Zoon Van Snook
Zoon Van Snook performing live at the Colston Hall, 2010.
Background information
Birth nameAlec Snook
BornTongeren, Belgium
OriginBristol, England
GenresElectronica
Occupation(s)Songwriter, record producer, remixer
Instrument(s)Keyboards
Years active2007-present
LabelsLo Recordings, Studio !K7, Mush Records, Cookshop Music, Alter-K
Websitewww.zoonvansnook.co.uk

Alec Snook, better known by his stage name Zoon Van Snook (often styled as Zoon van snooK, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzoːn vɑn ˈsnoːk]), is a Bristolian composer, producer and remixer.

Using a combination of found sound,[1] field recordings,[2] electronics, keyboards and various acoustic instruments including harps, lyres, charangos, ukuleles and mbiras, Snook's music is often referred to as Oddtronica.[3]

Career

The debut 12" EP Interviews & Interludes (CKS014) was released on Brighton label Cookshop in September 2008. Lead track "Bibliophone" (created by recording the sound of various books slamming/pages flicking) was championed by the BBC's Rob Da Bank, Huw Stephens, and Stephen Merchant,[4] and led to the first hour-long mix for Ninja Tune's Solid Steel Radio.[5]

The debut album (Falling from) The Nutty Tree was released on Mush Records in 2010.[6]

The CD booklet features an individually chosen piece of artwork for each song, created by US artist Seth Fitts. Each image has printed on it a poem, lyric, vignette or short, by various Bristolian writers and artists. UK stocks of the album were depleted after the fire at the Sony/PIAS warehouse in Enfield, during the 2011 England riots,[7] which ironically took place on Snook's birthday.

In November 2012, ZvS signed to UK label Lo Recordings to release second album The Bridge Between Life & Death in June 2013, the recording of which took two years to complete. The album was built around 12 separate field recordings taken in Iceland at the end of 2009. The title is derived from a bridge in Kópavogur that the locals call so, because it has the nursing home on one side and the cemetery on the other. The individual songs and album as a whole are themed around this. The album features collaborations with Amiina, Sin Fang (Seabear) and Benni Hemm Hemm (Morr).

Radio support for the second album came in the form of BBC6 Music's Tom Robinson Introducing show and Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone.[8]

Tracks from The Bridge Between Life & Death have been featured on the France 2 prime-time TV show Rendez-vous en Terre Inconnue (Episode 15, broadcast on 24 September 2013).[9] The Ulrich Schnauss remix of second single The Gaits was also featured in the soundtrack to Carolina Herrera's spring 2014 collection at New York Fashion Week.[10]

Live

Different line-ups have existed for various live shows around the world. Initially a three-piece with bass, guitars, keys and electronics/FX, it was stripped down to a two-piece for a week-long tour of The Netherlands;[11] Simple Things festival (with Jon Hopkins, Clark, Gonjasufi, Bibio, Jamie xx);[12] and an exclusive live radio session for Tom Robinson's BBC6 Music show in the spring of 2011.[13] Finally, the line-up was cut down to a solo show for two showcases at NXNE, Toronto in June 2011.[14][15]

DJ

Supports in the UK and Europe have included Daedelus,[16] Gold Panda,[17] and BBC Introducing showcases.[18]

Discography

Studio albums

Remix albums

  • (Remixes from) The Nutty Tree (2012, Mush Records)

EPs

  • Interviews & Interludes (2008, Cookshop Music)
  • Cuckoo (2010, Mush Records)
  • The Verge of Winter (2013, Lo Recordings)

Singles

  • "The Gaits (feat. Sin Fang)" (2013, Lo Recordings)

Compilations

  • ICG 3rd Edition (2011, Inner City Grit)[19]
  • Seriously Eric #5 (2012, Alter-K)[20]
  • Seriously Eric #6 (2013, Alter-K)[21]

Remixes

Collaborations

Music videos

  • "Ee'm Yorn" (2012) - Dir. Clive Summerill[22]
  • "The Verge of Winter" (2013) - Dir. Ívar Hollanders[23]
  • "The Gaits" (2013) - Dir. Sam Wisternoff[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Found Sound: Zoon van snooK". Dummy. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Power, John (13 August 2013). "Zoon van snooK: Lost & Found In Iceland". The 405. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "Immersed Audio Oddtronica". Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "A Strangely Isolated Place". Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Solid Steel Radio". Ninja Tune. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Nolledo, Michael (28 December 2010). "The Groove Seeker: Zoon Van Snook's (Falling From) The Nutty Tree". Alarm. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "London riots: Dozens injured after Tottenham violence". BBC. 7 August 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Maconie, Stuart. "Freak Zone". The Gaits feat. Sin Fang. BBC 6 Music. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Rendez-vous en Terre Inconnue". The Land of Ice & Fire. France 2. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "News - Entertainment, Music, Movies, Celebrity". MTV News.
  11. ↑ Mush. "zoon van snook hits the Netherlands". Mush Records. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  12. ↑ "Simple Things 2011 line up". Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Tom Robinson live session". Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  14. ↑ "NXNE". Mush Records. Mush Records. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  15. ↑ "Roots Music NXNE website". Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  16. ↑ "Daedelus DJ Support". Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  17. ↑ "Gold Pand Start the bus DJ". Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  18. ↑ "BBC Intro DJ set". BBC News. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  19. ↑ Inner City Grit, Records. "ICG Third Edition". Tale of the Grey Mare. Inner CIty Grit.
  20. ↑ "Alter-K Website". Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  21. ↑ Alter, -K. "Seriously Eric #6". Tjornin (Ruxpin remix). Alter-K. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  22. ↑ "Zoon van snooK - Ee'm Yorn". vimeo.com. 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  23. ↑ "Zoon Van SnooK - 'The Verge of Winter' (405 Premiere)". thefourohfive.com. 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  24. ↑ "Video Premiere: Zoon van SnooK feat. Sin Fang - 'The Gaits'". societeperrier.com. 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
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