Brian Eno: Oblique Music

On the back of his published diary Brian Eno describes himself variously as: a mammal, a father, an artist, a celebrity, a pragmatist, a computer-user, an interviewee, and a ‘drifting clarifier’. To this list we might add rock star (on the first two Roxy Music albums); the creator of lastingly influential music (Another Green World; Music for Airports); a trusted producer (for Talking Heads, U2, Coldplay and a host of other artists); the maker of large-scale video and installation artworks; a maker of apps and interactive software; and so on. He is one of the most feted and influential musical figures of the past forty years, even though he has described himself on more than one occasion as a non-musician. This volume examines Eno’s work as a musician, as a theoretician, as a collaborator, and as a producer. Brian Eno is one of the most influential figures in popular music; an updated examination of his work on this scale is long overdue.

Reviews of Brian Eno: Oblique Music

As producer, musician, theorist, facilitator and more, Brian Eno has left significant traces across popular culture since the 1970s and this wide-ranging volume skilfully brings to light both well-known and more obscure aspects of his work and legacy. Alexei Monroe, Cultural theorist and author of 'Interrogation Machine: Laibach & NSK' (MIT Press) Few figures in the history of modern music stand up to the kind of wide-ranging, detailed and careful treatment meted out in this brilliant collection. Eno's expansive repertoire – from glam rock icon to avant-garde composer – constitutes the fertile grounds for what is a learned and lively intervention. Deigned to be a benchmark collection for anyone interested in process-oriented creativity and experimental musicianship, the collection shines a light on Eno's dynamic craftsmanship. It fills a crucial gap in the field, bestowing on the reader a unique insight into Eno the polymath, singer, collaborator, composer, avant-gardiste, intellectual and self-defined "non-musician". A richly-informed, lucidly written and rigorously compiled collection that provides new insights with every turn of the page. Nick Prior, Senior Lecturer and Head of Sociology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland