Steve Hillage
Steve Hillage (* 2. August 1951 in Chingford , London , as Stephen Simpson Hillage ) is an English musician and producer. In addition to other bands, he was particularly successful as a guitarist with the band Gong in the early 1970s . In 1975 he left Gong and then released several albums under his own name. In the 1980s he was mainly active as a producer. In 1991 he founded the System 7 project with Miquette Giraudy , which has since released several albums of electronic music.
biography
Steve Hillage joined the progressive rock band Uriel as a guitarist during his school days in the 1960s , which, alongside him, consisted of keyboardist Dave Stewart (* 1950), bassist Mont Campbell (* 1950) and drummer Clive Brooks (* 1949) duration. Hillage left the band in 1968 to pursue his studies. The other members then formed the band Egg , but recorded another album in 1969 with Hillage under the group name Arzachel . In 1971 Hillage founded the band Khan again with Dave Stewart , who recorded their 1972 album "Space Shanty".
Hillage rose in 1972 as a guitarist in the band of Kevin Ayers , and then moved to the then of Daevid Allen led band Gong , with whom he recorded three albums, the so-called "Radio Gnome Trilogy". In 1974 Hillage's friend Miquette Giraudy (born February 9, 1953 in Nice) also came to Gong. At Gong , Hillage's guitar playing was characterized by passages in which his instrument was doubled by means of echo effects while he played solo melodies over the echo loops. Giraudy contributed to the sound of gong initially with singing and later also as a replacement for Tim Blake with futuristic sounds on the synthesizer . Dave Stewart (who had since founded Hatfield & The North ) was involved in Gong at some concerts . In addition to working for Gong, Hillage also worked on the band Egg's second album in 1974 .
In 1975 Hillage recorded his first solo album " Fish Rising " with Miquette Giraudy and Dave Stewart as well as Gong colleagues Pierre Moerlen , Didier Malherbe , Mike Howlett and Tim Blake . When the record label Virgin Records named Moerlen head of Gong that same year and the latter began to pursue other musical goals, Hillage and Giraudy separated from Gong at the end of the year. Since his solo album began to be a sales success, the separation from Gong was easy and Hillage formed new musicians around himself and Giraudy for future projects.
On the 1976 album "L" the couple worked with trumpeter Don Cherry and keyboardist Roger Powell, drummer Willie Wilcox, and bassist Kasim Sulton from Todd Rundgren's band Utopia . The following album "Motivation Radio" from 1977 is particularly characterized by the collaboration with Malcolm Cecil and his giant synthesizer TONTO . The album "Green" (1978) was produced by Nick Mason ( Pink Floyd ), who had previously appeared as producer of an album for Gong. Hillage, who at that time appeared with a beard, long hair and in flowing white robes, was also able to convince live: On March 20, 1977, the WDR filmed a concert in its " Rockpalast " series at the Otto Hahn School in Bensberg near Cologne. 1979 appeared on the album "Live Herald" a compilation of live recordings, which had been made in 1977/78 with different line-ups, including with Clive Bunker , the drummer of Jethro Tull .
In 1977 Hillage was involved in the anti-nuclear project Radio Actors , initiated by Nik Turner ( Hawkwind ) and Harry Williamson, and their single "Nuclear Waste", where he was joined by former Gong colleagues Mike Howlett and Gilli Smyth (1933-2016) as well as Steve Broughton and Sting . He was also on stage with Gong at a unique reunion in 1977 in Paris. In the late 1970s, the emerging styles of punk and new wave found their way into his album "Open", although these styles also led to the decline of many bands in the 70s and ultimately to the decline in Hillage's popularity. Meanwhile, he increasingly turned to electronic instruments. The album "Rainbow Dome Music", which was released in 1979, contains only two full-length, quiet pieces that Hillage and Giraudy recorded mainly with keyboards and synthesizers. The album "For To Next - And Not Or" was created in 1982 only as a duo.
In the 1980s he published very little under his own name, but rather appeared as a producer for other artists, among others. a. with Simple Minds , Cock Robin , Tony Banks and Robyn Hitchcock , and later with The Charlatans .
Around 1990 Hillage's quieter, older recordings like “Rainbow Dome Music” advanced to popular classics in the ambient and chill-out area. Coincidental contact with DJ Alex Paterson, who also played the record at an event, resulted in a collaboration with his project The Orb and then the establishment of the System 7 project (based on the operating system that was used on Apple computers at the time ), again with Miquette Giraudy on electronic instruments. System 7 has released numerous albums since the 1991 debut album of the same name. The sound of the project now covers a wide range from rather shallow ambient pop to acid house and hard Detroit techno . The 1994 album "Point 3" was released in two versions; the mix called "Fire Album" was beat-heavy and technoid, while the ambient version called "Water Album" largely dispensed with beats. Of System 7 , a plurality of maxi-singles, where DJs such as appeared Richie Hawtin , Carl Craig and Derrick May concerned the remix. System 7 performed live both as a band and as a duo (Hillage / Giraudy).
Since the mid-1990s Hillage has also been working as a guitarist with the Algerian Raï interpreter Rachid Taha , whose show 1, 2, 3 Soleils he also produced.
In 1994 Hillage recorded the soundtrack for the game Cyberwar by SCi . A limited complete edition of the game came with the soundtrack as an audio CD. The first 4 pieces on it can be clearly assigned to him. Stylistically, they are similar to his work with System 7 .
In 2004 Hillage and Giraudy played on the Ozric Tentacles album "Spirals In Hyperspace" , in 2006 they were also seen with the Steve Hillage Band and for a one-time guest appearance with Gong . In spring 2007 his eight solo albums from 1975 to 1983 were released as digitally remastered CDs.
Discography
With Arzachel
- Arzachel (1969)
With Khan
- Space Shanty (1972)
With gong
- Flying Teapot (1973)
- Angel's Egg (1973)
- You (1974)
- Live At Sherwood Forest '75 (2005)
- Live At The UnCon 2006 (video album)
- 2032 (2009)
As Steve Hillage
- Fish Rising (1975)
-
L (1976, UK:
silver) - Motivation Radio (1977)
- Green (1978)
- Live Herald (1979)
- Rainbow Dome Musick (1979)
- Open (1979)
- For to Next / And Not Or (1983)
- BBC Radio 1 Live 1994
- Light in the Sky 2003
- Live at Deeply Vale Festival 1978 (2004)
- Evan Marc & Steve Hillage - Dreamtime Submersible (Somnia Records) (2008)
- Live at Rockpalast - 20th March 1977 (2014)
With system 7
- System 7 (1991)
- 777 (1993)
- Point 3 Fire / Water (1994)
- Power of Seven (1996)
- Golden Section (1997)
- Seventh Wave (2001)
- Encantado (2004)
Soundtrack
- L'Enfant Lion (Eng .: Sirga - Die Löwin , 1993), with Salif Keïta
swell
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hillage, Steve |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2nd August 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |