‘Colin Riley has for some years been a composer who seems to be able to create moments of magic.’
Classical Music Magazine, Dec 2003
‘Some of the most beautiful music you will hear this year … lithe and buoyant …. has the hairs rising on the back of your neck.’
Birmingham Post, 2003
‘Colin Riley is a restless, questing composer operating in the margins where classical form clashes with improvisation, pop and electronica.‘
Jazzwise, May 2006
‘Colin Riley has a restless spirit. Though routinely identified as a classical composer, his activities in the past few years have resisted categorisation.’
The Guardian, November 2008
‘An ambient sound that can and does groove like hell … at all times Skin and Wire operates on a high level of musical interest.’
Gabblegate Music Review, Oct 2009
Colin takes the sound-world, gestures and techniques from classical, rock and jazz, and makes no apologies for inhabiting the cracks between all three.’
991 sleevenotes, Sept 2009
‘ … witty and vigorous … energetic and at times downright cheeky … as accessible as it is intellectual, as felt as it is thought’
Jazzwise, Oct 2009
Colin Riley has a restless spirit … poised and engaging … Nygård's voice meshes beautifully with Riley's spare orchestrations.
The Guardian, November 2008
Something extraordinarily strange and beautiful.
Radio 1, January 2009