Tim Rice-Oxley
Encyclopedia
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, best known as co-founder, the principal composer and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
of piano rock
Piano rock
Piano rock, sometimes referred to as piano pop, is a style of popular music that is based around the piano—and sometimes piano-related instruments such as keyboards–with piano typically replacing rhythm guitar as the rhythm instrument...
band Keane.
Life and career
He was born in OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
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...
to Charles Patrick and Margaret Rice-Oxley. He went to Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
, Kent
Kent
Kent 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...
with his best friends at the time, Richard Hughes
Richard Hughes (musician)
Richard David Hughes is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the British piano rock band Keane. He is the eldest member of the band.-Biography:...
and Tom Chaplin
Tom Chaplin
Thomas Oliver "Tom" Chaplin is a singer, musician and composer, best known as the lead vocalist of the piano rock band, Keane.-Life and career:...
. Rice-Oxley's and Chaplin's mothers had become friends as Rice-Oxley's brother (also named Tom) was born soon after Chaplin, with their mothers becoming friends.
He had piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
lessons when he was a teenager but admitted to hating them and never practicing pieces because they were all classical music which he found boring. After his parents stopped his lessons, he developed a liking for piano and so taught himself how to play, mainly because of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. Later, Rice-Oxley would give Chaplin after-school piano lessons.
In 1994, he began studying for a degree in Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where Hughes studied Geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
. Friend and guitarist Dominic Scott
Dominic Scott
Dominic Scott is an Irish guitarist, and the founder of the English rock band Roundstone and rock band Keane.-Keane:Scott attended Tonbridge School in Kent, where he met the other members of the band which would become Keane. In 1995, he asked his friend Tim Rice-Oxley to form a band to play...
suggested to Rice-Oxley that they form a band and he agreed. The two asked Hughes to join on drums.
While there, he met Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
, who was creating demos at the time with Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
. Rice-Oxley was invited by Martin to join after listening to his piano playing during a weekend at Virginia Water in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, but declined in order to concentrate on Keane with his friends.
Keane
In 1997, Rice-Oxley convinced Scott and Hughes to let Chaplin join the band. It was in this year that the band took the name Keane.During their stint in London, Rice-Oxley shared a flat with Chaplin in Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
and they tried to get money for rehearsal time. When Scott left the band in July 2001, Rice-Oxley started playing the piano. He continues to play bass; however now the parts are pre-recorded and are sampled in live gigs through an Apple Powerbook.
In 2004, he won an Ivor Novello Award
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
for Best Composer of the Year.
Tim has a wife, Jayne Rice-Oxley, who he married in February 2005, and a daughter, Lilac, born on 22 September 2007. Chaplin was the best man at their wedding. He is currently living in Lewes, East Sussex.
In 2006, he contributed on the song, "Early Winter
Early Winter
"Early Winter" is a song by American recording artist Gwen Stefani from her second studio album, The Sweet Escape . Written by Stefani and Tim Rice-Oxley , the track is a 1980s-inspired pop rock ballad...
," and on "The Girl Inside" (unreleased) on Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
's second solo album, The Sweet Escape
The Sweet Escape
The Sweet Escape is the second and final solo studio album by American recording artist Gwen Stefani, released in the United States on December 5, 2006 by Interscope Records. Having originally intended to return to No Doubt after her 2004 solo album Love. Angel. Music...
.
Currently, he provides live and studio backing vocals for Keane, except for the studio songs "Sunshine", "This Is the Last Time
This Is The Last Time
"This Is the Last Time" is a song performed and composed by British rock band Keane released in 13 October 2003 as their second commercial single, first released with Fierce Panda Records and later in 2004 as a different version with Island Records....
" (demo version) and Your Love where he sings the lead vocals, as well as some Under the Iron Sea DVD
Under the Iron Sea DVD
Under the Iron Sea is English rock band Keane's third DVD release. It includes the British version of the album and a book-shaped box. It was released the same day as the album, on June 12, 2006 and earlier in some countries...
and Perfect Symmetry
Perfect Symmetry (Keane album)
Perfect Symmetry is the third studio album by English rock band Keane, released on 13 October 2008 in the United Kingdom. The album's title was released on 31 July 2008. The band had completely transformed their look and their new album was said to be also very unexpected...
demos.
It was revealed in early 2010 that he was working on a side-project called Mt. Desolation
Mt. Desolation
Mt. Desolation are an alt-country duo from England.It is the side project of Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin, members of the rock band Keane.Their self-titled debut album was released on October 18, 2010....
along with his bandmate Jesse Quin
Jesse Quin
Jesse Joseph Quin is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known as the bass and percussion player of the British rock band Keane. He is the youngest member of the band.-Life and career:...
, which resulted in an album release and supporting tour.
In 2009, he helped co-write the song "Everything Is Beautiful", for Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
's eleventh studio album, Aphrodite
Aphrodite (album)
Aphrodite is the eleventh studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was her first studio album in the three years following her 2007 release X. Aphrodite was released worldwide in July 2010, and was preceded by the release of the lead single, "All the Lovers"...
.
Equipment list
- Yamaha CP70B (main pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
) - Nord Lead 3 Synth (synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
) - Fender PrecisionFender Precision BassThe Fender Precision Bass is an electric bass.Designed by Leo Fender as a prototype in 1950 and brought to market in 1951, the Precision was the first electric bass to earn widespread attention and use. A revolutionary instrument for the time, the Precision Bass has made an immeasurable impact on...
(bass guitarBass (instrument)Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
) - Apple PowerBook G4PowerBook G4The PowerBook G4 are a series of notebook computers that were manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple, Inc. between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line. It uses the PowerPC G4 processor, initially produced by Motorola and later by Freescale, after Motorola spun off its semiconductor...
Titanium (for bass tracking) - Apple PowerMac G5