Leo Chadburn
Leo Chadburn is a composer whose unpredictable work includes music for ensembles, music for film and installation art, and solo performances that merge his voice with electronic music. It has been broadcast on BBC Radio 1, 3 and 6 Music, and internationally. He was previously also known by the pseudonym Simon Bookish, under which guise he released a sequence of albums of subversive, investigatory “avant-pop”, alongside remixes for artists including Franz Ferdinand, Grizzly Bear and Owen Pallett.
Much of Leo’s work from the last decade is preoccupied with the musicality and theatricality of speaking voices. These include The Indistinguishables (2014) for Quatour Bozzini, Five Loops for the Bathyscaphe (2017) for the Britten Sinfonia and English Dancing Master (2023) for Phaedra Ensemble. He won an Ivor Novello Award for his piece Freezywater, written for Apartment House, and was nominated for a second award for Affix Stamp Here, written for the vocal ensemble EXAUDI.
His collaborative work with visual artists includes projects with Cerith Wyn Evans (Irish Museum of Modern Art), Marianna Simnett (Serpentine Gallery), Richard Grayson (Matt's Gallery), Jennet Thomas (Grundy Gallery) and Jasleen Kaur (V&A).
His most recent album is the critically acclaimed Slower / Talker (2021).
More Info
