1

Andrew Poppy

• Introduction
• List of works
• Discography
• Selected performances or presentations
• Theatre and dance commissioned scores
• Arranger/conductor for studio recordings
• Publications
• Conference papers
• Commentary
• Reviews

INTRODUCTION
ANDREW POPPY (1954) is a composer and musician. His early musical life included
playing bass guitar in an improvising rock band, playing Bartok and Debussy on the piano
and making music concrete with his father’s tape recorder. He eventually went to study
music at Kingsway’s College and Goldsmiths College, London University, graduating in
1979 BMus.
During the 1970s he developed a strong interest in contemporary American composers
Cage, Feldman, Riley, Glass and Reich. He attended a summer school with John Cage
and Merc Cunningham and played in an ensemble with Christian Wolff.
In the early 1980’s he was an accompanist at the Laban Centre for Dance and pianist and
composer with The Lost Jockey, a large ensemble playing pulse based music that became
known as Minimalism.
Particularly interested in the creative part recording plays in the music of today Poppy
moves between conventionally notated scores and studio work influenced by pop
production. He was signed as a contemporary composer and recording artist to Trevor
Horn and Paul Morley’s Zang Tumb Tuum Records in 1984. His first CD The Beating of
Wings includes performances of 32 Frames for Orchestra and Cadenza for piano and
electric piano and was released in 1985. This was followed in 1987 by Alphabed which
featured the Firelight music computer, the first Akai samplers and vocal performances from
Annette Peacock.
2
After ZTT Poppy continued to record for independent labels: Recordings, includes 14
Poems and Toccatas for violin and piano performed by Elisabeth Perry and Andrew Ball
and premiered by them at the Huddersfield Festival. Ophelia/Ophelia, a chamber opera
was selected by ISCM for the world music days in Denmark. Rude Bloom contains two
contemporary dance scores (for Siobhan Davies/ Linda Gaudreau). Time at Rest
Devouring its Secret an electro acoustic installation premiered at NRLA and Tramway.
Recently ZTT Records have released a 3 CD box set containing all Poppy’s recordings for
the label during the 80’s and including an unreleased album Under The Son
An experimental music theatre, often based on the composer’s own texts has been part of
his creative initiative. Songs of the Clay People was a collaboration with Impact Theatre in
1983. There are also three chamber operas The Uranium Miners (ROH Garden Venture)
Baby Doll (NTS/Cottesloe) Ophelia Ophelia (ISCM). An oratorio Something In The Air
(Levitation And Fall) was commissioned by the Estonian National Male Choir conducted by
Kaspars Putnins premiered in Tallinn in January 2006.
Since 1989 he has developed a collaborative partnership with visual and theatre artist Julia
Bardsley Projects include Avalanche Thoughts a multimedia work premiered in New York
.in 2002 and more recently Improvements on Nature was commissioned by the Sacred
Festival at Chelsea Theatre London.
Concert works include Horn Horn, a double saxophone concerto for John Harle and Simon
Haram commissioned by The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Last Light recorded
by The Smith Quartet, Revolution No 8: Airport for Joseph Beuys for orchestra and
electronic delays. More Matter Less premiered by Noszferatu at the Cheltenham Festival
2003
His unusual body of work constantly explores different musical contexts There are scores
for theatre, film & video, contemporary dance and art installation; writing collaborations and
arrangement for industrial rock and synth pop artist including Psych TV, Erasure, Claudia
Brucken and Bernardo Devlin
Recent concert commissions include for Darwin’s Sin Draw a violin concerto for Darragh
Morgan and The Crash Ensemble, Hatch for The Smith String Quartet, Playing the Pulse
for CoMA ensemble, Periscope for prepared piano for pianist Mary Dullea, Hoarding Flap
for harpsichordist Jane Chapman and Definitely Disco commissioned by The London
International String Quartet Festival as a competition test piece. BBC Concert Orchestra
recently played 32 Frames for orchestra at the QEH in London.
Andrew Poppy also performs: solo, with electronics and with his own ensemble of various
combinations. Its most recent form, The Sustaining Ensemble have just completed UK tour
dates with music from the CD ‘…and the Shuffle of Things’
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DETAILED LIST OF WORKS

ORCHESTRAL
32 Frames for Orchestra 1981 (9mins)
2 fl, 2 cl (b.cl) s.sax, a.sax, b.sax, vibs, xylo, pno, 2 trp, 2 hrn, 2 trmb, tuba, b.gtr.,
strings
st
1 public perf. 11/11/06, BBC Concert Orchestra Charles Hazlewood
QEH Souh Bank London

Revolution number eight: airport for Joseph Beuys 1991-3. (15mins)

2 fl, (pic/a.fl) 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bsn, 2 trp, 2 hrn, t.trmb,
b.trmb, tba., hrp, pno, e.key glock, timp, strings, electronics sampler or tape
st
commissioned and 1 perf Goldsmiths Youth Orchestra.
Conductor. Rupert Bond. Goldsmiths 7/92

Horn Horn for two alto saxophones orchestra in 6 movements: 1997 (32mins)

1 That the this bout

2. A solution of preservative (a cadenza)
3 Fast Car Island
4 Steeplejack waltz (a cadenza)
5 Attempt at an ecstatic moment
6 Chewing the corner

2 solo a. sax. 1 pic, 2 fl, 2 ob, c. ang., 2 cl, b cl, 2 bsn, c. bsn, 4 hrn, 3 trp, 2 tbn, b.
tbn, tba., timp, 3 perc, harp, piano, strings
st
Commissioned and 1 perf. by Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Philharmonic Hall
Liverpool. 3/97 Soloist John Harle and Simon Haram. Conductor Sachio Fujioka
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CHAMBER
Matters of theory 1981 (6mins)
3 treble voices, fl, a.sax, cl, b.clt, 2 pno, e org, mrba, 2 vln, vla., vc,
st
1 perf. The Lost Jockey Air Gallery. 6/81

Animal Behaviour and Crude Din 1981 (8mins)

3 treble voices, fl, a. sax, clt, b.clt, 2 pno, e.organ. mrba, 2 vln, vla., vc,
st
1 perf The Lost Jockey The Africa Centre. 11/81

Elvis Revenged 1982 (15mins)

12 roto toms, marimba, vibraphone, drum machine (1 player)
st
commissioned/1 perf Simon Limbick Air Gallery. 11/82

The Object is a Hungry Wolf 1982 (14mins)

3 treble voices, fl, a.sax, clt, b.clt, 2 pno, e.organ, vibs/mrba 2 vl, vla, vc
st
1 perf The Lost Jockey City University. 3/82.

The Amusement 1985 (7mins)

2 treble voices, pno, 3 e key., trb., a.sax, 2 perc
st
1 perf Andrew Poppy Ensemble Ambassadors Theatre. 5/85

45 is 1985 (35mins)
a. vox t. vox 2, pno, 3 e key., tbn, a sax., 2 perc
st
1 perf Andrew Poppy Ensemble Ambassadors Theatre. 5/85 Elevator Luxuria for chamber ensemble 1992
fl, ob, b.clt, bsn, s.sax, b.sax, trm, hrn, trmb, vib/marimba, celesta/key, e pno, pno,
Listening In for ensemble and samples 1984-5 (13mins) 2 vl, vla, vc, d.b
male voice, 3 trp, 3 key, gtr, 4 perc
st
Madrid Ensemble 1 perf. Madrid 95 Eight Movements for Piano Trio 1994 pno vln vc.(40mins)
st
1 perf Lurven Belguim 10/94
Melody Versus the Brittle Funk 3 movements 1989-95 (15mins)
trp, t.saxophone, vib/mrba keys, tape Sprung and Suspended 1996 (18mins)
st
1 perf. Andrew Poppy Ensemble Riverside Studios. 11/89 s.sax, b.sax b.cl, trp, trmb, marmba, vib, pno 2 vl, vla, vc, d. bass
st
commissioned/1 perf Charlie Barber Band Purcell Room. 10/96
Ember String Quartet 1990 (25mins)
st
Commissioned/1 perf The Balanescu Quartet Leicester Phoenix Theatre. 5/91 Eleven Word Title 1995 (26 mins)b. clt (cl) 2 perc, gtr (b.gtr)
st
commissioned/ 1 perf Roger Heaton Group Lillian Baylis Theatre. 3/95
Poems and Toccatas suite of 14 pieces for violin and piano 1991 (40mins)1st Snowdronia 1998 (25mins)
perf Elisabeth Perry and Andrew Ball Huddersfield Festival. 11/91 Pno (e.pno) vc, accord, t.sax
st
1 perf Andrew Poppy Ensemble Telegraph Hill Festival. 3/98
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End Synch Sound for chamber ensemble 1998 (15mins) …And The Shuffle of Things: suite of 9 pieces. 08 (60mins)
st
s.sax, a.sax, trp, tbn, mrba/vibs, pno, 2 vl, vla, vc, db voice 2 key 2 perc 1 perf Sustaining Ensemble
st
commissioned 1 perf Charlie Barber Band. Palace Theatre Newark 10/10/98
Definitely Disco string quartet 09 (6mins)
st
Three Early Works Remodelled 1998 Matters of Theory for saxophone Commissioned Cavatina Trust for the 1 London International String Quartet
st
quartet Animal Behaviour and Crude Din for chamber group Festival 1 perf Poznansky Quartet 4/09
32 Frames for chamber group sop sax, alto sax (bari sax) vibs (xylo) 2 vl, 2 vc,
db, pno
1st perf Graham Fitkin Group 3/99

