Composer & Arranger Christopher Elliott Shares New Song “The Garden”
June 26, 2020 BY Nettwerk
Award-winning London based composer and arranger Christopher Elliott has shared his latest single–an emotional piano and strings piece called “The Garden,” composed during lockdown.
Christopher says, “’The Garden’ is a tone poem about a place I go to connect with nature and the natural world. It is an ancient place full of mystery as well as beauty.”
“The Garden” is the second single from Elliott since the release of his debut EP Gabriel and Serge in 2019. The previous single, the sumptuous “Lament,” was released earlier this year. All these compositions are taken from a forthcoming new album.
About Christopher Elliott:
The acclaimed composer & arranger has worked with some of music’s biggest acts. From the late, great Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Adele, Rag‘n’Bone Man to Depeche Mode and U.N.K.L.E. Christopher Elliott’s sonic flourishes and embellishments have traversed genres, eras, and formats – he also found fame in film soundtracks, working on Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! among others. However, after working behind the scenes for over two decades, Elliott is finally stepping out of the shadows, emerging with his sumptuous debut solo music.
Downing his regular compositional tools and dipping his toes in the waters of improvisation and chance, Elliott’s forthcoming solo material soundtracks a particular time and place in his life. “I went into a kind of meditative state that allowed me to just react naturally to what I was actually playing, rather than thinking about it in a tonal way, I just used my ears”, he explains. “The music grew out of seeds of ideas, layered, shaped and developed.”
Film music is also a major touchstone for Elliott, who holds Thomas Newman and Yann Tiersen in high regard. “As a student I thought – there is this wonderful use of the orchestra here, thoroughly not classical, yet with a wonderful atmospheric sensibility.” It was during his three-year tenure studying at Devon’s renowned liberal arts college, Dartington – “surrounded by nature and wildlife” – that Elliott was introduced to contemporary classical composers Arvo Part and Henryk Górecki, as well as the American minimalist school of Steve Reich and John Adams. “These composers all knew about atmosphere in their music” recalls Elliott, “That was the overriding influence for me”.
