Tony Harn

Tony Harn is an English musician. A multi-instrumentalist (predominantly guitar but also bass guitar, synthesizers, organ, percussion, programming and is active within the north-west English progressive rock and avant-garde music scenes.

Tony Harn
Birth nameTony Harn
GenresProgressive rock, jazz fusion, art rock, experimental rock, ambient
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrumentsguitars, bass guitar, keyboards, organ, programming, loops
Years activemid-1990s–present
Labelsself-released
Associated actsNerve Toy Trio, Tim Bowness, Samuel Smiles, Resindust, Lifebox, Psychiatric Challenge

Harn's music features elements of rock, jazz, post-punk and experimental noise, but is generally highly melodic and noted for a precisely orchestrated, multi-layered style of playing. He has released five solo instrumental albums, more recently moving towards loop music stylings. As well as maintaining a solo career he is a member of Nerve Toy Trio and has previously been a member of Resindust, Lifebox and Spacematic. He is an active collaborator with other musicians, most notably with Tim Bowness of No-Man.

Career

Tony Harn began his musical career as the instrumental half of the Warrington duo Spacematic in the mid-1990s. Following that project's split, he began working on solo material, playing or programming all of the instruments himself. Harn released his debut instrumental album From the Inside in 1997, on his own home label.[1][2] This was followed by a second album, Lifebox in 1999.[3] During this period Harn also recorded material with a fellow Warringtonian musician, Tim Bowness of No-Man, leading to an appearance and co-write on the Tim Bowness/Samuel Smiles album World of Bright Futures in 1999.

In 2000, Harn formed a short-lived trio called Lifebox in which he played guitar alongside David Jones (bass guitar, ex-Plenty) and Howard Jones (ex-After The Stranger and a contributor to the debut album by Porcupine Tree). Lifebox played new material as well as music from Harn's solo records. The band split up after releasing one EP, Charismatic Couch.[4][5]

Returning to solo work, Harn released his third album Moving Moons in 2001[6] and engaged in work with the Warrington experimental music scene via bands such as Psychiatric Challenge.[7] He subsequently teamed up with Lewis Gill (Psychiatric Challenge, Vivahead) to form the experimental duo Resindust, who released one eponymous album in 2002.[8] Harn's fourth solo album, Revealed in Black and White was released in 2005: although arguably his most accomplished to date, it gained less attention than his previous work.

Harn's next album did not appear for another three years, when he released Loops in 2008.[9][10] As the title suggested, it displayed a shift in his working methods towards further improvisation and loop music.

Harn is currently a member of Nerve Toy Trio, which also features his former Lifebox bandmate David Jones on bass guitar and drummer Henry Rogers (Touchstone, Sort Code, Final Conflict, DeeExpus). In 2011, the band released their debut EP The Hard Cell, which gained them reviews in Classic Rock Presents Prog and Jazzwise.[11][12] In the same year the band performed at Blackpool's Electric Garden Progressive Rock festival.[13] In 2012, Nerve Toy Trio contributed the track "The Riddle Of Anything" to the cover-mount CD of Prog magazine issue 27.[14]

Discography

Solo
  • From the Inside (1997, self-released)
  • Lifebox (1999, self-released)
  • Moving Moons (2001, self-released, distributed by Burning Shed)
  • Revealed in Black and White (2005, self-released, distributed by Burning Shed)
  • Loops (2008, self-released, distributed by Burning Shed)

with Lifebox
  • Charismatic Couch EP (2000, self-released)

with Resindust
  • Resindust (2002, self-released)

with Nerve Toy Trio
  • The Hard Cell EP (2011, self-released, distributed by Burning Shed)

Guest appearances
  • Tim Bowness/Samuel Smiles: World of Bright Futures 1999, Hidden Art) (co-write/guitars/bass guitar/organ on 'Red Eye Removal')

References
  1. Listed review of Tony Harn’s From the Inside album in iO Pages issue 18 (February 1999) Archived 16 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Review of Tony Harn’s From the Inside album by Alberto Nucci in Arlequins', 1998 (in Italian)
  3. Listed review of Tony Harn’s Lifebox album in iO Pages issue 21, August 1999 Archived 16 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Listed review of Lifebox’s Charismatic Couch EP in iO Pages issue 28, October 2000 Archived 16 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Listed review of Lifebox’s Charismatic Couch EP by Paul Hightower in Expose magazine issue 22 (page 64) See also
  6. Review of Tony Harn’s Moving Moons album by Bart Jan van der Vorst in Dutch Progressive Rock Pages, 2001 volume 47
  7. Psychiatric Challenge Live at Madge's Kitchen (includes note on Harn's involvement as recording engineer)
  8. Review of Resindust's Resindust album by Bob Mulvey in Dutch Progressive Rock Pages, 2005 volume 4
  9. Listed review of Tony Harn’s Loops album in iO Pages issue 80, May/June 2008 Archived 16 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Review of Tony Harn's Loops album by Jim Corcoran in Dutch Progressive Rock Pages, 2008 volume 24
  11. Review of Nerve Toy Trio The Hard Cell EP by Sid Smith in Classic Rock Presents Prog, page 99, issue 18, August 2011 (Future Publishing)
  12. Review of Nerve Toy Trio The Hard Cell EP in Jazzwise, August/September 2011
  13. Nerve Toy Trio cited in review of Electric Garden: Progressive Rock Festival 2011 DVD by Kevin Pollack, [www.RockChicago.net], 1 August 2012
  14. Prog magazine covermount CD, Prog magazine issue 27, June 2012 (Future Publishing)
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