Sxip Shirey

Sxip Shirey
Shirey with some of his tools
Background information
Birth name	Gene Shirey
Born	Athens, Ohio
Genres	Electoacoustic, dark cabaret, etc.
Occupation(s)	Composer, performer, story-teller
Labels	Nonesuch Records
Associated acts	Gentlemen & Assassins, Luminescent Orchestrii, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Daredevil Opera Company
Website	Official website

External video

Shirey giving a TED Talk in 2008

Gene "Sxip" Shirey (pronounced "skip") is an American electric-acoustic composer, performer, and story-teller. Currently based in New York City, he is known for working with found objects, traditional instruments, and computer and rare modified instruments. Shirey has released three solo albums, including Sonic New York in 2010. Shirey is a member of The Daredevil Opera Company and is a founding member of the band Luminescent Orchestrii, as well as the band Gentlemen & Assassins. He is the host and producer of Sxip's Hour of Charm, a variety show of cabaret acts.

Shirey grew up in Athens, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio University, and having studied physics and folk guitar, he moved to New York in the late-1980s. He currently resides in Brooklyn.

Shirey started experimenting with found sound composition and extended instrument techniques when asked to compose music for Ohio University’s modern dance department. This eventually took him to New York City and he has been performing in venues ranging from underground clubs in Brooklyn to a TED, to Europe and to the Sydney Opera House.

A founding member of the band Luminescent Orchestrii in 2002, Shirey has released three albums with The Luminescent Orchestrii and one EP on Nonesuch Records as a collaboration between Luminescent Orchestrii and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Shirey is also a member of The Daredevil Opera Company.

Shirey has released three solo albums, with the first in 2006.

About Statuesque, a 2009 short film by Neil Gaiman with a score by Shirey, Lily Percy of NPR wrote "The work stars Bill Nighy and is silent save for Shirey's haunting score — marked by an assortment of moody piano melodies, bells and chimes — which sets the tone for a dramatic take on a Mannequin-esque love story." It was featured in an 11 part series for Sky TV in the United Kingdom.