The Cinematic Orchestra

"Wide Screen Entertainment" (The Guardian)

Background:

The aptly named Cinematic Orchestra (TCO) were formed by 30 year old J. Swinscoe back in 1999. At the time Jay was still an employee at Ninja Tune in South London, where he was responsible for export sales at the long-standing independent record label. Swinscoe arrived at London Bridge from Scotland via Yorkshire and Cardiff with a background playing bass and guitar in bands and DJing, as well as a head full of ideas and influences, such as his love of jazz bass players, rhythm sections and film soundtracks. So while he knocked out Mr. Scruff and Coldcut records to Spain and Scandinavia by day, he began putting together the TCO album in his downtime.

‘Motion’
Taking on the role of bandleader, Swinscoe rallied a group of adventurous jazz players and delivered a debut album that took everyone by surprise and was voted album of the year by listeners to Gilles Peterson’s Radio One show. And more than a few other programmes too! It is a record which underlines the cinematic in the Cinematic Orchestra, with Uncut likening it to "every hard-boiled, neon-lit Hollywood thriller you’ve seen, the sound of a thousand femmes fatales, doomed P.I.’s and bitter plot twists remixed and refashioned in one ingeniously sampled audio narrative".

‘Motion’ was followed in 2001 by an album of TCO remixes of other artists (‘Remixes 98-2000’!) which garnered more critical acclaim and also caught the imagination of the broadsheets, with The Guardian heaping praise upon both Jay’s sense of space and his attention to detail: "It’s frighteningly rare that a musician in a contemporary field brings so much generous knowledge and that transforming power to their work, inviting you inside their world and introducing you to a new way of listening".

‘Every Day’
If ‘Motion’ reflected the cinematic aspect of TCO, their second album ‘Every Day’, brought out more of the orchestral side, too. Arguably a more refined record than its predecessor, it is uncompromising in its approach nonetheless. And in these production-line, rebirth-of-the-pop-idol times, ten minute tunes and seven tracks on an album are hardly the norm. But evidently the Cinematics do their own thing very well.

On ‘Every Day’, Swinscoe worked with bass player Phil France as his co-pilot and co-producer, France’s background in jazz the perfect counterpoint to Swinscoe’s technical knowhow and raw feel. The pair flew out to St. Louis to record the legendary Fontella Bass (of ‘Rescue Me’ and Art Ensemble of Chicago fame) for the single ‘All That You Give’ and ‘Evolution’, both of which appeared on the album. Closer to home, they enlisted the talents of Mercury and Brit nominated South London rapper Roots Manuva on the soul searching ‘All Things To All Men’.

‘Every Day’ also features the drumming of modern-day jazz legend Luke Flowers , who had played together with France for a number of years as youthful stars on the northern jazz circuit. Another name on the same scene was the much travelled fellow Mancunian, keyboard player John Ellis who played on the 'Everyday' album and toured live. He has now been replaced by another Mancunian Steve Brown for the start of the Man With A Movie Camera dates and beyond. Next up, and a fixture at left of centre jazz gigs all over the world, is 24 year old saxophonist Tom Chant, who is known as one of the UK’s top free jazz players. Turntablist PC, meanwhile, is one of the original Ninjas, for many years the studio backbone of the label and an integral part of the DJ Food project.

The single ‘Horizon,’ which did not appear on ‘Every Day’, featured feisty 24 year old Niara Scarlett who has been touring with the band over the last year (and who is featured in both the documentary and the live performances on the DVD). Niara is also a successful songwriter in her own right with her credits including the Pop Stars: The Rivals ‘Sound Of The Underground’ single.

Live

In the last three years the Cinematics’ have played far and wide at every conceivable type of venue and on all kinds of occasion. They have shocked out from the Jazz Café to the Jazz Bop via Ronnie Scott’s. And in somewhat hardcore fashion they toured the North American Jazz Festival circuit in the back of a transit van, with the dates culminating in a prestigious support slot for John McLaughlin in Central Park.

They have toured in Germany, Japan, Italy and Portugal. They have also clocked up the music festival mileage appearing at, amongst others, Homelands and Essential (UK), Sonar (Spain), Celerico De Basto (Portugal), North Sea Jazz and Drum Rhythm (Holland), Cannes (France), Fuji Rock (Japan) and Montreux (Switzerland) and have headlined The Big Chill twice. Their appearance on the Radio One Live week in Birmingham in 2001 with Roots Manuva and Ricky Rankin, was also a memorable affair and they were invited back to play at last year’s event in Nottingham.

Other live highlights include playing at the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award for Stanley Kubrick by the Directors Guild. Also the ‘Every Day’ album launch when the Hanover Grand was dressed and draped with red velvet curtains and Chinese lanterns and new TCO singer Niara Scarlett battled it out with Fontella Bass. And most recently, they sold out the Shepherds Bush Empire wand had all three balconies jumping.