Why do we need art? What Art Does is an invitation to explore this vital question. It is a chance to understand how art is made by all of us. How it creates communities, opens our worlds, and can transform us.

Curious and playful, richly illustrated, full of ideas and life, it is an inspiring call to imagine a different future.

For the past 50 years, Brian Eno has been at the forefront of musical creativity, technology, and artistic innovation. The hugely influential British musician, producer, activist, visual artist and self-described “sonic landscaper” began his career as an original member of the legendary Roxy Music in the early 1970s. He left the band to release a series of solo records and later pioneered the genre of ambient music with his 1978 album Ambient 1: Music for Airports. As a producer, Brian Eno has helped define and reinvent the sound of some of the most important artists in music, including David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads, Coldplay, and dozens of others. He also composed what may be the most heard piece of music in the world: the startup sound for Microsoft Windows. Undeniably, Eno has changed the way modern music is made.

Rich with access to hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage and unreleased music, Gary Hustwit’s forthcoming documentary Eno employs groundbreaking technology to accomplish something that’s never been done before: a feature film that’s never the same twice. Hustwit and creative technologist Brendan Dawes have developed bespoke generative software designed to sequence scenes and create transitions out of Hustwit’s original interviews with Eno, and Eno’s rich archive of hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage, and unreleased music. Each screening of Eno is unique, presenting different scenes, order, music, and meant to be experienced live. The generative and infinitely iterative quality of Eno poetically resonates with the artist's own creative practice, his methods of using technology to compose music, and his endless deep dive into the mercurial essence of creativity.

Hustwit’s collaboration with Eno first began in 2017, when Eno created an original score for Hustwit’s film Rams, about the German designer Dieter Rams. Says Hustwit, “Much of Brian’s career has been about enabling creativity in himself and others, through his role as a producer but also through his collaborations on projects like the Oblique Strategies cards or the music app Bloom. I think of Eno as an art film about creativity, with the output of Brian’s 50-year career as its raw material. What I’m trying to do is to create a cinematic experience that’s as innovative as Brian’s approach to music and art.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: An interesting idea for a film indeed, but to what shall we listen while we watch? This soundtrack features a number of Big Brian's collaborations and a few unreleased numbers too. You might know some of these pieces, you might not but it wouldn't be over the top to say it's all genius, and it's all worthwhile to have on your record shelf.

TRACK LISTING

1. Brian Eno - All I Remember *Previously Unreleased*
2. Brian Eno With Daniel Lanois And Roger Eno - The Secret Place
3. Brian Eno & Fred Again - Cmon
4. Brian Eno & Cluster - Ho Renomo
5. Brian Eno - Sky Saw
6. Brian Eno & John Cale - Spinning Away
7. Brian Eno & Tom Rogerson - Motion In Field
8. Brian Eno - There Were Bells
9. Brian Eno - Third Uncle
10. Brian Eno & David Byrne - Everything That Happens
11. Brian Eno - Stiff
12. Brian Eno With Leo Abrahams And Jon Hopkins - Emerald & Lime
13. Brian Eno - Hardly Me
14. Brian Eno & David Byrne - Regiment
15. Brian Eno - Fractal Zoom
16. Brian Eno - Lighthouse #429 *Previously Unreleased*
17. Brian Eno & Roger Eno - By This River (Live At The Acropolis) *Previously Unreleased.

Groenland Records are proud to announce that, in May 2024, they will be releasing a document of a unique – if until now little-known – performance given by BRIAN ENO, HOLGER CZUKAY & J.PETER SCHWALM, in which they were accompanied by Raoul Walton and Jern Atai, members of Schwalm’s group, Slop Shop. Billed as a “High-Altitude-Food-Performance with Incidental Music by Slop Shop and Brian Eno”, with Can co-founder Czukay’s appearance kept under wraps in advance, it was recorded on August 27, 1998 outside the Kunst-und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland – the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany – in Bonn, Germany, at the opening party for an exhibition of Eno’s Future Light-Lounge Proposal multimedia installation. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Sushi
2. Roti 
3. Wasser 
4. Reibekuchen
5. Wein 

1LP Coloured Vinyl Edition of Brian Eno’s ‘The Ship’ in eco-packaging – Newly remastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road – celebrating Eno’s first-ever solo tour, ‘Ships across Europe’, joined by Baltic Sea Philharmonic conducted by Kristjan Järvi in October 2023.

“The Ship is a great, unexpected record. The title track and “Fickle Sun (i)” on their own and as a connected piece of music are marvelous accomplishments, distinctive in Eno’s catalog. And “I’m Set Free” immediately ranks among the most perfect-sounding pop songs Eno has ever had a hand in making.” – Pitchfork.

“The music of “The Ship” is tolling and elegiac, while “Fickle Sun,” with lyrics about the “dismal work” of a soldier’s life, is in constant metamorphosis. Electronic sounds melt into orchestral upheavals and guitar distortion; voices, natural and synthetic, loom from all directions.” – The New York Times.

“The Ship is the work of someone who fully believes in the power of art as an empathic tool, as a means to invoke a particular viewpoint, an unconsidered perspective.” – The Quietus.

“sits somewhere between the chilly calm of Music for Airports and the eerie evocations of the Suffolk landscape found on 1982’s On Land” – The Guardian.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
The Ship
Side B
Fickle Sun I
Fickle Sun II • The Hour Is Thin
Fickle Sun III • I’m Set Free

Ambient demigod Brian Eno and modern bass & Boiler Room poster boy Fred Again team up for a rather unexpected curve ball. It seems that Brian has taken the lead on "Secret Life", forcing the young upstart to ditch his rampant, ADHD-fueled finger drumming and inferno-causing bass-garage-house hybrids for an exercise in what his next door neighbour (true story), and mentor, specializes at - the most serene ambient music around.

It's a delicate, spacious listen; with Eno's famous use of reductive techniques allowing the most precious of elements all the room they need to sparkle - like a tiny Faberge Egg presented in a vast, grandiose, but pin-drop silent gallery. The use of silence given plenty of reverence. There's smeared vocal and string manipulations that reverberate from almost heavenly realms, and in parts, it's like the antithesis to Burials recent dystopian ambient project "Antidawn" - exploring the more optimistic territories of the Skyrim metaverse in a non-linear structure which suspends time and allows you to drift in and out of its liminal reality.

It'll sit comfortably by your side on a rain soaked day languidly pottering around the home, or set the perfect atmosphere for your next art show installation; or even serenade your new born into a dreamlike slumber. I can't help feeling its one of those albums that'll be really affected by the environment in which it is aired. Like much of Eno's work, it's a subtle listen that I'm convinced will reward the deeper and more attentive listeners.

Produced by Brian Eno and Fred Gibson (aka Fred Again) 4th April 2020 - 23rd December 2022

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Everyone loves a bit of Eno, right? This collaboration sees Fred Again's chopped-up synthpop / alt r&b hybrid given the Eno treatment and sloooowed into a beautiful, restorative slice of stargazing ambient. A great collaborative endeavour, with more than a little classic Eno.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
01 I Saw You
02 Secret
03 Radio
04 Follow
05 Enough
06 Pause
Side 2
01 Safety
02 Cmon
03 Trying
04 Chest
05 Come On Home

The diary and essays of Brian Eno republished twenty-five years on with a new introduction by the artist in a beautiful hardback edition. 'One of the seminal books about music . .

. an invaluable insight into the mind and working practices of one of the industry's undeniable geniuses.'GUARDIAN.

At the end of 1994, musician, producer and artist Brian Eno resolved to keep a diary. His plans to go to the cinema, theatre and galleries fell through quickly.

What he did do - and write - however, was astonishing: ruminations on his collaborative work with artists including David Bowie, U2, James and Jah Wobble, interspersed with correspondence and essays dating back to 1978. These 'appendices' covered topics from the generative and ambient music Eno pioneered to what he believed the role of an artist and their art to truly be, alongside razor-sharp commentary on his day-to-day tribulations and happenings around the world. A fascinating, candid and intimate insight into one of the most influential creative artists of our time, A Year with Swollen Appendices is an essential classic, reissued for a new generation of readers.

This beautiful 25th anniversary paperback edition has been re-designed in A5, the same size as the diary that eventually became this book. It features two ribbons, pink paper delineating the appendices (matching the original hardback edition) and a two-tone cover that pays homage to the original design.

FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE is the 22nd solo studio album from Brian Eno and the first since January 2017’s Reflection. The 10-track album was recorded and produced by him at his studio in West London and sees Eno singing on the majority of tracks. It’s a sonically beguiling, ultimately optimistic exploration of the narrowing, precarious future of humanity and our planet. As Eno himself concludes, “Briefly, we need to fall in love again, but this time with Nature, with Civilisation and with our hopes for the future.”

Making gardens out of silence in an uncanny valley was originally included in an audio installation which is Brian Eno’s contribution to the London Serpentine’s long-term, interdisciplinary programme addressing the ongoing climate emergency, Back To Earth. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Who Gives A Thought
2. We Let It In
3. Icarus Or Blériot
4. Garden Of Stars
5. Inclusion
6. There Were Bells
7. Sherry
8. I’m Hardly Me
9. These Small Noises
10. Making Gardens Out Of Silence

‘Lux’, originally released in 2012, finds Eno expanding upon the types of themes and sonic textures that were present on such classic albums as ‘Music For Films’, ‘Music For Airports’ and ‘Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks’. Eno sees it as a continuation of his ‘Music for Thinking’ project that includes ‘Discreet Music’ (1975) and ‘Neroli’ (1993).

This long-awaited album brings together 17 tracks from Eno’s most recognisable film and television work spanning 5 decades.

Eno’s music has been used in hundreds of films and he has composed more than 20 soundtracks for some of the best known directors in the world including David Lynch, Danny Boyle, Peter Jackson, Michelangelo Antonioni, Derek Jarman and Michael Mann.

Compositions such as “Ship in a Bottle” in “The Lovely Bones”, “Prophecy Theme” from “Dune”, “Deep Blue Day” in “Trainspotting”, “Late Evening in Jersey” in “Heat”, “Beach Sequence” in Antonioni’s last film “Beyond The Clouds” and “An Ending (Ascent)” from Al Reinert’s ground-breaking “For All Mankind” have contributed significantly to memorably iconic scenes.

Eno has also scored extensively for television, including all 3 series of the gritty UK crime drama, “Top Boy” for which he received a Bafta, and Danny Boyle’s “Mr Wroe’s Virgins” which earned him and his brother Roger a Bafta nomination.

This release features over an hour of classic Eno compositions and includes several previously unreleased tracks.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: What is there to say about Brian Eno that hasn't already been said? Very little I'd wager. What I can tell you is that this new compilation of his work for films and TV from 1976 is absolutely essential. It's some of the best work he's ever done (really!) and sits comfortably alongside his legendary album output.

TRACK LISTING

CD & Digital
‘Top Boy (Theme)’ From ‘Top Boy’ - Series 1, Directed By Yann Demange, 2011
‘Ship In A Bottle’ From ‘The Lovely Bones’, Directed By Peter Jackson, 2009
‘Blood Red’ From ‘Francis Bacon’s Arena’, Directed By Adam Low, 2005
‘Under’ From ‘Cool World’, Directed By Ralph Bakshi, 1992
‘Decline And Fall’ From ‘O Nome Da Morte’, Directed By Henrique Goldman, 2017
‘Prophecy Theme’ From ‘Dune’, Directed By David Lynch, 1984
‘Reasonable Question’ From ‘We Are As Gods’, Directed By David Alvarado / Jason Sussberg, 2020
‘Late Evening In Jersey’ From ‘Heat’, Directed By Michael Mann, 1995
‘Beach Sequence’ From ‘Beyond The Clouds’, Directed By Michelangelo Antonioni, 1995
‘You Don’t Miss Your Water’ From ‘Married To The Mob’, Directed By Jonathan Demme, 1988
‘Deep Blue Day’ From ‘Trainspotting’, Directed By Danny Boyle, 1996
‘The Sombre’ From ‘Top Boy’ - Series 2, Directed By Jonathan Van Tulleken, 2013
‘Dover Beach’ From ‘Jubilee’, Directed By Derek Jarman, 1978
‘Design As Reduction’ From ‘Rams’, Directed By Gary Hustwit, 2018
‘Undersea Steps’ From ‘Hammerhead’, Directed By George Chan, 2004
‘Final Sunset’ From ‘Sebastiane’, Directed By Derek Jarman, 1976
‘An Ending (Ascent)’, From ‘For All Mankind’, Directed By Al Reinert, 1989

2LP
Side A
‘Top Boy (Theme)’ From ‘Top Boy’ - Series 1, Directed By Yann Demange, 2011
‘Ship In A Bottle’ From ‘The Lovely Bones’, Directed By Peter Jackson, 2009
‘Blood Red’ From ‘Francis Bacon’s Arena’, Directed By Adam Low, 2005
‘Under’ From ‘Cool World’, Directed By Ralph Bakshi, 1992
‘Decline And Fall’ From ‘O Nome Da Morte’, Directed By Henrique Goldman, 2017
Side B
‘Prophecy Theme’ From ‘Dune’, Directed By David Lynch, 1984
‘Reasonable Question’ From ‘We Are As Gods’, Directed By David Alvarado / Jason Sussberg, 2020
‘Late Evening In Jersey’ From ‘Heat’, Directed By Michael Mann, 1995
‘Beach Sequence’ From ‘Beyond The Clouds’, Directed By Michelangelo Antonioni, 1995
Side C
‘You Don’t Miss Your Water’ From ‘Married To The Mob’, Directed By Jonathan Demme, 1988
‘Deep Blue Day’ From ‘Trainspotting’, Directed By Danny Boyle, 1996
'The Sombre’ From ‘Top Boy’ - Series 2, Directed By Jonathan Van Tulleken, 2013
‘Dover Beach’ From ‘Jubilee’, Directed By Derek Jarman, 1978
Side D
‘Design As Reduction’ From ‘Rams’, Directed By Gary Hustwit, 2018
‘Undersea Steps’ From ‘Hammerhead’, Directed By George Chan, 2004
‘Final Sunset’ From ‘Sebastiane’, Directed By Derek Jarman, 1976
‘An Ending (Ascent)’, From ‘For All Mankind’, Directed By Al Reinert, 1989

A whole disc of new music, plus Eno’s seminal original album re-mastered.

"Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks" was written, produced and performed by Brian Eno together with his brother Roger and Daniel Lanois. The music was originally recorded in 1983 for the landmark feature-length documentary ‘For All Mankind’, which was directed by American journalist, film director and screenwriter Al Reinert. The film features 35mm footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing with real-time commentary, as well as the Apollo astronauts sharing their recollections of the momentous events surrounding it. An extended edition of the album will be released on July 19th in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. This very special anniversary release features the original album remastered by Abbey Road's Miles Showell, as well as an accompanying album of 11 new instrumental compositions that reimagine the soundtrack to ‘For All Mankind’.

The music from the original album is highly recognizable, and tracks from it have been streamed in excess of 300 million times. Since its release, many of the songs from "Apollo" have found a life of their own, featuring in any number of films, television shows and commercials – most notably ‘Trainspotting’, ‘Traffic’, ‘28 Days Later, ‘Drive’ and ‘Love’. ‘An Ending (Ascent)’ was also used in the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. The 11 new tracks on "Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks" find Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno working collectively for the first time since the original album in 1983. Lanois contributed 3 compositions; "Capsule", "Last Step From The Surface" and "Fine-grained", while Roger Eno’s are "Waking Up", "Under The Moon" and "Strange Quiet".

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There aren't many things in this world that can compete with me for “The Best Things To Have Come Out On The 30th Of June 1983”, but 'Apollo...' is one of them. In classic Eno fashion, this is a well balanced juxtaposition of plaintive piano, expertly crafted walls of tectonic synth (both monolithic and near-weightless) and Eno's legendary skill at balancing the two. This extended edition is without a doubt, an essential item for fans or ambient explorers alike. Stunning.

TRACK LISTING

CD/LP 1

01. Under Stars ( 4:29 )
02. The Secret Place ( 3:31 )
03. Matta ( 4:20 )
04. Signals ( 2:47 )
05. An Ending (Ascent) ( 4:24 )
06. Under Stars II ( 3:23 )
07. Drift ( 3:05 )
08. Silver Morning ( 2:40 )
09. Deep Blue Day ( 3:58 )
10. Weightless ( 4:35 )
11. Always Returning ( 4:04 )
12. Stars ( 8:02 )

CD/LP 2

01. The End Of A Thin Cord ( 4:08 )
02. Capsule ( 3:13 )
03. At The Foot Of A Ladder ( 3:35 )
04. Waking Up ( 2:29 )
05. Clear Desert Night ( 3:11 )
06. Over The Canaries ( 4:41 )
07. Last Step From The Surface ( 3:58 )
08. Fine-grained ( 3:34 )
09. Under The Moon ( 3:10 )
10. Strange Quiet ( 4:09 )
11. Like I Was A Spectator ( 4:23 )

Reissue of 1997 album ‘The Drop’. Described by Eno as an interpretation of jazz from a vague, alien perspective, ‘The Drop’ also integrates his interests in the melodic yet percussive basslines of Fela Kuti and the complex, labyrinthine melodies of The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Ever the provocateur, on this record Eno defies classification, avoiding association with pop, existent sonic approaches and even music itself.

LUX is Brian Eno’s first solo album on Warp Records and his first solo album since 2005’s Another Day On Earth. It finds him expanding upon the types of themes and sonic textures that were present on such classic albums as Music For Films, Music For Airports and Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. Eno sees it as a continuation of his 'Music for Thinking' project that includes Discreet Music (1975) and Neroli (1993).

LUX is one of Eno’s most ambitious works to date; it is a 75-minute composition in twelve sections that evolved from a work currently housed in the Great Gallery of the Palace of Venaria in Turin, Italy. The album is Eno's third for Warp, following Small Craft on a Milk Sea (with Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams) and Drums Between The Bells (with Rick Holland).

Originally released in 1981, this critically lauded album was the one of the first major label releases to heavily incorporate sample-heavy 'found sounds' and global beats. Lebanese mountain singers, preachers, exorcism ceremonies, Muslim chanting, Egyptian pop and radio talk shows all make an appearance, spread over hypnotic percussive rhythms and layered instrumentation.

Overseen personally by Brian Eno and David Byrne, this new version has been remastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound (Interpol / Kings Of Leon) and features seven previously unreleased bonus tracks of out-takes and ideas from the album's original sessions from 1979 and 1980. The enhanced CD also includes Bruce Conner's film to "Mea Culpa". The packaging differs from all previous Eno reissues – a jewel case within a slipcase, plus very special added extras. The slipcase and artwork have been designed by Peter Buchanan Smith, and 28 pages of sleevenotes have been provided by David Toop and David Byrne.

TRACK LISTING

America Is Waiting 3:36
Mea Culpa 3:35
Regiment 3:56
Help Me Somebody 4:18
The Jezebel Spirit 4:55
Qu'Ran 3:46
Moonlight In Glory 4:19
The Carrier 3:30
A Secret Life 2:30
Come With Us 2:38
Mountain Of Needles 2:35

In 1978, Brian Eno released Ambient 1: Music for Airports, a landmark album in ambient and electronic music. Although it wasn’t the first ambient album, it was the first album to be explicitly labelled as ‘ambient music’. Music for Airports was a continuation of Brian Eno’s experimentation with the tape machine as a compositional tool, a process he’d begun three years prior with 1975’s Discreet Music. It also saw Eno’s further exploration of generative, systems-created music, whereby Eno would focus on creating a system that would generate ambient music, something he continues to explore in the modern age with his range of iOS apps.

Acclaimed 1975 album that represents a major turning point in Eno's career, entering the studio with nothing prepared and using 'Oblique Strategies' instructional cards for inspiration. It was here that Eno first began to experiment with abstract soundscapes, to employ a greater spatial element and the ethereal synthesizer effects that presaged an entire movement of ambient music. While most of the tracks are instrumental, the numbers that feature Eno's peculiar, affectless voice and free-associative lyrics seem to blend into the fabric of the album. Superior guest musicians include John Cale, Robert Fripp and Phil Collins. From the brain-bending riff of "Sky-Saw", through the elemental creeping of "Sombre Reptiles", from Robert Fripp's looping solos in "St. Elmo's Fire" to the dark swirl of "Spirits Drifting", "Another Green World" creates a superb series of sonic atmospheres that are rhythmic, expansive, strange and beautiful.

"Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)", Brian Eno's sophomore solo outing, is a grab bag of freaky, science-fiction-dipped confections. Filled with a battery of innovative, unsettling effects, the album is darker and more complex than "Here Come The Warm Jets". The artist shows an increasing willingness to experiment with texture, as on "The Great Pretender," whose whirling, oozing keyboard line and synthesized vocals approximate delirium tremens or a hatching hive of maggots, or on "Put A Straw Under Baby," which features the Portsmouth Sinfonia, whose members have no knowledge of their instruments.

Yet Eno's grasp of melody and songcraft is everywhere: on the bouncing, absurdist / philosophical "Burning Airlines (Give You So Much More)," and on straight-out rockers, like the deliciously intense "Third Uncle" (which is propelled by the churning guitar of Roxy Music's Phil Manzenera, and is, arguably, the album's highlight). Concurrent with David Bowie's "Aladdin Sane"-era alien aesthetic, Eno's tunes are even more otherwordly and warped than his glam cohort, making use of the full palette of bizarro synthesizer effects and creepy-cheeky postures. The songs, however, are as inventive and appealing as their treatments, and make for Eno's most solid - and experimental - pop album. "Taking Tiger Mountain" holds up magnificently, even years on in the artist's brilliant career.