Poppy Ackroyd
Poppy Ackroyd is a London-born, Brighton-based composer, pianist, and violinist. She not only plays her instruments conventionally, but employs drumsticks, e-bows, picks, and all five fingers on both hands to pluck and scrape them, creating unusual timbres and textures. She uses both the insides and outsides of her instruments, then manipulates and multi-tracks her sounds via a computer and a live microphone. Despite her very physical approach to composing and performing, the music she creates is intricate, delicate, and lyrical. With the exception of some economically layered field recordings, virtually all of the music she makes comes from her two instruments. Classically trained, Ackroyd possesses a Master's degree in music for piano performance. She is a student of modern piano music and is also a full-time member of the Hidden Orchestra. Ackroyd has collaborated with dancers, choreographers, actors, poets, filmmakers, and videographers. Her debut album, Escapement, appeared on Denovali in late 2012. A DVD version of the album, with visuals by Bristol-based audio-visual artist Lumen, was released in September of 2014. Ackroyd's second album, Feathers, soon followed. Expanding on the unique sound of her debut, the album's compositions featured parts for a few additional instruments, including harmonium and harpsichord, as well as cello by guest musician Su-a Lee. In 2017, Ackroyd signed to One Little Indian and released The Birds, an EP containing acoustic piano reworkings of pieces from her first two albums. All three of the EP's tracks were included on full-length Sketches, which included reworkings of previous compositions as well as rough cuts of four newer pieces that were later included on her February 2018 album Resolve. Ackroyd played both upright and grand piano on the date, as well the inside of the instruments using fingers, drumsticks, and plectrums (fingerpicks) – and then arranged and multi-tracked the resulting sounds. She employed the same technique to record herself on violin, pianino, harmonium, and spinet, and to record other musicians who played cello, flute, clarinet, and bass clarinet.© Thom Jurek /TiVo Read more
Poppy Ackroyd is a London-born, Brighton-based composer, pianist, and violinist. She not only plays her instruments conventionally, but employs drumsticks, e-bows, picks, and all five fingers on both hands to pluck and scrape them, creating unusual timbres and textures. She uses both the insides and outsides of her instruments, then manipulates and multi-tracks her sounds via a computer and a live microphone. Despite her very physical approach to composing and performing, the music she creates is intricate, delicate, and lyrical. With the exception of some economically layered field recordings, virtually all of the music she makes comes from her two instruments.
Classically trained, Ackroyd possesses a Master's degree in music for piano performance. She is a student of modern piano music and is also a full-time member of the Hidden Orchestra. Ackroyd has collaborated with dancers, choreographers, actors, poets, filmmakers, and videographers. Her debut album, Escapement, appeared on Denovali in late 2012. A DVD version of the album, with visuals by Bristol-based audio-visual artist Lumen, was released in September of 2014. Ackroyd's second album, Feathers, soon followed. Expanding on the unique sound of her debut, the album's compositions featured parts for a few additional instruments, including harmonium and harpsichord, as well as cello by guest musician Su-a Lee.
In 2017, Ackroyd signed to One Little Indian and released The Birds, an EP containing acoustic piano reworkings of pieces from her first two albums. All three of the EP's tracks were included on full-length Sketches, which included reworkings of previous compositions as well as rough cuts of four newer pieces that were later included on her February 2018 album Resolve. Ackroyd played both upright and grand piano on the date, as well the inside of the instruments using fingers, drumsticks, and plectrums (fingerpicks) – and then arranged and multi-tracked the resulting sounds. She employed the same technique to record herself on violin, pianino, harmonium, and spinet, and to record other musicians who played cello, flute, clarinet, and bass clarinet.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
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Pause (Reworked)
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 21 Oct 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pause
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 12 Nov 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Feathers
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 14 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Escapement
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 7 Dec 2012
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Poppy Ackroyd is best known for her membership in the wonderfully eclectic Hidden Orchestra. But she has also done ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Resolve
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 26 Jan 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sketches
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 14 Jul 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Parallel (feat. Manu Delago)
New Age - Released by von der haardt on 27 Nov 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Resolve Reimagined
Electronic - Released by One Little Independent Records on 22 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stillness (Reworked)
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 7 Sep 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Paper
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 15 Dec 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Birds
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 26 May 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Pause
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 12 Nov 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paper (Max Cooper Remix)
Electronic - Released by One Little Independent Records on 18 Jan 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Calm Before
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 27 Oct 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Trains
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 13 Nov 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suspended (Reworked)
Classical - Released by One Little Independent Records on 28 Sep 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Quail (Hidden Orchestra Remix)
Electronic - Released by One Little Independent Records on 8 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -