Born in Suffolk, Eno studied painting and experimental music at the art school of Ipswich Civic College in the mid 1960s, and then at Winchester School of Art. He joined glam rock group Roxy Music as synthesiser player in 1971. After recording two albums with Roxy Music, he departed in 1973 to record a number of solo albums, coining the term "ambient music" to describe his work on releases such as Another Green World (1975), Discreet Music (1975), and Music for Airports (1978). He also collaborated with artists such as Robert Fripp, Cluster, Harold Budd, David Bowie on his "Berlin Trilogy", and David Byrne, and produced albums by artists including John Cale, Jon Hassell, Laraaji, Talking Heads and Devo, and the no wave compilation No New York (1978).
Eno has continued to record solo albums and work with artists including U2, Laurie Anderson, Grace Jones, Slowdive, Coldplay, James Blake, and Damon Albarn. Dating back to his time as a student, he has also worked in media including sound installations and his mid-70s co-development of Oblique Strategies, a deck of cards featuring cryptic aphorisms intended to spur creative thinking. From the 1970s onwards, Eno's installations have included the sails of the Sydney Opera House in 2009 and the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in 2016. An advocate of a range of humanitarian causes, Eno writes on a variety of subjects and is a founding member of the Long Now Foundation. In 2019, Eno was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Roxy Music.
Eno is frequently referred to as one of popular music's most influential artists. Producer and film composer Jon Brion has said: "I think he's the most influential artist since the Beatles." Critic Jason Ankeny at AllMusic argues that Eno "forever altered the ways in which music is approached, composed, performed, and perceived, and everything from punk to techno to new age bears his unmistakable influence." Eno has spread his techniques and theories primarily through his production; his distinctive style informed a number of projects in which he has been involved, including Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" (helping to popularize minimalism) and the albums he produced for Talking Heads (incorporating, on Eno's advice, African music and polyrhythms), Devo, and other groups. Eno's first collaboration with David Byrne, 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, pioneered sampling techniques that would prove to be influential in hip-hop, and broke ground by incorporating world music into popular Western music forms. Eno and Peter Schmidt's Oblique Strategies have been used by many bands, and Eno's production style has proven influential in several general respects: "his recording techniques have helped change the way that modern musicians;– particularly electronic musicians;– view the studio. No longer is it just a passive medium through which they communicate their ideas but itself a new instrument with seemingly endless possibilities."
Whilst inspired by the ideas of minimalist composers including John Cage, Terry Riley and Erik Satie, Eno coined the term ambient music to describe his own work and defined the term. The Ambient Music Guide states that he has brought from "relative obscurity into the popular consciousness" fundamental ideas about ambient music, including "the idea of modern music as subtle atmosphere, as chill-out, as impressionistic, as something that creates space for quiet reflection or relaxation." His groundbreaking work in electronic music has been said to have brought widespread attention to and innovations in the role of electronic technology in recording. Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright said he "often eulogised" Eno's abilities.
Eno's "unconventional studio predilections", in common with those of Peter Gabriel, were an influence on the recording of "In the Air Tonight", the single which launched the solo career of Eno's former drummer Phil Collins. Collins said he "learned a lot" from working with Eno. Both Half Man Half Biscuit (in the song "Eno Collaboration" on the EP of the same name) and MGMT have written songs about Eno. LCD Soundsystem has frequently cited Eno as a key influence. The Icelandic singer Björk also credited Eno as a major influence.
Mora sti Fotia (Babies on Fire), one of the most influential Greek rock bands, was named after Eno's song "Baby's on Fire".
In 2011, Belgian academics from the Royal Museum for Central Africa named a species of Afrotropical spider Pseudocorinna brianeno in his honour.
Here He Comes
Brian Eno Lyrics
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Is no longer here with his sad blue eyes
Here he comes he floated away and as he rose above reason
He rose above the clouds he was seven feet high
Here he comes the night is like a glove and he's floating like a dove
That catches the wind in the deep blue sky
Here he comes the boy who tried to vanish to another time
Is no longer here with his sad blue eyes
Here he comes here he comes
Here he comes the boy who tried to vanish to another place
Sees us following him all one at a time
Here he comes and we're checking out each others supplies
And looking at the eyes of all the others standing in the line
Here he comes the night is like a glove and he's floating like a dove
With his deep blue eyes in the deep blue sky
Here he comes the boy who tried to vanish to the future or the past
Is no longer alone among the dragonflies
Here he comes here he comes
Who will remember him
These lyrics evoke a sense of otherworldliness, with the subject of the song being a boy who has attempted to disappear into another time or place. The opening line, "Here he comes the boy who tried to vanish to the future or the past," sets the scene for a story about a young man who has outgrown his reality and is seeking something beyond it. The song seems to suggest that the boy has succeeded in escaping, as he is no longer present "with his sad blue eyes."
The imagery throughout the song is evocative - the boy "floats away" and "rises above reason", growing to "seven feet high." The "deep blue sky" is a recurring motif, suggesting an endless expanse beyond our current reality. As the boy floats away, he is observed by those "following him all one at a time," with everyone in the crowd looking at each other's supplies and eyes.
Overall, the lyrics could be interpreted as a reflection on the human desire to escape our lives, to find something beyond the mundane. The boy's success in doing so may be seen as both a triumph and a tragedy, as it seems to have left him forever removed from those around him. The song's final lines, "Here he comes the boy who tried to vanish to the future or the past / Is no longer alone among the dragonflies," seem to suggest that the boy has found companionship in a strange new world, but also highlight the isolation that led him to try and leave the world behind in the first place.
Line by Line Meaning
Here he comes the boy who tried to vanish to the future or the past
He who once aimed to escape to another time, is now present before us
Is no longer here with his sad blue eyes
Gone are the days of his sorrowful gaze
Here he comes he floated away and as he rose above reason
With reason set aside, he ascended and floated beyond
He rose above the clouds he was seven feet high
Above the clouds he soared, reaching seven feet tall
Here he comes the night is like a glove and he's floating like a dove
The night embraces him as he glides through the sky like a bird
That catches the wind in the deep blue sky
Catching the air currents in the vast blue expanse
Here he comes the boy who tried to vanish to another time
He, who once desired to escape to another era, is before us
Is no longer here with his sad blue eyes
Gone are the days of his melancholic gaze
Here he comes here he comes
He approaches, here he comes
Here he comes the boy who tried to vanish to another place
He, who wished to disappear to some other location, draws near
Sees us following him all one at a time
Observing us tailing him individually
Here he comes and we're checking out each others supplies
As he approaches, we inspect each other's provisions
And looking at the eyes of all the others standing in the line
Surveying the expressions of those next to us waiting in line
Here he comes the night is like a glove and he's floating like a dove
The night envelops him seamlessly as he glides through the air
With his deep blue eyes in the deep blue sky
Displaying his deep blue eyes against the backdrop of the vast blue heavens
Here he comes the boy who tried to vanish to the future or the past
He, who attempted to escape to the future or the past, is no longer alone
Is no longer alone among the dragonflies
Now sharing the company of the dragonflies and other creatures
Here he comes here he comes
Behold, he approaches
Who will remember him
Who will keep his memory alive
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRIAN ENO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind