Rupert Loydell interviews Andrew Poppy, August 2013

Andrew Poppy is a composer, arranger, musician, performer, record producer, writer, creative and artistic director, teacher and mentor. An artist with a unique body of work, his collaborations mix acoustic and electronic sounds with language, visual images and performance disciplines. In the 1970s he studied music at Goldsmiths College, London University, and later attended a summer school with John Cage. He signed to Trevor Horn and Paul Morley’s maverick pop label ZTT in the mid-1980s, making three albums that evade classification. By this time his work as an arranger and orchestrator was sought after by bands and record labels. More recently this has led to remixing projects for other artists. Poppy continues to connect singers and musicians from contemporary classical music and popular culture, as in the current Shiny Floor Shiny Ceiling, a CD and staged performance with videos by Julia Bardsley, as well as Revolution Number Eight Airport for Joseph Beuys, which was presented on the South Bank by Jarvis Cocker. He is the artistic director of a number of ongoing creative projects, including The Sustaining Ensemble, Field Radio Recordings and BARDSLEY_POPPY projects. Andrew Poppy also works in arts education, developing postgraduate courses and modules, and as a mentor and workshop leader. Full CV and works list available at www.andrewpoppy.co.uk.