Samuel Smiles (band)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Smiles were an intermittently active English ambient
-folk band. Their best known line-up featured singer Tim Bowness
(of the band No-Man
).
, had previously been in the Warrington art rock group Plenty with a pre-No-Man Tim Bowness. Bearpark later moved south to study at King's College, London, during the late 1980s. While there, he won the Samuel Smiles Award For Scientific Genius while studying at King's College, London (named after the Scottish writer, social reformer and self-help advocate
), which later prompted Bowness to suggest that "Samuel Smiles" might be a good band name.
The original lineup of Samuel Smiles was formed in Cambridge
in 1990 by Bearpark and acoustic guitarist Charles Fernyhough (later to become a celebrated child psychologist). The other two members were singer Grainne McAlonan and double-bass player Phil Unwin. They were later joined by pianist Peter Chilvers
. The band subsequently underwent a number of changes in direction (including folk and country) and, after recording a demo tape produced by Tim Bowness, parted company with McAlonan and Unwin in early 1991. Fernyhough continued to play, write and record with the remaining members until January 1995.
Bearpark and Chilvers joined up with Bowness in June 1991, initially under the new name of Strapless. The band rapport was so instant that they performed their first live date on the day of their first rehearsal, and went into Amazon Studios (now Parr Street Studios) in Liverpool to record a live album barely three weeks later. These early sessions were eventually released on the Burning Shed
label as Live Archive One.
The band continued sporadically to record and perform over the next decade, playing a BBC radio session in 1992 and performing occasional support slots to musicians such as Holly Penfield in 1995. In 1997, Bearpark, Bowness and Chilvers added cellist Marianne De Chastelaine (ex-Heather Nova
/The Wise Wound) to the lineup. The quartet played several concerts and made a number of recordings engineered by David Kosten (Faultline).
A subsequent version of the band - with De Chastelaine replaced by Myke Clifford (saxophone, flute and percussion) - recorded the 1999 studio album World of Bright Futures. The album also featured guest appearances by Porcupine Tree
's Steven Wilson
and Colin Edwin
plus Warrington
ian guitarist Tony Harn
). A live album, The Way We Used To Live, followed the next year (and was later reissued in an expanded version on Burning Shed as Live Archive Two).
Samuel Smiles performed regularly throughout 1999 and 2000, included support slots with Porcupine Tree
, Marillion
and Roy Harper
. However, the band was prone to regular internal tensions (primarily between Bearpark and Chilvers) and ground to a halt in the early 2000s, although all of the members retained their personal and professional friendships.
Some of Samuel Smiles' style and songs were carried on into the duo project Tim Bowness/Peter Chilvers. Both Bearpark and Chilvers continued to collaborate with Tim Bowness outside of Samuel Smiles in projects such as Darkroom
, Henry Fool
and the Tim Bowness live band of the mid-2000s (as well as performing guest spots in line-ups of the No-Man live band).
/Tim Bowness album Flame. "Walker" was re-recorded by No-Man
and eventually released as an archive track on their All The Blue Changes anthology.
Samuel Smiles also recycled an old song from a previous Bearpark and Bowness band, Plenty ("Life Is Elsewhere") and covered No-Man's "Watching Over Me" on their debut album.
In 2008, Bearpark reunited with Charles Fernyhough in the rock band Aimless Mules; and Marianne De Chastelaine was reunited with Tim Bowness in 2008 when she added cello to the No-Man album Schoolyard Ghosts
.
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
-folk band. Their best known line-up featured singer Tim Bowness
Tim Bowness
Tim Bowness is a singer/songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.-Music career:...
(of the band No-Man
No-Man
No-Man are a British art-pop duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson . The band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections...
).
Band history
During the mid-1980s the band's only consistent member, Michael BearparkMichael Bearpark
Michael Bearpark is an English scientist and musician.-Work as scientist:Bearpark is a Principal Research Fellow in the Chemistry Department at Imperial College, London...
, had previously been in the Warrington art rock group Plenty with a pre-No-Man Tim Bowness. Bearpark later moved south to study at King's College, London, during the late 1980s. While there, he won the Samuel Smiles Award For Scientific Genius while studying at King's College, London (named after the Scottish writer, social reformer and self-help advocate
Samuel Smiles
-Early life:Born in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, the son of Samuel Smiles of Haddington and Janet Wilson of Dalkeith, Smiles was one of eleven surviving children. The family were strict Cameronians, though when Smiles grew up he was not one of them...
), which later prompted Bowness to suggest that "Samuel Smiles" might be a good band name.
The original lineup of Samuel Smiles was formed in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in 1990 by Bearpark and acoustic guitarist Charles Fernyhough (later to become a celebrated child psychologist). The other two members were singer Grainne McAlonan and double-bass player Phil Unwin. They were later joined by pianist Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers (musician)
Peter Chilvers is a Cambridgeshire-based British musician and composer best known as a collaborator with Brian Eno and Tim Bowness.Chilvers is one of the three co-founders of the Burning Shed online record label, with Tim Bowness and Pete Morgan....