First Light Last Light Moon Light Bulb 97-99

str quartet/str orch
commissioned 1st perf String Factory

Why Blink 12 pieces 01-02 4 e.key

Win Win Lose for saxophone quartet 02 (14mins)

sop, alto, ten, bari sax

More Matter Less 02

vlin, alto sax, piano, vibraphone/marimba
Commissioned 1st perf Noszferatu Cheltenham festival

Weighing the Measure for ensemble of any number 03 (10mins)

st
1 perf The Sustaining Ensemble Trinity College of Music 29/5/54
Hatch sting quartet 06
st
Commissioned 1 perf Smith String Quartet Corsham Festival 4/05

How the Hammer Felt 07 (12mins)

st
fl vibs, pno commissioned 1 performed Noszferatu

Playing the Pulse for large ensemble any instruments 07 (13mins)

st
Commissioned 1 performed CoMA Warehouse cond Gregory Rose 10/08

Darwin’s Sin Draw for solo violin and chamber ensemble 08 (17mins)
Solo vl, fl, ob, tbn, vibs/mrba piano e.gtr vln vla vcl db
st
commissioned/1 performed by Crash Ensemble cond. Alan Pierson vln Darragh
Morgan Dublin 11/08
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VOCAL & CHORAL

What to say when (Poppy ) 1997 a suite of 9 pieces (60mins)
mezzo, bari voice, a.sax (fl) bari.sax (b.cl) f.hrn, perc, pno (e.pno) accd (or key)
vla, vc, db (b.gtr)
st
1 perf Andrew Poppy Ensemble Goldsmiths College. 11/97

Another Language 12 song (various authors) arr. for voice & piano 00-3
(40min)
MUSIC THEATRE / OPERA st
1 performed Claudia Brucken Andrew Poppy The Space London 3/02

The Songs of the Claypeople 1984 libretto Poppy (1 hr 15 mins) Pessoa Fragments 2 songs for soprano and piano 03
1 male 2 female performers, mezzo soprano, tenor, piano, 4 e.keys, tape
st
commissioned 1 perf. Impact Theatre Leeds University. 10/84
On Another’s Sorrow (Blake) 03 SATB 03
The Uranium Miners Radio Orchestra Play Scenes from Salome’s
Revenge 1989 libretto Poppy (40 Mins) August Rough 12 songs (Poppy/Devlin) 04-06 (50 mins) male voice
sop, mzzo sop, b.bar voices, ob, b.sax, tr, trmb, vl, d.bass, hp, pno pno/key/perc 1st performed Fragil Lisbon Portugal
Commissioned and performed by The Garden Venture at the Royal Opera House.
1st Donmar Warehouse.5/89

Baby Doll 1993 libretto Williams adpted Poppy

mezzo sop, ten, b.bari voices, female performer ,vl, cl (b.cl) trb, pno, banjo
(e.guitar)
Commissioned National Theatre Studio/Leicester Haymarket Theatre.
st
1 perf Cottesloe Theatre. 5/93

Ophelia/Ophelia 1994 libretto Shakespeare adpted Poppy (50 mins)

mezzo sop, cl (b.clt) 2 key w samplers, perc, tape
Selected by the I.S.C.M. for performance in the Copenhagen European City of
Culture 1996

Improvements on Nature (libretto Poppy/Bardsley) 09 (1hr 15min)

2 performer’s electro-acoustic playback voice/electronics/toy
piano/percussion
commissioned 1st perf by Sacred Festival Chelsea Theatre 11/09
Something in the Air (Levitation and Fall) an Oratorio 03-05
Pessoa/OHara/Poppy: (50mins) narrator, sop, tenor, bass vox solo, large male
st
choir, perc. electronics commissioned 1 perf Estonian National Male Choir cond
Kaspars Putnish Tallin 01/06
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Two Pieces for Piano:

‘I went down to the cross roads’ ‘you can run you can run’ 02
st
1 perf Tania Chen, Jacqueline Dupree Building Oxford

