Denys Irving (Musician, Filmmaker)
| Denys Irving | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Denys George Irving |
| Also known as | Lucifer |
| Born |
4 January 1944 Colwyn Bay, North Wales |
| Died | 5 August 1976 (aged 32) |
| Genres | Garage rock, psychedelic rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, filmmaker |
| Instruments | electric guitar, bass, percussion, vocals, electronics |
| Labels | private press |
Denys George Irving (1944-1976), was born on 4 January 1944 in Colwyn Bay, North Wales.
He grew up in South London and was educated at Dulwich College (1954–1961), where he was awarded the Fawkes Memorial Scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford (1962), where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. After graduating in 1966 he went on to study at the London School of Economics, and was a graduate student in the Philosophy Ph.D. program at Columbia University, New York.
Whilst at Columbia in 1968, Denys was actively involved in student politics, notably during the student demonstrations in May, when he was prominent among a large number of students who occupied Fairweather Hall. It was at Columbia that Denys became interested in artificial intelligence and started working with computers. In December 1968 he wrote to his parents: "I have been working with computers this term and I have made pretty good progress so far and my plan is to try to get accepted by the Royal College of Art (film department) to do research into computer generated research and music." He acknowledged that "the chances (of being accepted) are pretty slim." (This assessment proved correct and Denys’s application to the Film School was rejected. Perhaps what he was trying to do was a bit too avant-garde for the film establishment of the time). During his stay in New York Denys recorded (as Dennis Irving) an interview with the American Jazz/Experimental composer Sun Ra for Pacifica Radio.
Using Columbia University’s mainframe computer he developed programs to produce short computer generated silent films. In a letter dated 9 May 1969 he referred to "working on my various films in the face of incredible and demented opposition. I may manage to finish one or more before I leave!" In New York Denys pioneered projection systems for ‘psychedelic’ effects, initially using liquid inks on glass slides, and later combining these with a variety of photographic images. He mounted a powerful projector in his tiny apartment in the East Village and projected images onto the building opposite, often attracting substantial crowds.
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