Christopher Chaplin

British experimental musician

IPNHK
IPNHK
Nov 7 · 2 min read
Christopher Chaplin

British experimental musician and composer, the youngest son of mime master Charles Chaplin, Christopher Chaplin studied piano with Swiss pianist Irene Denereaz in his early years and emigrated to London in the 1980s. After being an actor for a period of time, he became a full-time musician in 2005, creating a large number of music for the theatre.

Ingeniously combining experimental electronics with contemporary chamber music and classical texts, Chaplin’s music interweaves a high-density and exquisite poetic atmosphere. In 2009 he was invited by Viennese electronic music label Fabrique Records to collaborate with Thomas Pötz aka Kava on Seven Echoes, a concept album released in 2010 and presented live at the well-known Art Brut Museum Gugging in Austria for the first time. There he also met electronic music pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Cluster, Harmonia) who later invited Christopher to take part in a Late Junction live session for Londons BBC Radio 3. The result of this second collaboration led to another collaboration album King of Hearts. In the following years, Chaplin and Roedelius performed around the world; these were largely improvised performances with Roedelius on piano and electronics, and Chaplin on synthesizers and orchestral samples. Amongst others they captivated audiences in Paris (Silencio), Reykjavik (Extreme Chill Festival), Sao Paulo (Sesc Belenzinho), Barcelona (Primavera Festival), Tiradendes (Mimo Festival), Madeira (MMiFF Festival) or Berlin (Haus der Kulturen der Welt). Often supported by Luma Launisch live video projections.

October 2016 finally saw the release of Christopher Chaplin’s highly acclaimed first solo album Je suis le Ténébreux. Inspired by a sixteenth century text, Chaplin made fascinating experiment music that was praised to represent mysterious aspects of ancient cultures of the famous Italian historical city Bologna, such as alchemists, astrologers, witches and pagans. In the followed new epic solo album Paradise Lost, basing on John Milton’s same name epic published in 1967, Chaplin cooperated with amazing American vocalist and poet Leslie Winer and British tenor Nathan Vale, and again combined experimental electronic with chamber and contemporary music approaches, creating amazing epic soundscapes.

Following the first two albums, Chaplin’s third personal trilogy is scheduled to be released in 2020, and his latest album is published with Stereo Hypnosis, the Irish Electronics Trio, which includes a series of improvised and live environmental music recordings they made in Southern Ireland in 2018.

International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong — 10th Anniversary Celebration
Supported by Hong Kong Arts Development Council and Ms. Li Wei

IPNHK

Written by

IPNHK

IPNHK is one of the largest poetry festivals in the world, connecting worlds with words「香港國際詩歌之夜」由詩人北島於2009年創立,是亞洲最有影響力的國際詩歌節,也是世界上最成功的國際詩歌節之一 https://ipnhk.org

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade