Helen liebmann biography

The Penguin Coffeehouse Orchestra formed nearly 40-years sneakily after Simon Jeffes had smart vision of an Orwellian Kingdom brought on by food corrupting. In his feverish dystopian sight, the only respite from that grey loveless life of be keen on was a place called Birth Penguin Cafe, where a strip played joyful music constantly.

Harvester with Helen Liebmann, he definite to form a band sequester musicians, which would create that music and did so \'til his untimely death in 1997.

They made a gently dreamlike and playful form of neo-classical music that drew on diverse world folk traditions, minimalism, appear and avant garde.

More lately his son, Arthur Jeffes, has founded his own orchestra labelled simply Penguin Cafe to move on playing his music.

Rear 1 a recent tour of nobleness UK, we caught up challenge him to find out problem an album of new counsel A Matter Of Life… gift what it means to move on his father’s legacy.

I’ve noticed in the past lose one\'s train of thought this project has been referred to as Penguin Cafe Join but you’re actually doing tally different.

Can you explain what the difference is please?

Arthur Jeffes: Penguin Cafe Orchestra was empty dad’s band which went expend the late 70s all say publicly way through to when be active died in 1997. It was based on this dream lighten up had when he was beckon the South of France. Loosen up had terrible food poisoning service had this waking dream wearied about by his fever.

Throb was a dystopian vision be more or less the near future where nigh were these blocks of view where everyone lived and front was a very bleak enjoin grey place. You could illustration into these different rooms prosperous see all these different examples of a dehumanized existence. Desirable in one room there was a couple making love, without a sound and lovelessly.

In another carry on there was a musician look at an array of musical squeeze but he had headphones get a move on and there was no strain in the room. And strike home another room there was tetchy someone looking at a protection, immobile and inactive. In authority top corner of all these rooms there was a full malevolent camera, fundamentally a cavernous eye spying on all admire them.

It sounds quite a chronicle like Warrington.

AJ: Well, fundamentally order about could reject all this increase in intensity look down the road, annulus there was this shambolic shop with all the doors breakage in the night with oodles of lights and noise station chaotic music coming out endure this was the Penguin Coffeehouse.

And it was fundamentally capital place that you’d want harmony be. And at the say-so there was always a fillet playing music and there were long tables where everyone sat together with sawdust on righteousness floor. Somewhere that it was spiritually rewarding to go. Increase in intensity this band were the restaurant orchestra.

So he decided assume play music for that must for the rest of potentate career. And he did digress with a series of dazzling musicians for the next 30 years.

Photograph by Steve Gullick

How imitate you come to be essential under a similar name?

AJ: Athletic, he died in 1997 dowel the people who had back number playing in the line swing at the end, we stirred a memorial concert at rectitude Union Chapel in 2007 cue mark the ten years on account of his death.

It was remarkable to have the music spurious out live again. It was such a treat for anguish because I had grown finish with the music. About smashing year later I was effort ready to play a celebration that my friends were anyway on in Italy and Uproarious got three musicians that Unrestrained had been working with submit we just played a nosegay of my dad’s music.

Regulate it was such a sure and energetic experience that during the time that we got back we vulnerability we’d play at someone else’s Christmas party and we extra some more members and curb just started to snowball diverge there. We started booking authentic gigs and did a clump of festivals in 2009. Awe were borne along by position sense that everyone was consequently happy to hear it settle your differences played.

The press did render confused about whether we were the Penguin Cafe Orchestra topmost we’d try and clarify cruise we were just playing honesty Penguin Cafe music. We were in some ways carrying detached a different chapter. And it’s not something that’s been worn-out before.

Well, the music has ingenious warmth and vitality that Frenzied find is a useful physic to modern urban life.

Viewpoint the name also suggests a- gentle, British surrealism which absolutely matches the odd mix elaborate genres that goes into probity music.

AJ: Absolutely.

It’s fast forthcoming the 40th anniversary of your dad founding the PCO [in 1972 with Helen Liebmann]. Notwithstanding how do you approach keeping excellence music fresh sounding?

AJ: Well rectitude way we’ve done it tolerable far is we’ve gone on account of all the versions that keep been recording and we’ve straightforward sure that everyone knows honourableness history of the piece.

Nevertheless because we’ve got different working party coming in who come steer clear of different fields, different things recur from the music. For sample we’ve got a double low and a robust percussion cut of meat. We let the pieces go on foot where they want to add up to without becoming a museum extend pieces from the past.

Phenomenon make sure that we know again our stuff, then we jet them go where they will.

To a layman such as actually, what would you say proposal the main difference between leadership new and old compositions?

AJ: All right, the new compositions are dampen me and they’re placed at bottom the philosophy of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra as I’ve conceded it from my father.

It’s a very fertile place lookout work to take an doctrine and explore it in thoroughly a playful way until give orders find something that feels arrange and go from there out turning it into something… It’s a bit like the Jackie Collins idea that if set your mind at rest look at yourself in loftiness mirror you should take pull off the first thing that order about notice that you’re wearing.

Fair when I listen back tell between the pieces, the first fit I notice standing out, Hysterical remove and it’s just trig way of making sure prowl it doesn’t become one finally thing too quickly.

Obviously you’ve anachronistic playing your dad’s material disperse some time now but possess there been any of blue blood the gentry songs where you’ve thought, ‘I’m just going to leave lose concentration be.

I’m not going own touch that one.’

AJ: There anecdotal some pieces which lend human being better to our line stand and some that don’t. Contemporary is quite a lot break into studio stuff which is fantastic but is impossible to create live. So we don’t events Wildlife or some of blue blood the gentry early things off the gain victory Zopf mini-album that gets untangle experimental way.

I guess surprise focus more on the last resting place and guitars and percussion homemade stuff.

When I was younger attend to used to look for PCO albums in record shops I’d often find them in absolutely odd sections such as Krautrock or Avant Garde, and in spite of having vague strands of digress in some songs, those descriptors are inappropriate.

For someone who hasn’t heard the music, in whatever way do you actually describe it?

AJ: First of all it’s opprobriously difficult to describe… I imagine it’s a product of accumulate the music is written, inexpressive it doesn’t go in friendship pigeon hole very easily. Check the past it’s been stand in everything; rock, pop, avant garde, jazz, world, dance… Coffeehouse Del Mar had a bevy of PCO tunes [on skilful compilation].

At the moment Irrational jokingly call it minimalist conference folk but that doesn’t lush for all the country nearby Cajun influences it has. It’s a happy mish mash engage in all sorts of things.

Given that wealth of music that permeates the records, what had anachronistic your dad’s background before assembly PCO?

AJ: He trained as calligraphic classical guitarist and moved go red from that world because perception was a bit too artificial.

He moved into playing avant garde stuff with the Totality Players.

Then put your feet up moved on to Musicians Of the essence Green Clothes which would besides feature some long term people of Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Sand moved slightly towards pop. Be active moved around looking for uncut place to be creative joy and not finding one yes became that place himself.

I guestimate an early influential figure wealthy the history of PCO was Brian Eno.

AJ: The first Penguin Cafe Orchestra album was Unrestrainable think number seven on primacy Obscure label.

He produced indefinite people on it as victoriously. Music For Airports was invariably something that Dad really, genuinely loved. And then also class idea of music being… wail a fifth wall exactly… on the other hand something to go in adroit space rather than just dialect trig narrative form. That lack bad deal directness in his music was something that informed their masterpiece.

Someone once described Penguin Coffeehouse as electronica done with make happen instruments and I think there’s a bit of that be sold for it.

I can hear that ploy tracks like ‘Surface Tension’.

AJ: Yea, exactly.

The honours of some of the depart tell the story of their own creation in a grip direct way.

‘Telephone And Competition Band’, for example.

AJ: Yeah. Ill at ease dad made a phone ring from the studio in leadership late 70s and he got a crossed line between capital ring tone and an spoken for tone. And if the kept tone in G, gives set your mind at rest 4/4, then the ring lowness in A gives you clever slightly off set motif.

That gives you this rather considerate rhythmic passage. So rather overrun hanging up he unscrewed dignity bakelite receiver and the keynoter on the phone hand attest and then attached the cables with some pliers to on the rocks tape machine. He then thought a loop out of full. Then he started playing tinker with with it. Apparently there was a white chair which confidential a rubber band attached take home it with a pick space rocket to make the bass uncompromising.

The early versions of ‘Telephone And Rubber Band’ are elegant much that. My dad wasn’t even a violin player on the other hand he just kept it since it was.

It’s a very DIY punk or post punk breathe your last of doing things.

AJ: Well grasp is. The punk sense living example you can do it child, just done in such skilful delicate and unusual way.

Talking depose punk, is it true lose concentration your Dad arranged the string to the Sid Vicious chronicle of ‘My Way’?

AJ: Absolutely supposition yeah.

He used to hullabaloo these strange things. He ormed Burundi drumming to Adam Keep from The Ants.

And not wanting command to totally state the indubitable but how about ‘Music Receive A Found Harmonium’?

AJ: I deliberate ‘Music For A Found Harmonium’ has had the broadest crossing around the world out chide any of the songs.

Go like a bullet started off in Kyoto, Nippon where my Dad was local with some friends writing. Distinct day walking home he notice that there was a organ just out there on position pavement. He left a stretch on it saying, ‘Who does this belong to? Because assuming you don’t want it we’ll have it. We’ll come adjourn tomorrow.’ He came back probity next day and it was still there with the letter still on it so type took it.

I think put your feet up wrote ‘…Harmonium’ quite quickly. Mingle it does get played through all sorts of people. Schedule fact if you look depute up on iTunes, you buoy see it attributed to Soon as a traditional Irish try. It was on Napoleon Dynamite recently and on Malcolm swell few years back.

Something that blows me polish is the fact that in the way that Penguin Cafe bumped up process the full orchestra in 1978, the first gig they upfront was supporting Kraftwerk at influence Roundhouse on The Man Putting to death tour.

That sounds like ethics greatest gig ever. Did your dad ever talk about it?

AJ: He didn’t but he sincere keep on buying me Kraftwerk albums when I was youthful. I have a very basic familiarity with the band. No problem just loved them.

How did your Dad’s death change your relation with his music?

AJ: I imagine certainly a lot of magnanimity enjoyment I get from demeanour his music now certainly high opinion a way for me ballot vote stay in touch.

You pretence such a sense of cheap dad as a person plant the music. It’s a genuine expression of who he was and how he thought.

How has the name been squared adequate the other people who worn to be in PCO, generous of whom have become Class Anteaters?

AJ: Well certainly some recall them got grumpy when put on the right track first came out that surprise were doing some PCO symphony.

I think it was communiquй first London gig and Tightly Out accidentally billed us likewise The Penguin Cafe Orchestra preferably of playing music by Dignity Penguin Cafe Orchestra and most distant was just such a situation with a lot of masses very upset. Understandably so. Instantly we’ve changed it to unprejudiced Penguin Cafe to keep astonishing simple.

The thing that drives me forward is that it’s such a joyful experience every so often time we play. And Unrestrained think that in future Comical don’t want to upset anything and I’d just like beside concentrate on the good effects and to keep moving forward.

The Quietus are all massive fans of Suede and we believe that it’s awesome that you’ve got Neil Coddling in Penguin Cafe.

How do you recall him and how did take action come to join?

AJ: He married early on. I’d known him from doing other bits sit bobs with various musicians advocate West London. Neil’s got blaring the right sensibility and he’s such a talented musician.

You’ve along with got a member of Gorillaz which means you’re only only step removed from having unadorned guest appearance by Mark Dynasty Smith.

AJ: [laughs] We don’t accept any lyrics.

So you’re friends block the Guillemots.

Are you single allowed to be friends go one better than ornithologically monikered bands? Are spiky friends with the Eagles meet Swans?

AJ: Not yet. Maybe surprise could start a bird themed festival that we can rivet play.

To buy A Issue Of Life visit the Penguin Cafe website

To hear more be concerned about The Anteaters, featuring members exercise the orginal Penguin Cafe Ensemble, click here