Swimming with the Stone Book 6 pieces 07

st
2 keyboards 1 perf composer

Hoarding Flap 07 harpsichord

st
commissioned 1 perf Jane Chapman New York 08

Almost the Same Shame 07 pno

st
1 perf composer Karnart Lisbon 04/08

ELECTRO ACOUSTIC / PLAYBACK

The Passage 1983-4
The Impossible Net 1988
Sometimes it Rains 1986
Listening In, 1984
Kink Konk Presto, Kink Konk Adagio, East Fragment 1984-86
PIANO / KEYBOARD Goodbye Mr`G 1986
T.A.R.D.I.S. 1989-99 (42mins)
Cadenza 1980 for pno/e.pno or 2 pnos (15mins) Installation at Tramway Glasgow 3/01
st
1 perf Andrew Poppy/Helen Otterway X6 London. 10/80 Running Naked Through the Garment District 3 pieces 02
Drum machining/Double Stitch/Lining for a Desirable Suit
45 is 1986 pno Gursky Cage Gursky Berio 2 collages: 07
1. You Are Really Looking
Movie Momento 1992 pno 2. Dirty Ear
st
1 perf. Andrew Poppy Nottingham Trent University. 10/94
Edit of ‘You are really looking’ for ‘War on the Poor’ (Ultra Red 08)
Almost the Same 08 (1hr 15mins)
Corrosion of a Thing 1993-6 piano
Jelly in 5 parts 09 (60 mins)
Six Avalanche Thoughts 1998 Pno
st
1 perf Tania Chen Brooklyn New York 2002

Fruits and Shavings 23 pieces for piano 80-99

1stperf, Andrew Poppy
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Discography
All recordings produced by Andrew Poppy. All ensembles directed by AP

THE BEATING OF WINGS

ALPHABED
(7/85) ZTT Records CD 4509-94751-2
Distribution Warner UK
(8/87) ZTT Records CD 4509-94752-2 Dist. Warner UK
32 Frames for Orchestra,
45 is, Goodbye Mr G, The Amusement
The Object is a Hungry Wolf for large ensemble
Cadenza
Listening In

32 FRAMES FOR ORCHESTRA

RECORDINGS
(9/92) Bitter+Twisted Records CD SPIN992 Dist. Impetus
12 INCH ZTT
Poems and Toccatas piano Andrew Balll violin Elisabeth
32 Frames for Orchestra, The Impossible Net
Perry Ember: String Quartet performed by Balanescu
Quartet\ Movie Momento performed by Andrew Poppy

OPHELIA/OPHELIA
THE AMUSEMENT
(95) Impetus Records CD19426
7&12 INCH ZTT
mezzo Margaret Cameron, b.cl Roger Heaton Keybds AP
The Amusement ,/ Listening In

RUDE BLOOM
(95) Art Gallery Records CD07.Dist. Wotre Music France
Eight Movements for Piano Trio
Melody Versus the Brittle Funk
TIME AT REST DEVOURING ITS SECRET
(00) Source Research Recordings Dist. World Serpent
BLOOD SUGAR
(Bitter + Twisted Records, 2003)
Last Light for string orchestra, Snowdronia for
chamber ensemble, Revolution Number Eight:
airport for joseph beuys orchestra and
electronics, TARDIS electronics
RUNNING NAKED
THROUGH THE GARMENT DISTRICT
(Bitter + Twisted Records, 2003)
Drum machining/Double Stitch/Lining for a
Desirable Suit
9
ANOTHER LANGUAGE (05)
There Music Dist. Mute Records
1)Lipstick Vogue 2) White Noise Maker 3) Drive in Saturday 4)
Broken English 5) Nice Dream 6) Running Up That Hill 7)
Amsterdam 1897 8) Breakfast 9) Die Nebensonnen 10)
Libertango 11) You Do 12) Wooden Heart
voice Claudia Brucken piano/guitar Andrew Poppy
arrangements by AP
ANDREW POPPY ON ZANG TUUM TUMB
(05) ZTT Records
Disc one: THE BEATING OF WINGS
The Object is a Hungry Wolf /32 Frames for
Amplified Orchestra /Listening In
Cadenza for Piano and Electric Piano /Inside the
Wolf/The Impossible Net
Listening In (re-modelled)
Disc two: ALPHABED (A MYSTERY DANCE)
The Amusement/45 Is/Goodbye Mr G/The Amusement (12 inch) /King Kong
Presto/East Fragment/King Kong Adagio
Disc three: UNDER THE SON
The Sequence/The Passage (Parts 1, 2, 3)/Sometimes It Rains
…AND THE SHUFFLE OF THINGS
(08) Field Radio Records Dist. Rough Trade/Mute Bank
Something Secret/Wet Fold/My Stress Mistress
Balcony Scene/ Wave Machine part 2 and 3
The Head of Orpheus Football/ What Else: What
then Now My Fathers Submarines/Almost the Same
Shame,
Perfprmed by Andrew Poppy Sustaining Ensemble
Latvian Radio Choir Kaspars Putnish
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University of Washington Seattle USA August 03

Selected performances or presentations Movie Momento Topology at Brisbane Power House, Australia
August 03
More Matter Less Noszferatu at Cheltenham Festival July 03
Fruits and Shavings Mary Dullea at St Chrispins London June 03
Two pieces for piano Tania Chen at J. Dupres Building Oxford May 03
TARDIS Snow/Snowdronia D-Motion Konferenz Und Festival Fur Interaktive
Medien Neues Theater Helle Germany Dec 02
Avalanche Thoughts Gale Gates 02 Brooklyn New York USA Jan 02
TARDIS Tramway 01 Glasgow April 01
Weighing the Measure The Space London March 01
Alphabed Muscium of Scince and Industry La Villett Paris

