Duffin - Helicopter (2022)

Shadow World is excited to share ‘Helicopter’, an exploratory new work from Leeds-based multi-instrumentalist Christopher Duffin.

Duffin’s approach to composition and production has always leant heavily on playfulness. Set apart from the many collaborations that Chris has been involved in over the last decade; from Xam Duo’s acclaimed compositions, to the kaleidoscopic world of Virginia Wing’s latter works and the euphoric wonk of 2021’s ‘Slumgullion’ by Beautiful Lunches, this time we find Duffin threading disparate sounds, textures, samples and loops together to create new, unexpected parameters around which he can improvise. Along the way he touches on unfamiliar and uncomfortable keys and scales, strange loop points and the celebration of non-musical, found sounds.

A disciple of great polymaths such as Prince, Alice Coltrane, SOPHIE, Brotzmann, Eno and other such big hitters of creative limitless, Duffin pushes his own sound-world and narrative way past that of his previous projects, with a nod to all his work and influences along the way, but ultimately realising something wholly new that stands firmly apart. Equal parts meditative, rhythmic, but playfully real, there are ideas and sounds throughout ‘Helicopter’ simply not being heard elsewhere right now.

About Duffin:

Christopher Duffin is a musician, producer and performer living in Leeds, UK. He is an active member of both Xam Duo and Holodrum, having previously played and produced in Virginia Wing. Christopher has also contributed to recordings and live shows by James Holden, Modern Nature, Yard Act, Hayden Thorpe, Drahla and many more.