So
how did Chris Conway Get To Here?
Early Years
Hailing from Michigan USA, Chris Conway moved to the UK as a child,
taught himself the piano and formed bands at school, Chimaera's Spectre,
a Santana influenced band, Unity - a free improvisation trio, and
jazz rock band, Gloom. At university he pursued his interest in free
improvised solo piano performances and formed short lived groups,
a freeform rock group Bleak House, free improvisation trio Prata,
and Celtic band, Universal Spirit, and joined rock band Dingoes Away.
He turned professional in 1989.
Jazz
Chris Conway is self taught on the piano, his early influences being
Santana's Tom Coster and Chick Corea. At university he became interested
in free improvisation, influenced by Howard Riley & Keith Tippett
before becoming attracted to the atmospheric ECM label pianists Steve
Kuhn, Richie Beirach, Rainer Bruninhghaus, John Taylor and Bobo Stenson.
An interest in minimalism came into his music from the influence of
Terry Riley.
In 1992 he formed a jazz trio Happy Landings which expanded to the
Chris Conway Quartet. The music from this period was released on 2
Happy Landings Cds and compiled on the album Breathtaking. He then
began to sing more and write jazz songs, releasing a live album of
jazz songs and a bossa album Chocolate Bossa with Brazilian jazz diva
Ithamara Koorax recording one of his songs. In 2010 he released Glisten
- an album of improvised solo piano music.
World
Music Fusion
After studying the sitar in 1985, he became interested in world music
and with sitarist Carl Peberdy formed The Rain Garden which recorded
six albums and still occasionally reunites. He toured with Pushkala
Gopal and Unnikrishnan Indian dance troupe, working with violinist
Dr L Subramanium which directly led to him joining the Indo-jazz group
Jazz Orient (also known as Re-Orient) with sitarist Baluji Shrivastav
and singer Linda Shanivitch, touring and recording 5 albums, one,
"Re-Orient" with guests Guy Barker and Andy Sheppard. 2011
sees Re-Orient recording a new album.
Singer-Songwriter
Chris Conway became involved in the acoustic scene in Leicester. In
1993, he joined 2 other singer-songwriters Dave Everitt and Dan Britton
to form The Storm Thieves who released 3 albums. He later formed The
Talking Fish, and went on to record 10 albums and 1 DVD of his songs,
with many guests such as ex Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker and Poozies'
Sally Barker. He toured Germany six times, recorded and toured in
duo with Dan Britton, and toured with ex-Monkees Peter Tork. In 1996
he joined Fairport Convention associate Vikki Clayton's band, playing
at Cropredy Festival. She recorded 2 of his songs and he appears on
several of her albums. in 2011 he released a new songs album Time
Traveller.
Ambient and New Age
After working on the Ayurveda CD for the New World label with new
age artist Llewellyn in 2003, he put his multi-instrumental skills
and cross-genre experiences into recording a variety of new age and
ambient albums on the Paradise Music label, where he went on to be
a producer for other artists. He has recorded solo piano, ethnic percussion,
meditation, healing, chill-out, Celtic, and world music styled ambient
albums, all produced and almost all composed by himself. In 2010 his
production of Govannen's Celtic Fire won a COVR Award at the International
New Age Trade Show in Denver, USA.
Celtic
Music
At university Chris Conway formed a Celtic band Universal Spirit which
was influenced by Breton harper Alan Stivell and Irish band the Moving
Hearts. Celtic music cropped up on his songs and world music albums
over the years but in 2004 he joined Celtic band Govannen with whom
he recorded and produced 4 albums, 2 for Paradise Music and plays
extensively, sometimes expanding to a celidh band with ex-Albion band
singer Cathy Lesurf as dance caller.
He produced albums by Celtic harper France Ellul and Irish singer
Bridget McMahon, playing most of the music himself, and recorded the
Celtic Reiki album with Llewellyn in
2008.
Electronic
and Improvised
After taking up the theremin in 2002, his interest in electronic music
grew, which blended with his love of improvisation to form groups
The Planet Scanners and Continuum, recording several albums. He also
played in other formations such as The Scanner Game, Escape Route,
Bridge and currently the ambient duo Memory
Wire with Jim Tetlow, and with space rock group Shapeshifter.
He has organises the monthly Quadelectronic electronic improvisation
events in Leicester. He attended the Hands Off UK Theremin Symposium
and played at the Ether Festival at the Royal Festival Hall, London
and has also given theremin workshops in the UK and USA. In 2011 he
released an album of solo theremin & effects music called Adagios
Electric.
Filk
(Science Fiction Folk Music)
Having written a few space based songs influenced by Paul Kantner
and Country Joe McDonald Chris Conway became aware of the filk genre
through the internet. He played his first UK filk convention in 2000
and has gone to be guest of honour at filk conventions in the UK,
San Francisco, Toronto, and Columbus. He has won 3 Sam awards (UK
filk Oscars) and been nominated for a Pegasus Award (world filk award)
6 times. He recorded 2 filk based albums - Live! (recorded at 2 filk
conventions), and Alien Salad Abduction. In 2011 his Time Traveller
album featured several filkish songs.
