Leafcutter John has been releasing records and playing live electronic music since his first release on Planet Mu Records in 2000. He has toured widely and released seven studio albums which you can listen to and purchase on Bandcamp.
John has been described as:
“One of the UK’s most fearlessly inventive electronicists” – Time Out London
“A musician who combines acoustic and electronic music with an irresistible compulsion to build Heath Robinson- like inventions” – The Guardian
“One of the bourgeoning stars of post-electronica” – The Wire
“Leafcutter John brews up a particularly English blend of electronica” – Louder Than War
“A true, actual genius” – Jon Hopkins
At the core of John’s work is an endless fascination with sound, how we can make, transform, and perform it. He was one of the first wave of artists in the early 2000’s to use laptop computers in performance. He spent a great deal of time learning Cycling 74’s Max which enabled him to develop his own audio software and playable interfaces with which to write and produce music the music of the future.
Ben Murphy’s book Ears To The Ground (Velocity Press 2024) features an in depth interview with John about his use of field recordings and looks in detail at his record “Yes Come Parade With Us” which was released on Border Community Records in 2019. The book also features interviews with KMRU, Ultramarine, Kate Carr, Erland Cooper, Proc Fiskal, Flora Yin-Wong, Langham Research Centre, Claire Guerin, Toshiya Tsunoda, Lawrence English, Heinali, and Kayla Painter.
John is also a prodigious producer and collaborator who forged the sound of Melt Yourself Down’s incredible first two records. In 2020 he helped Ed Dowie produce his beautiful second album “The Obvious I”. And he’s been commissioned to provide scores for countless theatre, dance and poetry luminaries, such as the Handspring Puppet Company and renowned choreographer Wayne McGregor. He also spent over 10 years as the sonic agitator in twice Mercury prize nominated band Polar Bear.
John has given talks and workshops at various music and art schools from the Royal College of Music to the Hanoi sound stuff festival in Vietnam.
If you would like to work with John on a project please get in touch here.
