'Wry, understated and slightly bonkers’ (Guardian)
‘An atavistic soul and a composer of amiable eccentricity’ (Daily Telegraph)
Colin Riley ‘doffs his cap to the contemporary classical genre but also manages to stand alone in that genre as a unique indie voice’ (BBC Radio). His music draws on a range of elements including new technologies, improvisation, song-writing and large-scale classical form.
Colin has just released two albums. His choral album ‘Along The Line’ is sung by the Pegasus chamber choir features soloists Gabriella Swallow (cello) and Gloria Rappo (harp). ‘The Year Round’ is an intimate collection of songs, one for each month, created for Melanie Pappenheim.
Major works include Warp and Weft a concerto for 2 cellos (Gabriella Swallow / Guy Johnston), Rock Paper Scissors (Ensemble Bash), Earth Voices (Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Sweden), and his song cycle In Place. His large-scale multi-media orchestral piece Hearing Places was recently premiered by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales to excellent reviews. ‘Witty, inventive music of ear-tickling inventiveness’ (Daily Telegraph). He has also composed a huge body of piano music, some of which has just be released on Matthew Schellhorn’s new album Odd Sympathies.
Colin’s latest work is Broken Line,(string quartet and fixed media) for the RIOT Ensemble based incorporating AI and the song of the blackbird.
Another album ‘Ocean Songs’ is due out in the spring; a collaboration with lead singer of Goat Girl Lottie P and his new band Blue Machine. It features writer/activist George Monbiot and scientist/writer Helen Czerski. He is also currently recording an album of chamber music ‘Ones Twos and Threes’ supported by the PRS for Music’s Composers Fund, the Hinrichsen Foundation and the Vaughan Williams Foundation
Colin is Reader in Composition at Brunel University, runs his own label Squeaky Kate and writes a regular blog about composing called Riley Notes.
He is part of Music Patron and a member of the Place Collective.
Composers Fund
