music.wikisort.org - Composer

Orpheo McCord (born 1979) is an American composer and percussionist. He is an original member of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and a former member of The Fall, Fool's Gold and Cass McCombs. His debut solo album, Recovery Inhale, was released on January 26, 2018.

Orpheo McCord
Background information
Born	(1979-07-19) July 19, 1979 (age 43) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Ambient new age postmodern rock folk psychedelic world
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Drums percussion marimba timpani conga djembe vocals
Years active	2002-present
Website	orpheomccord.com

Early life and education

McCord attended Berklee College of Music, graduating in 2002.[1] He has spent time in Ghana studying African percussion,[2] and has also studied percussion in Mali, Cuba and Morocco.[3]

His father Joseph McCord has said he was named after the musician Orpheus from Greek mythology.[4] Joseph McCord was a professional mime who went by the name Merlin, and was one of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters.[5]

Career

The Fall (2006-07)

In May 2006 after several members of U.K. Band The Fall quit mid-tour, McCord was recruited by frontman Mark E. Smith to join The Fall along with guitarist Tim Presley and bassist Rob Barbato.[6][7] McCord toured the US and Europe with the band,[1] and was a member of The Fall for their 26th album Reformation Post TLC (2007), as well as the live album Last Night at The Palais, recorded in 2007 and released two years later.[8][9] The 2006-07 lineup was a pleasant one for The Fall, absent the infighting that marked most of the band's numerous incarnations.[8] In his 2008 autobiography Renegade, Smith called McCord the best of the more than a dozen drummers The Fall had up to that point, with an openness to new ideas and straightforward playing that avoided cliches.[10]

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (2007-present)

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros were formed in Los Angeles in 2007 by frontman Alex Ebert. McCord met Ebert at a mutual friend's party and then again while jogging in Elysian Park, where Ebert asked him to join the band. They released their debut album Up From Below in 2009, followed by Here in 2012, a self-titled album in 2013, and PersonA in 2016.[5][11][12][13] The group won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film in 2013 for the documentary Big Easy Express.[14] McCord incorporates African influences in his work with the band, using a hybridization of drum set, marimba, conga, djembe and electronic percussion.[15][16]

McCord played marimba on Alex Ebert's score for the 2013 film All Is Lost, which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.[17][18]

Solo work

On January 26, 2018, McCord's debut solo album, Recovery Inhale, was released on Sound Creature Records. The album is composed of "hypnotic instrumental pieces... treading the line between new age and minimalist ambient music."[3][19] "Ghost Ship", the first single, was released in December 2017. On the album, McCord performs all instruments, predominantly effected marimba and kalimba.[3]

Other work

McCord was a member of Cass McCombs' band starting in 2007 and has played on four of his albums.[1][20] He was formerly the drummer and percussion leader in Fool's Gold, an LA pop band whose music incorporates African rhythms.[2][21] In 2010, he played with Harper Simon as a duo at the Festival au Désert in Mali, outside of Timbuktu. They also performed there with the Tuareg band Tinariwen.[22] In 2014, McCord and Mikael Jorgensen (pianist/keyboardist for Wilco) formed the duo Prism Break, inspired by early 1970s German experimental rock.[23] McCord has also performed with Ima Robot,[15] The Flaming Lips,[24] Jack Johnson,[25] Dawes and He's My Brother She's My Sister.[26]

Personal life

McCord is based in Ojai, California,[1][27] where he lives with his wife Rachel Kolar (of He's My Brother She's My Sister) and their two children.[4][28]

Discography

Albums

Year	Title
2018	Recovery Inhale Released: January 26, 2018 Label: Sound Creature Records Formats: LP, digital download

Appears on

Year	Album	Artist	Credits
2007	Reformation Post TLC	The Fall	Drums
2008	Dropping the Writ	Cass McCombs	Drums, percussion
	2	Darker My Love	Percussion
2009	Last Night at The Palais	The Fall	Drums, backing vocals
	Up From Below	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Drums, percussion, vocals
	Friends	Luke Top	Drums, percussion
	Fool's Gold	Fool's Gold	Percussion, vocals
	Catacombs	Cass McCombs	Drums, percussion, vocals
2010	Another Man's Treasure	Ima Robot	Electronic drums, percussion
2011	Wit's End	Cass McCombs	Drums, percussion
2012	Here	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Drums, percussion, marimba, drum machine, vocals
2013	Stories Don't End	Dawes	Percussion
	Prisma	Motel	Drums
	Nobody Dances in This Town	He's My Brother She's My Sister	Drums, percussion
	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Drums, percussion, marimba, vocals
2014	Hardly Criminal	Crash	Composer, percussion
	Light Show	Jack Name	Drums, percussion
2015	A Folk Set Apart	Cass McCombs	Drums, screams
	Live In No Particular Order: 2009-2014	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Drums, percussion
2016	PersonA	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Drums, percussion, marimba, timpani, vocals

Soundtracks and compilations

Year	Album	Artist	Credits
2012	Big Easy Express (OST)	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Drums, percussion
	The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends	The Flaming Lips feat. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Drums, percussion ("Helping the Retarded to Know God")
	Every Mother Counts 2012	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Drums, percussion ("Mother")
2013	The Music Is You: A Tribute to John Denver	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Drums, percussion, marimba, drum machine, vocals ("Wooden Indian")
	All Is Lost (OST)	Alex Ebert	Marimba
2015	Strangerland (OST)	Keefus Ciancia	Drums, percussion

References

External links

• Official website
• Orpheo McCord at AllMusic

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