Hidden Orchestra
Gig Seeker Pro

Hidden Orchestra

Band EDM Jazz

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"JAQ at Triptych Festival 2008"

"...Right from the off, the Joe Acheson Quartet are a surprise, featuring - as they do tonight - six members: two drummers, a laptopper, Joe Acheson on bass and an impressive array of samplers, dials, cables, knobs, and levers, plus a violinist and cellist both poised in front of their music stands as if this was the Usher Hall. The resulting music is a beguiling, psychedelic, lush, sweeping and groovy hybrid of trip-hop swagger, discerning drum’n’bass, epic soundscapes, funky electronica, cosmic zouk, melancholy space synth, Ozric Tentacles-esque danceability, and impeccable nu-classical. But above all, Joe Acheson’s music is delightfully cinematic and makes out of the post-rock ideals the very music that they should spawn." - Skinny Magazine


"JAQ live"

"...There's a metronomic precision as well as a very human pulse to this music, which seems designed to work on different levels simultaneously. Both danceable and attractively ambient, the compositions of bass guitarist and electronics wiz Acheson draw on a cornucopia of ingredients. Spaghetti western-like trumpet themes, recorded interviews, pizzicato violin figures, a phantom cor anglais, a blast of Blues in the Night, and gurgling electric cello lines emerge from live instruments and samples as the group's engine room and potential focal point - its two-drummers groove - converse and cannily blend marching snare drum patterns with funk fundamentals. Meanwhile, cityscapes and assorted visuals, courtesy of sixth member Ivan Torres Hdez, complement sounds with appropriate images." - The Glasgow Herald


"5 Reasons to see JAQ"

1) They've got the credentials:
All young multi-instumentalists, three members of this quartet are classically-trained, while the fourth has been playing professionally since the age of 13. Joe himself also has a FourTet-like ear for intriguing vocal samples and cinematic layering.

2) They pack a punch - or two:
If this all sounds a little high-minded don't be fooled. Straddling the divide between sample-based recording and virtuoso live performance, JAQ's lush recordings take on a whole new hackle-raising bombast on stage thanks in part to a combination of heavy, jazz-kit riffs, digital drums, programmed beats and percussion.

3) They're doing it for themselves:
The as yet unsigned outfit have scored themselves Arts Council funding to professionally lay down their unique fusion of classical, folk, jazz, rock and electronica.

4) They're doing it with others:
To date JAQ have performed this oddly accessible, orchestral dance music in support of the likes of Zero dB, Jaga Jazzist and Aim (where they invited local MC Profisee to the stage). At the Fettes Jazz Weekend they welcome the Scottish Chamber Orchestra cellist Su-a Lee into the fold.

5) They're beyond words:
We couldn't possibly do justice to their enveloping digital/acoustic live performance in here. Quite like nothing else on the Edinburgh scene or elsewhere, they really must be sampled to be believed. - The List


Discography

Tracks have been released in the last couple of months on innovative new download service www.TenTracks.co.uk - also on compilations from T in the Park, Alex Tronic Records (Scotland) and DDE Records (Italy).
Scottish Arts Council-funded album due for release in 2009.

Photos

Bio

Joe (bass/samples), Poppy Ackroyd (violin/keyboards), Tim Lane (drums) and Jamie Graham (drums) formed the quartet in Edinburgh in 2005. At home in clubs, festivals, classical concerts and jazz venues, the Quartet have developed an expanding base of support from a wide variety of music fans for their distinctive brand of dark and soulful electronic jazz. With their unique blend of acoustic and electronic instruments, including two drummers and regular guest performers, they have a reputation as one of the most exciting live bands in Edinburgh. Since April 2008 they have been collaborating with film-maker Iván Torres Hdez, who creates and manipulates cinematic visuals live on stage. The group is currently recording, with support through funding from the Scottish Arts Council. The album features various other distinguished Scottish jazz/folk/classical musicians - Su-a Lee (SCO/McFall's - cello), Fraser Fifield (saxophone, whistle), Marcus Britton (Orkestra Del Sol - horn, trumpet).

Previous gigs include performances with Bonobo, Jaga Jazzist, Red Snapper, Aim, Alice Russell, Gilles Peterson, and Zero dB. Festival appearances include Triptych, T in the Park, Knockengorroch, Dialogues, Spectrum, Dunstaffnage, The Graffiti Project, and SOUND festivals. Airplay includes Radio 1, XFM, Radio Scotland, Radio Magnetic, other stations and podcasts in the UK, USA, Belgium, Italy, Finland, and live sessions on BBC Radio 1 (Scotland), and BBC Radio Scotland.

Tracks have been released on compilations from Alex Tronic Records (Edinburgh, May ‘07), and DDE Records in Italy (Dec ’06), including a remix of London–based Lautrec. Other remixes include Found, Great Ezcape, Kinetic Fallacy, and an interactive software remix for Coldcut.