Los Angeles based Jherek Bischoff is equal parts composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumental performer. Hailed a “pop polymath” (The New York Times), a “phenom” (The New Yorker) and “the missing link between the sombre undertones of Ennio Morricone and the unpredictability of John Cale” (NME), Jherek has blazed an unconventional path in creating an impressive body of work in his 30-odd years. After spending most of the 00’s touring and recording in DIY indie rock and experimental groups including The Dead Science, Parenthetical Girls and The Degenerate Art Ensemble, Jherek found himself creating orchestral music almost accidentally.
Utilizing his DIY background, Jherek wrote his critically-acclaimed 2012 orchestral pop album Composed on a ukulele, recording one instrument at a time with just one microphone and a laptop, layering each individual track to synthesize the sound of an orchestra. Composed features a host of impressive cameos including David Byrne, Caetano Veloso, Nels Cline (Wilco) and Greg Saunier (Deerhoof). NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross devoted a half-hour interview to discussing the album, Jherek’s musical background and his unique childhood being raised on a sailboat.
In the last few years, Jherek has collaborated with an ever-growing list of notable creators including Neil Gaiman, Bang on a Can, Cibo Matto, Zola Jesus, Amanda Palmer, Meow Meow, Missy Higgins, and has performed at venues and festivals around the globe including Carnegie Hall, BAM, Ecstatic Music Festival, Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center / Liquid Music, Seattle’s Moore Theater, Adelaide Festival, and Tasmania’s MONA FOMA. As his focus has turned more toward his work as a composer, Jherek has seen commissions from Kronos Quartet, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, St Ann’s Warehouse, and his work has been performed by the Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Adelaide Art Orchestra, Wordless Music Orchestra and yMusic.
Ever the prolific creator, Jherek continues to broaden his musical profile with the addition of his first musical theater score Johnny Breitwieser for Vienna’s Schauspielhaus in 2014, as well as his work on television scores for Starz’s Blunt Talk and Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp in 2015. The momentum continues into 2016, with the release of Jherek’s highly anticipated follow-up album Cistern, an ambient orchestral album which was recorded with a live orchestra in a church in Hudson, New York.