, particularly those relating to systems, long-durational processes and extremes of scale in both time and space.
Finer was "Artist in Residence" at the Astrophysics Sub-department of the University of Oxford
between October 2003 and June 2005, making a number of works including two sculptural observatories, Landscope and The Centre of the Universe. Finer and Hamburg-based swamp pop
legend DM Bob have recorded and performed together since 2005, releasing their album Bum Steer in August of that year and co-producing the debut album by experimental pop band Marseille Figs
. He has written articles on copyright and the Creative Commons License
. In July 2005, Finer won the PRS Foundation New Music Award on the basis of his proposal to build a device that will automatically "compose" a song of indeterminate length by harnessing the creative force of the weather. His proposal read:
He is currently working on a number of new projects continuing his interest in long-term sustainability and the reconfiguring of older technologies, the most recent being Spiegelei, a spherical camera obscura featuring Finer's innovative 360 degree projection system.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
.
Life and career
Finer was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, and studied computing and sociology at Keele UniversityKeele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
. After college he traveled Europe and spent some time working on a barge in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He settled in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he met Shane MacGowan and Spider Stacy
Spider Stacy
Peter "Spider" Stacy is an English musician. He is one of the founding members of London Irish band The Pogues.- External links :* [Twitter @SpiderStacy] [myspace.com/spiderstacythepogues]*...
, with whom he founded The Pogues.
Finer studied computer science in the 1970s, he has worked in a variety of fields, including photography, film, experimental and popular music and installation.
Primarily a banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
ist, he also plays other instruments, including mandola
Mandola
The mandola or tenor mandola is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola , a fifth lower than a mandolin...
, saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, hurdy-gurdy and the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. Apart from Shane MacGowan
Shane MacGowan
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan is an Irish musician and singer, best known as the original singer and songwriter of The Pogues.-History:...
(with whom he co-wrote several songs, including "Fairytale of New York
Fairytale of New York
"Fairytale of New York" is a song by the Irish rock group The Pogues, released in 1987 and featuring the British singer Kirsty MacColl. The song is an Irish folk style ballad, written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan, and featured on The Pogues' album If I Should Fall from Grace with God...
"), Finer was the most prolific composer for the band.
He appeared on all the band's albums until their breakup in 1996; he was one of only three original members. During that time he also appeared on MacGowan's solo album The Snake and The Levellers
The Levellers (band)
The Levellers are an English rock band, founded in 1988 and based in Brighton, England. Their musical style is said to be influenced by punk and traditional English music.-1988-1990:...
' self titled release; he continued working as a musician and composer after leaving The Pogues.
On 1 January 2000, the Finer-composed Longplayer
Longplayer
"Longplayer" is a piece of music that is designed to last for one thousand years. It started to play on 1 January 2000, and if all goes as planned, will continue without repetition until 31 December 2999, at which point it will restart....
piece of music was started; this is designed to last 1000 years without ever repeating itself, and as currently implemented exists in both computer-generated and live versions.
His 1000 year long musical composition, Longplayer
Longplayer
"Longplayer" is a piece of music that is designed to last for one thousand years. It started to play on 1 January 2000, and if all goes as planned, will continue without repetition until 31 December 2999, at which point it will restart....
, represents a convergence of many of his concerns, particularly those relating to systems, long-durational processes and extremes of scale in both time and space.
Finer was "Artist in Residence" at the Astrophysics Sub-department of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
between October 2003 and June 2005, making a number of works including two sculptural observatories, Landscope and The Centre of the Universe. Finer and Hamburg-based swamp pop
Swamp pop
Swamp rock is a musical genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s and early 1960s by teenaged Cajuns and black Creoles, it combines New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and traditional French...
legend DM Bob have recorded and performed together since 2005, releasing their album Bum Steer in August of that year and co-producing the debut album by experimental pop band Marseille Figs
Marseille Figs
Marseille Figs is an experimental pop band from London. With roots in the improvised music and performance art communities, they have been a fixture of the London underground music scene since their formation in 1999, with audiences centred mainly in London and Berlin...
. He has written articles on copyright and the Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
. In July 2005, Finer won the PRS Foundation New Music Award on the basis of his proposal to build a device that will automatically "compose" a song of indeterminate length by harnessing the creative force of the weather. His proposal read:
- The countryside is shot through with holes in the ground; wells, mine shafts, fissures, bunkers, ventilation holes. In this piece of music the venue is a deep shaft in which there will be placed, at different heights, bowls of different sizes and tunings pivoted about their centre of gravity, the instruments. The players, the drips of water, will strike the bowls, ringing them like bells. As they fill with water their timbres will change, and the delicate equilibrium of their pivots will cause them to sway slightly, modulating the tones. Overflowing, a bowl will drip into ones below it.
- Amplification will be facilitated by a tube rising up from within the shaft, into a brass horn twenty feet above the surface. Akin to the bamboo tube in the suikinkutsu, the horn not only amplifies the sounds but forms a sculptural object, a focus in the landscape. The work was constructed and installed in King's Wood near ChallockChallockChallock is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Ashford, Kent, England.The village centre is located between Faversham [8 miles to the north] and Ashford town . It dates from around AD823....
, KentKentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
over the summer of 2006.
He is currently working on a number of new projects continuing his interest in long-term sustainability and the reconfiguring of older technologies, the most recent being Spiegelei, a spherical camera obscura featuring Finer's innovative 360 degree projection system.