…and the Shuffle of Things Andrew Poppy’s Staining Ensemble Kings Place
Oxford Contemporary Music, Birmingham
Conservatoire Nov/Dec09
Hatch The Smith String Quartet NY/ Korea/
Scandinavian Tour 09
Jelly (for Aftermaths) AP Spill Festival of Performance/ April 09
…and the Shuffle of Things AP Chelsea Theatre Nov 08
Almost the Same AP National Review of Live Arts Glasgow Feb 08
Hoarding Flap Jane Chapman NY NY June 08/ Bath Festival 09
Playing the Pulse CoMA ensemble Huddersfield Festival Dec 08
Darwin’s Sin Draw The Crash Ensemble Dublin November Nov 08
32 Fames for Orchestra BBC Concert`Orchestra Festival Hall June 07
Various works for piano Andrew Poppy Düsseldorf Oct 07
Something in the Air Estonian Male Choir & soloists
Tallinn/Tartu/Parnu Feb 06
Last Light Zwa Zulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra Durban
South Africa May 05
More Matter Less Noszferatu at Huddersfield Festival Nov 04
Last Light Mostar Chamber Orchestra Bosnia October 03
Poem & Toccatas Darragh Morgan & Mary Dullea

Theatre and dance commissioned scores
Aftermaths 09 (director Julia Bardsley) SPILL festival of performance
Infinite Pleasures of the Great Beyond 08 (Simon Vincenzi) Halle Festival
Almost the Same 07 (director Julia Bardsley) SACRED Chelsea Theatre
Trans-Acts 04 (director Julia Bardsley) NRLA Glasgow
Burning Bright 01 (director Alison Peables) V.amp/Tramway Glasgow
Construction 94 (choreographer Lynda Gaudreau) De Brune Company/Klapstuk
Family Reunion 93 (director Julia Bardsley) Leicester Haymarket Theatre
Coriolanus 93 (director Tim Supple) Renaissance/Chichester Festival Theatre
Macbeth 92 (director Julia Bardsley) Leicester Haymarket Theatre
Therese Requin 92 (director Julia Bardsley) Leicester Haymarket Theatre
Drawn Breath 89 (choreographer Siobhan Davies) Riverside Studios
One Sided Wall 86 (director Nicky Johnson) Axis Mundi Prods/The Bush Theatre
The Price of Meat 85 Impact Theatre /Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
Midday Sun 84 (director Pete Brookes/John Ashford) ICA/Mikery Amsterdam
The Dead Moon 84 (choreographer Sally Owen) Netherlands Dans Theatre,
On the Beaches 83 (choreographer Sally Owen) Northern Dance Theatre
Secret Gardens 82 (directors Tim Albery & Gerry Pilgrim choreographer Ian
Spink) ICA/Mikery Theatre Amsterdam
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Additional choreographed works
Poems and Toccatas choreographer Heidi Latsy 01 St Marks Places New York
Cadenza choreographer Heidi Latsy 99 Joyce Theatre New York.
Last Light choreographer Heidi Latsy 00 New York
The Object is a Hungry Wolf choreographer David Massingham 95 The Place/UK
Listening In choreographer David Massingham 90 UK Tour
32 Frames for Orchestra choreographer Michael Popper 88 Place Theatre London
Forth Fiesta title music choreographer Michael Clark BBC Scotland 89
Cadenza choreographer Gaby Agis 87 Oxford Gallery
Film and video commissioned scores (tv not listed)
Una Giornata lunga Senzo Io 2004 (director Jacopo Benci) BSR Italy
Snow 1999 (director Julia Bardsley) Individual Artists, UK
Nuvem 1990 (director Anna Luisa Guimaraes) Tropico Films, Portugal
Mid-night 1988 (director Vitor Goncalves) Tropic Films, Portugal
A Girl in Summer 1986 (director Vitor Goncalves) Tropic Films, Portugal
Arranger/conductor for studio recordings by other artist (82-89)
If I Could/Spiralling /My Hear So Blue. for Erasure. Mute Records
Twilight of a Champion/August and September/Lung Shadows
for TheThe. CBS Records
I will give to you for Nitzer Ebb. Mute Records
More than the Sun for Black. CBS Records
Perfect world for Simon F. Chrysalis Records.
The Beatles and the Stones for The House of Love. Sire/WEA records
Just Drifting /Terminus /Caress /Guiltless /Message from the Temple / Iron
Glove / Finale / Eleusis / Eden 2 / Clouds without Water /The Orchid / Circle
for Psychic TV Some Bizarre CBS/WEA Records
10 James Orr Street for Strawberry Switch Blade. WEA Records
Leaders in 7th Heaven for Red Box. WEA Records
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Publications

