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.
Spinning Away
Brian Eno Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With my pencil turning moments into line
High above in the violet sky
A silent silver plane - it draws a golden chain
One by one, all the stars appear
As the great winds of the planet spiral in
Spinning away, like the night sky at Arles
In the million insect storm, the constellations form
I have no idea exactly what I've drawn
Some kind of change, some kind of spinning away
With every single line moving further out in time
And now as the pale moon rides (in the stars)
Her form in my pale blue lines (in the stars)
And there, as the world rolls round (in the stars)
I draw, but the lines move round (in the stars)
There, as the great wheels blaze (in the stars)
I draw, but my drawing fades (in the stars)
And now, as the old sun dies (in the stars)
I draw, and the four winds sigh (in the stars)
The lyrics of "Spinning Away" describe the act of drawing as a metaphor for the passage of time and the inevitability of change. The singer is perched on a hill, looking up at the sky, and as the day fades and the stars and planets appear, he draws them with his pencil, creating lines that represent moments in time. The silver plane that flies overhead represents the passage of time, as it draws a golden chain that connects all the moments together. The constellations that form in the night sky are a reminder of how small we are in the grand scheme of things, and how everything is constantly moving and changing.
The second verse takes on a more introspective tone, as the singer reflects on what he has drawn and what it signifies. He doesn't quite know what he has created, but he senses that it represents change and the inexorable march of time. The moon, stars, and planets are all part of his drawing, and he watches as they move and shift in the sky. He draws and draws, but his lines fade and his creation disappears, just as everything in life eventually fades and disappears.
Overall, the lyrics of "Spinning Away" are a meditation on the beauty and transience of life. The act of drawing becomes a metaphor for the fragile and fleeting nature of existence, and the singer marvels at the majesty of the universe even as he acknowledges his own smallness and impermanence.
Line by Line Meaning
Up on a hill, as the day dissolves
As the day comes to an end, the singer is situated on top of a hill
With my pencil turning moments into line
The singer is using their pencil to capture the moments upon paper
High above in the violet sky
The singer is overlooking the sky, which is now purple
A silent silver plane - it draws a golden chain
An aircraft silently moves across the sky, giving the illusion that it is weaving a golden chain
One by one, all the stars appear
One by one, the artist can see each star begin to shine in the sky
As the great winds of the planet spiral in
The planet's strong winds start to spiral in
Spinning away, like the night sky at Arles
The sky appears to be rotating, similar to what the singer has seen in the town of Arles
In the million insect storm, the constellations form
While in a vast and noisy environment, the artist sees the stars create various patterns
On a hill, under a raven sky
The artist is still on the hill, and now the sky above them is black like a raven
I have no idea exactly what I've drawn
The artist is uncertain of what they have created
Some kind of change, some kind of spinning away
The singer recognizes that the work has gone through a transformation and appears to be spinning away
With every single line moving further out in time
Each line seems to take the artist further into the future
And now as the pale moon rides (in the stars)
The moon is now present as it moves through the constellations
Her form in my pale blue lines (in the stars)
The features of the moon are recorded in the singer's drawings
And there, as the world rolls round (in the stars)
The world is moving around, mirroring the movement seen in the stars
I draw, but the lines move round (in the stars)
Even though the artist is drawing, they recognize the movement of the lines as the world spins
There, as the great wheels blaze (in the stars)
The wheels or gears seem to be moving rapidly in the sky
I draw, but my drawing fades (in the stars)
Despite continuing to draw, the singer realizes that their work is starting to disappear
And now, as the old sun dies (in the stars)
The sun is fading as it sets in the sky
I draw, and the four winds sigh (in the stars)
As the sun disappears, the artist draws, and the wind begins to blow
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: BRIAN PETER GEORGE ENO, JOHN DAVIES CALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Baldube
Up on a hill, as the day dissolves
With my pencil turning moments into line
High above in the violet sky
A silent silver plane - it draws a golden chain
One by one, all the stars appear
As the great winds of the planet spiral in
Spinning away, like the night sky at Arles
In the million insect storm, the constellations form
On a hill, under a raven sky
I have no idea exactly what I've drawn
Some kind of change, some kind of spinning away
With every single line moving further out in time
And now as the pale moon rides (in the stars)
Her form in my pale blue lines (in the stars)
And there, as the world rolls round (in the stars)
I draw, but the lines move round (in the stars)
There, as the great wheels blaze (in the stars)
I draw, but my drawing fades (in the stars)
And now, as the old sun dies (in the stars)
I draw, and the four winds sigh (in the stars)
Badger Mustelid
Lyrics
Up on a hill, as the day dissolves
With my pencil turning moments into line
High above in the violet sky
A silent silver plane - it draws a golden chain
One by one, all the stars appear
As the great winds of the planet spiral in
Spinning away, like the night sky at Arles
In the million insect storm, the constellations form
On a hill, under a raven sky
I have no idea exactly what I've drawn
Some kind of change, some kind of spinning away
With every single line moving further out in time
And now as the pale moon rides (in the stars)
Her form in my pale blue lines (in the stars)
And there, as the world rolls round (in the stars)
I draw, but the lines move round (in the stars)
There, as the great wheels blaze (in the stars)
I draw, but my drawing fades (in the stars)
And now, as the old sun dies (in the stars)
I draw, and the four winds sigh (in the stars)
小嶋保
Up on a hill, as the day dissolves
With my pencil turning moments into line
High above in the violet sky
A silent silver plane - it draws a golden chain
One by one, all the stars appear
As the great winds of the planet spiral in
Spinning away, like the night sky at Arles
In the million insect storm, the constellations form
On a hill, under a raven sky
I have no idea exactly what I've drawn
Some kind of change, some kind of spinning away
With every single line moving further out in time
And now as the pale moon rides (in the stars)
Her form in my pale blue lines (in the stars)
And there, as the world rolls round (in the stars)
I draw, but the lines move round (in the stars)
There, as the great wheels blaze (in the stars)
I draw, but my drawing fades (in the stars)
And now, as the old sun dies (in the stars)
I draw, and the four winds sigh (in the stars)
小嶋保
一日が終わろうとする頃に
丘の上で僕はペンでこの瞬間を刻む
すみれ色の空のはるか上で静かな銀の飛行機
銀の飛行機が金色の飛行機雲を描く
この惑星の強風が次々と渦を巻いて吹き上がる時
一つ一つ星が現れる
夜の空のように頭が混乱する
無数の虫の大群が星座を形作る
真っ暗な空の下の丘の上で
僕は自分がどこにいるのか分らない
何かが変わって
頭がくらくらするような感じがする
1本線を書くごとに
調子よく物事が運んで行く
夜の空のように頭が混乱する
(星に囲まれた)僕は自分がどこにいるのか分らない
僕はここにいる
僕はそこにいる
頭がくらくらするような感じがする
僕はここにいる
僕はそこにいる
Utter Cnut
This song has a special place in good people's hearts.
Zinc minus 3
👍👍👍
Tony katsoufris
Wonderful,tear-inducing comment that rings so,so true for all that have loved this song!!!
Francisco Julián Astiazarán
The Smith
KILLnFOOLz
Define “good”
Paul o Brien
I play Brian Eno's songs to my 81yr old Mum to calm her down when her Dementia is bad, personally Brian, thank you from us.
Aaron Diver
beautiful
noah richards
I can see that totally. Good vibes I'm sending.
Sean J.
Nice (:
Joe Horizon
I put my kids to sleep with his music over 30 years back. I've tried introducing his music to them, but they ignore me.