Brian Eno

Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno, (b. 15 May 1948), professionally known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno, is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer, music theorist and visual artist, and is commonly referred to as the father of ambient music. Born in Suffolk, Eno attended art school in Ipswich in the late 1960s, where he studied under Roy Ascott and took inspiration from minimalist painting, cybernetics, and experimental music techniques. Eno has frequently been described as one of popular music's most important and influential figures. A self-described 'non-musician', Eno has helped to pioneer a variety of novel studio production techniques and approaches, playing an important role in the development of ambient, electronic, worldbeat, chance, and generative music styles. He continues to release music, produce, and write, and maintains a regular column in Prospect Magazine.

Eno first came to prominence as the keyboard and synthesizer player and general sonic wizard in the Glam Rock and Art Rock band Roxy Music. After leaving Roxy Music, Eno recorded four highly idiosyncratic and original rock albums, later turning to more abstract sound-scapes on subsequent albums such as 1975's Discreet Music and 1978's Ambient 1: Music for Airports. Since then, he has released dozens of albums (many in collaboration with like-minded musicians, such as Harold Budd and Robert Fripp) which demonstrate his unique approach to music. He has, however, occasionally returned to the pop idioms which were more prominent in his earliest work, including a collaboration with former Velvet Underground member John Cale.