Introducing a Glass of Water to the Sea: Placing the Work of Glyn Perrin
(National Review of Live Art Catalogue 01)
6 Happy Ideas or Killing the Vision Kid
Coil - Journal of the Moving Image. Ed. Giles Lane (Proboscis, 1998)
A Zeitgeist Thing: The Music Supervisor and Modern Soundtracks
Variety: International Film Guide 98. Ed. Peter Cowie (Andre Deutsch 1998)

Conference presentations

HARMOLODICS: thoughts this way and that Introduction to the School of

Harmolodics. Part of Ornette Coleman’s Meltdown, South Bank Centre London
14-20 June 2009

The Presence of Performance in the Age of Electronic Transmission 20/4/97

Cosmopolis. A symposium exploring the cultural and social transition from post
industrial to digital city. Part of Video Positive’s Escaping Gravity programmed by
Manchester Telematics and Telework Partnership in association with the
Foundation for Arts and Creative Technology.

Online radio programmes/Commentary

Online radio prgrammme/interview Redbullacadamyradio
Oneline radio programme/Interview radiofrance

Nuno Galopin Entre does mundos (Diario de Noticias 06)

Ian Peel :Screenplay to Accompany the Music of Andrew Poppy ( ZTT 04)
Giovanni Antognozzi & Paolo Coteni La Musica Minimalista: Storie e Altre
Storie (Textus, 00)
Lawrence Crane Counterpoints (BMIC, 1999)
Bruno Letort Musiques Plurielles (Editions Balland, 1998)
Brian Morton Contemporary Composers (St James, 1990)
Marc Issue Poppy Art (Blitz December 1986)
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PRESS

"The finest products of the minimalist mentality - Reich's ‘Music for 18 Musicians’,
Riley’s exquisitely impure undertakings, Glenn Branca's tumultuous The Ascension
- rise above the cold consideration of mechanics and draws the listener into the
realms of ecstasy. Cadenza is the track in question, a mesmerising feature for two
pianos that rise and dip like a tea clipper in a high wind. The effect is breath-taking;
it’s superb enough to make me look forward with optimism to future releases.
LYNDEN BARBER 1981 : MELODY MAKER

“The Amusement is The obvious successor to The Art of Noise in this modern
composers forceful dynamic production. A captivating and impressive piece."
DAVE HENDERSON : MUSIC WEEK

"The best things I heard (at the Huddersfield Festival) were a miniature by James
MacMillian and Andrew Poppy's inventively spare and varied Poems and
Toccatas”
NICHOLAS KENYON : OBSERVER

"Noise of industrial labour is submerged in Andrew Poppy's music as tremendous

gathering melange of piano then brass and synthesiser, finally electric guitar in great
slabs of impersonal, repetitive throbbing sound. A scenario of mixed gestures, solo
melancholy and frantic deshabillement.... The Songs of the Clay People
remembered by a child, are lost, fleeting renascent in a grey metropolis of granite
rooms.... where excitement is provided by music which really did strike me as being
of exceptional merit"
MICHAEL COVENEY FINANCIAL TIMES

"A ritual for three performers, offstage voices and musique concrete. The effect is
one of animated hallucination on which Balthus and Francis Bacon might have
collaborated: arrogant ascetic, utterly sincere.
JOHN PETER : SUNDAY TIMES

‘Uranium Miner s’ "impressively full of emotional shrapnel."

PAUL DRIVER : SUNDAY TIMES

"His music is consistently trenchant and telling".

