Penguin Café Orchestra
| Penguin Cafe Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Avant-pop |
| Years active | 1972–2007 |
| Labels | Obscure, E.G., Virgin/EMI |
| Associated acts | The Anteaters, The Orchestra That Fell to Earth, Penguin Cafe |
| Website | www |
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) were an avant-pop band led by English guitarist Simon Jeffes. Also founded by Jeffes with cellist Helen Liebmann, the band toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The orchestra's sound is not easily categorized, but has elements of exuberant folk music and a minimalist aesthetic occasionally reminiscent of composers such as Philip Glass.
The group recorded and performed for 24 years until Jeffes died of an inoperable brain tumour in 1997. Several remaining members of the original group reunited for three concerts in 2007. Since then, five original members have continued to play concerts of PCO's music, first as The Anteaters, then as The Orchestra That Fell to Earth. In 2009, Jeffes' son Arthur founded a distinct successor band simply called Penguin Cafe. Although it includes no original PCO members, it features many PCO pieces in its live repertoire, and records and performs new music written by Arthur.
After becoming disillusioned with the rigid structures of classical music and the limitations of rock, in which he also dabbled, Simon Jeffes became interested in the relative freedom in ethnic music and decided to imbue his work with the same sense of immediacy and spirit.
Describing how the idea of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra came to him, Jeffes said:
The group's debut album, Music from the Penguin Cafe, a collection of pieces recorded in 1974–76, was released in 1976 on Brian Eno's experimental Obscure Records label, an offshoot of the EG label. It was followed in 1981 by Penguin Cafe Orchestra, after which the band settled into a more regular release schedule.
The band played its first major concert on 10 October 1976, supporting Kraftwerk at The Roundhouse. They went on to tour the world and play at a variety of music festivals as well as residencies on the South Bank in London. From 1976 to 1996 they played in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and throughout Europe and the UK. In March, 1987 they were the subject of an episode of the ITV arts series The South Bank Show, on which they performed "Air", "Bean Fields", "Dirt" and "Giles Farnaby's Dream".
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