. The band subsequently underwent a number of changes in direction (including folk and country) and, after recording a demo tape produced by Tim Bowness, parted company with McAlonan and Unwin in early 1991. Fernyhough continued to play, write and record with the remaining members until January 1995.
Bearpark and Chilvers joined up with Bowness in June 1991, initially under the new name of Strapless. The band rapport was so instant that they performed their first live date on the day of their first rehearsal, and went into Amazon Studios (now Parr Street Studios) in Liverpool to record a live album barely three weeks later. These early sessions were eventually released on the Burning Shed
Burning Shed
Burning Shed is an independent record label established in April 2001 by musicians Tim Bowness and Peter Chilvers, in association with duplication company manager and former Noisebox Records boss, Pete Morgan....
label as Live Archive One.
The band continued sporadically to record and perform over the next decade, playing a BBC radio session in 1992 and performing occasional support slots to musicians such as Holly Penfield in 1995. In 1997, Bearpark, Bowness and Chilvers added cellist Marianne De Chastelaine (ex-Heather Nova
Heather Nova
Heather Nova, is a Bermudian singer-songwriter and poet. She has released eight full-length albums and has found lasting success in Germany where two of her albums South and Storm have made their way into the Top-5 of German official album chart.-Biography:Heather Nova was born in Bermuda...
/The Wise Wound) to the lineup. The quartet played several concerts and made a number of recordings engineered by David Kosten (Faultline).
A subsequent version of the band - with De Chastelaine replaced by Myke Clifford (saxophone, flute and percussion) - recorded the 1999 studio album World of Bright Futures. The album also featured guest appearances by Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
's Steven Wilson
Steven Wilson
Steven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
and Colin Edwin
Colin Edwin
Colin Edwin is a member of the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, where he plays both fretted and fretless bass guitar as well as double bass and guimbri. He joined the band in December 1993...
plus Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
ian guitarist Tony Harn
Tony Harn
Tony Harn is an English guitarist and multi-instrumentalist , based in Warrington....
). A live album, The Way We Used To Live, followed the next year (and was later reissued in an expanded version on Burning Shed as Live Archive Two).
Samuel Smiles performed regularly throughout 1999 and 2000, included support slots with Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
, Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
and Roy Harper
Roy Harper
Roy Harper is an English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s...
. However, the band was prone to regular internal tensions (primarily between Bearpark and Chilvers) and ground to a halt in the early 2000s, although all of the members retained their personal and professional friendships.
Some of Samuel Smiles' style and songs were carried on into the duo project Tim Bowness/Peter Chilvers. Both Bearpark and Chilvers continued to collaborate with Tim Bowness outside of Samuel Smiles in projects such as Darkroom
Darkroom (electronic music project)
Darkroom is a British electronic music project created by Andrew "Os" Ostler and Michael Bearpark .Other contributors to the project have been Tim Bowness and Peter Chilvers ....
, Henry Fool
Henry Fool (band)
Henry Fool are an English progressive rock band that use elements of jazz and post-rock in their music.The core members of the band are Tim Bowness and Stephen Bennett...
and the Tim Bowness live band of the mid-2000s (as well as performing guest spots in line-ups of the No-Man live band).
Developments and reconnections
Samuel Smiles acted as an incubator for several songs which subsequently travelled to other projects. Aside from the Tim Bowness/Peter Chilvers duo project (which continued to play the Samuel Smiles songs "Also Out Of Air", "Dreaming Of Babylon", and "Sorry Looking Soldier"), both "Flame" and "Brightest Blue" were revived for the Richard BarbieriRichard Barbieri
Richard Barbieri, is an English synthesiser player, keyboardist and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London...
/Tim Bowness album Flame. "Walker" was re-recorded by No-Man
No-Man
No-Man are a British art-pop duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson . The band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections...
and eventually released as an archive track on their All The Blue Changes anthology.
Samuel Smiles also recycled an old song from a previous Bearpark and Bowness band, Plenty ("Life Is Elsewhere") and covered No-Man's "Watching Over Me" on their debut album.
In 2008, Bearpark reunited with Charles Fernyhough in the rock band Aimless Mules; and Marianne De Chastelaine was reunited with Tim Bowness in 2008 when she added cello to the No-Man album Schoolyard Ghosts
Schoolyard Ghosts
Schoolyard Ghosts is the name of the sixth studio album by British art rock band No-Man.Recorded in the UK, France, Sweden and the USA and released on May 12, 2008, the album features contributions from Bruce Kaphan , drummers Pat Mastelotto and Gavin Harrison , saxophonist/flautist Theo Travis, and...
.
Discography
- World of Bright Futures - (Hidden Art (hi-art 3), 1999)
- The Way We Used to Live - (Hidden Art (hi-art 7), 2000)
- Live Archive One - (Burning Shed, 2000) CD-RCD-RA CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
- Live Archive Two - (Burning Shed, 2000) CD-RCD-RA CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....