MEIRION BOWEN : GUARDIAN

"The ideal composer to turn Tennessee Williams screen play Baby Doll into an
opera would be an American Janacek and Andrew Poppy comes near to it in the best
moments: strong on atmosphere (a lot of sultry Southern blue notes) and punchily
abbreviated in its story-telling."
MICHAEL JOHN WHITE : THE INDEPENDENT
"A gift for creating atmosphere the scores virtue lies in the deceptively languid way it
can build up an insidious tension."
MARTIN HOYLE : THE TIMES
" A gripping and unusual evening....not a moment of it is dull and several sequences
are startling.
GERALD KAUFMAN : THE SUNDAY EXPRESS
" Poppy was never solely concerned with pure minimalism and he has now
developed a style of enviable flexibility, fusing a range of so called 'serious' and
'popular' sources and allowing each to emerge as appropriate.
KEITH POTTER: THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
“Fulfilling all the Liverpool Philharmonics requirements of new music, Andrew
Poppy’s Horn Horn was consistently entertaining as a study in the comparability
of two alto saxophonist. Harnessed together much of the time , John Harle and
Simon Haram were each allowed the occasional opportunity to emerge on a
comparatively thoughtful solo line from their joint virtuoso endeavours. They
usefully offset the heavy industrial activity in the orchestra which, between the
deceptive opening and closing bars characterises the score as a whole. An
admirably high-energy all-or-nothing performance
GERALD LARNER: THE TIMES
Time At Rest Devouring Its Secret “is a 35 minute single movement work of
"basically one texture" inspired by Riley's ‘In C’, Reich's ‘Drummin’g and
Feldman's ‘For Samuel Beckett’ The light and lean grandeur of the orchestration
recalls Takemitsu: an unpredictable drip-drop pizzicato of deep double bass and
high pitched violin or harp, mingling with tintinnabulous percussives. Overheard,
clouds of strings and electronics drift and repeat in a kind of bittersweet,
14
melancholy ecstasy that plays some fascinating psychoacoustic games with
time/space and stasis/movement. Bewitching, beautifully crafted and highly
addictive.”
CHRIS BLACKFORD THE WIRE
Poppy first hit the scene as a composer of fierce electronic soundtracks for
Impact, the seminal 80's theatre company. Later, a stint as the first classical act
signed to Trevor Horn's ZTT label won him an underground pop audience. He
never gained the exposure of a Nyman or a Reich, though, which is a pity,
because this is a first rank composer, bursting with ideas. TARDIS is a large scale
piece, in which an endlessly growing melody is toyed with, split into multiples,
played against itself in a random canon, and hung in the air to spin gently like a
child's mobile. Time and space are suspended, as chiming, plunking and silk-
smooth harmonies seem to progress forever upwards. The Doctor himself could
be proud of this post post-modern, ambient, slightly kitsch, minimal machine
music.
RICHARD WOLFSON THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Avalanche Thoughts suggest Andrew Poppy and Julia Bardsley, are those
dangerous cognitive moments that beckon disaster. Before the audience enters the
performance space, we are met with an exhibition of exquisite objects combining
the motifs of books and shoes enveloped in an understated sound installation. The
video full of blues and whites, is deeply elemental, suggestive of gently blinding
snow or a threat of drowning. The accompanying soundtrack is similarly
beautiful. Shifting like the tide, the piece finally opens up to piano music by turns
melodic and discordant, becoming entwined with secular incantations, intonations
of passion and of danger. In spite of the "thoughts" of its title, this is essentially a
sensory experience. But none the less a beautiful one.
FIONA SHEPARD MARK BROWN THE SCOTSMAN
. “arriving at a distinctive and melodic approach he demonstrates an uncanny
talent for spreading short melodic motifs over long distances without causing the
mind to wander, using subtle development and barely detectable changes in
orchestration. Several composers have adopted his approach since, among them
Michael Torke and Michael Gordon, but it's doubtful any of them have made a
recording quite like the seminal Cadenza an almost transcendental piece of
music. What will surprise is the year of genesis of these pieces. Poppy joined the
ZTT label some twenty years ago, hence this commemorative collection On Zang

