Biography

Hidden Orchestra are a quartet from Edinburgh, Scotland, who make music that incorporates and redefines elements of jazz, classical, rock, hip-hop and electronica to form a deeply original and cohesive whole resplendent with layers of energy, emotion and atmosphere.

An intense and rewarding listening experience, both live and on record, their sound encompasses the energy and production techniques of studio-produced beats, but replacing synths and drum machines with natural/acoustic sounds and instruments for an emotionally potent and dynamic style. It is a sonic blueprint built on contrasts – experimental without losing accessibility, electronic and acoustic, complex and simple, dark and energetic whilst intricate and calm.

Hidden Orchestra is the solo studio project of composer/producer Joe Acheson – the core quartet of the live act is formed around the duelling drum kits, percussion and electronic pads of two drummers, Tim Lane and Jamie Graham, completed by Poppy Ackroyd’s distinctive, multi-faceted violin and piano playing, with Acheson on bass and electronics. Hidden Orchestra have seen their star rise steadily and emphatically since the release of their debut album on Tru Thoughts in 2010, Night Walks, with an organic buzz building as they have toured their highly in-demand live show at clubs and major festivals throughout over 20 countries in Europe and beyond.

The music of Hidden Orchestra has been widely broadcast on the radio, with live sessions on BBC R6 for Cerys Matthews and BBC Radio Scotland, plays from Gilles Peterson (BBC R1), Jamie Cullum (BBC R2), Radio Nova & FIP (France), Radio 1 Prague, XFM among the many highlights.

Hidden Orchestra release their second album Archipelago on 1^st October 2012, and are preparing to tour the record throughoutEurope in 2012 and 2013. Read on for further insight, press reaction and links to more material from this astoundingly original and exciting band.