OLLIE HOWELL: COLLISIONS
CREATED WITH TOM HODGE & CIARAN MORAHAN
“Collisions in physics are any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other over time; the impact when multiple objects collide, exchanging and transforming their energy.”
Collisions is the coming together of neo-classical and film composer Tom Hodge, post-rock composer Ciaran Morahan (Codes In The Clouds, VLMV) and composer and drummer Ollie Howell. Their musical backgrounds can be heard colliding throughout their self-titled debut offering, creating a new symbiotic relationship with one another. Fusing together their respective styles, they have created an exciting blend that feels expansive and immersive, almost cinematic, whilst still capturing the energy and thrill in a live performance.
Hodge and Morahan first met in 2009 when Hodge produced a remix for Morahan’s band Codes In The Clouds through London label Erased Tapes. Ten years after their initial introduction, sharing stages and collaborating on other music, they decided to create a record together. Howell’s arrival pushed the project further into a genre-fluid space but a sonically-focused one, resulting in a unique collision of emotive piano, clarinet, ambient analog synths and jazz-infused acoustic drums.
The resulting collisions produced a sound that manages to both show individual strengths whilst creating a truly cohesive and immersive sonic landscape. The coming together of their musical identities has formed a strange musical alchemy whilst finding space to be truly authentic to itself. Where there is collision, there is inevitably motion.
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It is clear from his past records with luminaries such as Max Cooper and Floex that Hodge is no stranger to coruscating sonic exploration, but he has mainly spent the last couple of years on high-profile film and TV projects. When asked as to what led him to co-create this project, he mused “I really wasn’t expecting to make a record, but ultimately it was just too tempting not to explore this genre-fluid space with Ciaran and Ollie”. Morahan similarly felt the same; “I’ve always loved Tom’s composition and scoring work and I felt like both of our musical tastes would combine quite well to create a style of music that neither of us had necessarily ventured into before.” A protégé of legendary music producer Quincy Jones, Howell’s arrival was apparently the key to unlocking the potential of this evolving sound. “When I first heard the initial demos, I knew that by complementing the electronic/ambient atmosphere they’d both created with more acoustic jazz drums, that combination could really push the music into a unique direction. From there we then really started to blur the lines of what should be processed electronically and what should be left as a more organic sound”.
Tom Hodge (piano, clarinet and electronics) is an Ivor Novello nominated composer, pianist, and clarinetist. One of the new generations straddling the recording artist/film composer divide, Tom continues to push the boundaries of experimental neoclassical through both his collaborations with stellar film makers such as Kevin Macdonald and James Watkins or other groundbreaking musicians such as Max Cooper and Floex.
Ollie Howell (drums and electronics) is an award-winning drummer, film composer and producer. A protégé of music legend Quincy Jones, Ollie has released several critically acclaimed albums and written scores for both film and TV, as well as being the first ever jazz recipient of the prestigious Sky Academy Arts Scholarship award.
Ciaran Morahan (guitar, synths and electronics) is a multi-instrumental artist with projects released through notable record labels such as Erased Tapes and Fierce Panda. Ciaran’s picturesque and ambient style of writing has also seen his music used on a wide variety of BBC, ITV and Sky UK programs.