Tuub Tumb. The other parallel to draw with Poppy is Cabaret Voltaire, for some
of the music takes on an experimental form, fractured rhythms thrown around for
dissection. Nowhere is this more evident than Kink King Adagio…. an intriguing
listen.
BEN HOOGWOOD MUSIC OMH
Despite his reputation as a minimalist, Andrew Poppy gives you plenty of bang
for your buck on his ZTT works. If you're into contemporary composition, the
bargain of the week has to be Andrew Poppy on Zang Tuum Tumb (ZTT 3CD,
£15.99), which collects Poppy's 1980s albums The Beating of Wings and
Alphabed together with a third, unreleased album and various odds and ends.
You get plenty of notes for your money, too: despite Poppy's reputation as a
minimalist, his best pieces are gloriously abundant in cascading cycles of notes
and noises, with satisfying, circular chord sequences, using very big ensembles
and big-sounding virtual ensembles with keyboards and samplers. Poppy studied
music at Goldsmith's, where he co-founded Regular Music. Later, he was a key
member of the Lost Jockey. By signing to Trevor Horn's ZTT label, Poppy made
some interesting lateral moves. For one thing, it meant that his music was
beautifully recorded, using the state- of-the-art studios. It also promoted Poppy's
oeuvre to a style-conscious, Face-reading audience, complete with detailed art
direction, enigmatic notes and Anton Corbijn portraits. This re-alignment cut both
ways, and may have distanced Poppy from the serious recognition now handed
out to his less clued-up contemporaries. Yet what you hear in Poppy's music,
particularly in key works such as 32 Frames for Orchestra and Cadenza for
Piano and Electric Piano, is a keen ear for the large-scale, compositional use of
timbre - the qualities that drew him to the cutting edge technology of ZTT's
studio-based culture. It's even there in his theme tune for The Tube, which always
sounded huge compared to electro-TV music. What Poppy brought to ZTT - a
label that didn't need much prompting to take itself seriously - was some
genuinely good and serious work. His music's purpose is often revealed more
effectively through the multi-tracked recording process. Younger composers may
take this for granted, working out their masterpieces on PCs, but Poppy got there
first
JOHN L WALTERS JULY 05 GUARDIAN
Composer Andrew Poppy is good with large forces, and with small, intense
ensembles such as piano solos and duos… Wave Machine renew the "tough
minimalism" of Poppy's ZTT heyday. The radio-friendly track is Balcony
15
Scene/Doppelgänger, which makes ingenious use of a Schubert sample from
Fischer-Dieskau and Brendel. But Poppy is wasted on electro. Give this man a big
orchestral commission, now!
JOHN L WALTERS DEC 08 THE GUARDIAN
Echo & Decay, Spit & Crackle Recent Listening April 2009 "...and the shuffle of
things" Andrew Poppy's new CD starts with a spit and crackle of velocity that
slowly moves toward a triumphant, almost pomp-like, classical-sounding burst of
sound. This is immediately hijacked by a voice which self-consciously
undermines all our expectations by talking about the music it is interrupting.
Except of course, it isn't, because the spoken part is intrinsic to the score. Just
when we come to terms with that idea a bell-like note rings and the music fades
away as the voice continues its existential pondering. It's a fantastic introduction
to this 'cabinet of sonic curioisities' (as the sleeve notes puts it) and these kinds of
musical and verbal conundrums and subversions continue throughout another 9
tracks. Much as I like a lot of Poppy's music, for me, it's a return to the kind of
work I most like of his, which has previously appeared on his ZTT LP Alphabed
and to a lesser extent the more difficult Ophelia Ophelia. Poppy is a master of
hybridization: classical and contemporary classical music, orchestrated rock,
chamber music, synthesizer rock, art rock, show music, avant-garde music and
post-rock along with performance poetry and declamatory oration are all present
in the mix here. But why attach labels to what is in essence new and inspirational
music? Whether or not this CD is merely things shuffled, a kind of musical sleight
of hand, or not, is irrelevant. Poppy has made all these things anew, and I
recommend the CD to anyone interested in where music might be found in the
21st Century and remain approachable, varied, dynamic and entertaining.
RUPERT LOYDELL 09 STRIDE MAGAZINE
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the polarity between them. Despite this diversity it’s clear that one composer is at
work; one with a keen sense of structure and proportion.

Mention Andrew Poppy, and people will most likely recall a couple of
relatively high profile albums released on ZTT in the mid 1980’s, charting
the British face of what was once called ‘Systems music’. In fact, Poppy’s
work has continued to develop in many and varied directions since then.
Laurence Crane fills in the blanks.
Over the last two decades Andrew Poppy has steadily assembled a fascinating and
unusual body of work which encompasses concert music, opera and scores for
contemporary dance, theatre, film and television. Despite a certain amount of
commercial success in the 1980’s Poppy’s work remains largely neglected by
musical organisations in this country. At a time when many younger composers
seem to achieve recognition by producing music which is safe and superficial this
neglect of a genuine original is, to say the least, slightly scandalous.
This diversity is well illustrated by pieces on two of the five CD’s that Poppy has
recorded. ‘The Beating of Wings’ was one of two CD’s released on the pop label
ZTT during the mid 1980’s when pop musicians had become interested in what
classical composers of a minimalist persuasion were doing; Poppy had excellent
credentials in this respect as a founder member of the systems music big band The
Lost Jockey. The four pieces on The Beating of Wings show an assured handling
of facets of a post-minimal world, from 32 Frames for Orchestra, a majestic
chaconne based on a simple progression of four chords, to Listening In , an
hypnotic and muscular piece created in the recording studio. By further contrast
Poems and Toccatas on his CD Recordings (released on the composers’ own
Bitter and Twisted label in 1992) is a sequence of short pieces for violin and
piano. The harmonic language is more angular and taut and the pieces are
beautifully crafted.
More recent work, so far unrecorded , includes Horn Horn , a double saxophone
concerto in six movements, written in 1996 for John Harle and Simon Haram and
the extraordinary Revolution no. 8: Airport for Joseph Beuys for orchestra, a
desolate soundscape utilising tape delay which, for this writer at least, is possibly
Andrew Poppy’s finest achievement to date.
LAURENCE CRANE 1999 SOUNDINGS

Andrew Poppy is undoubtedly an original composer but paradoxically it’s

extremely difficult to pinpoint that originality in terms of a definition of his
musical style. This is principally because defining musical characteristics differ
from work to work; each piece deliberately inhabits its own self-contained world,
setting out with determination to explore strictly defined musical parameters and
also non-musical and conceptual preoccupations. Poppy expertly fuses tonal and
non-tonal harmonic worlds in such a way that the listener actually forgets about