The Cinematic Orchestra

The Cinematic Orchestra have constantly changed their sound while maintaining the utterly unique musical characteristics that founding member Jason Swinscoe first created over 20 years ago. In 2007, "Ma Fleur" was recognized for its bold departure from the group's sonic traditions; in the years since, it's been continuously celebrated, with tracks like 'To Build A Home' reaching huge audiences, spilling out of televisions, cinemas and radios long after its release.

On the heels of that project, the band performed to larger and larger audiences and sold out the likes of London's Royal Albert Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Rome's Auditorium Park Della and the Sydney Opera House. Coachella, Glastonbury, Fuji Rock, Montreux and Sonar have all played host to the band's much loved live performances. They have also appeared at the Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Awards for Stanley Kubrick and New York's Summerstage with the legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin. They curated a series of events at London's prestigious Barbican Centre featuring commissions from the prodigiously talented Austin Peralta (RIP) and seen the likes of Dorian Concept, Thundercat, Moses Sumney and Gilles Peterson support them on stage over the years.

2019 saw them return with a definitive new album that explored a timeless question of vital importance -- what to believe? The question of belief is one that has long simmered in the minds of Swinscoe and longtime musical collaborator Dominic Smith. This album is a meditation on belief: an attempt to examine the shaky foundations which underpin it, while also emphasizing its importance to our lives. "The prerequisite of everything in life is belief both good and bad" Smith says. "so what should we believe in...or what can we believe in and also importantly why do we believe in something "

Swinscoe and Smith enlisted album contributions from friends old and new: Moses Sumney, Roots Manuva, Heidi Vogel, Grey Reverend (vocalist on Bonobo's 'First Fires') and Tawiah (Mark Ronson band). Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (Flying Lotus, Anderson Paak ,Thundercat, Hiatus Kaiyote) features on strings and photographer and visual artist Brian "B+" Cross collaborated with Swinscoe and Smith on the album's concept. The record was mixed by multiple Grammy winner Tom Elmhirst (David Bowie, Frank Ocean, Adele) in Jimi Hendrix's legendary Electric Lady studios. The album artwork comes courtesy of The Designers Republic (Aphex Twin). Guided by a communal spirit, the changing members are consistent with their ethos, where no individual ego takes precedence.

On "To Believe," Swinscoe and Smith continue to make music with an expansive vision, while also scaling up their ambition. recorded on a bigger scale geographically, with the record built from sessions in New York and London and LA, the latter being where the record first started to take shape, starting with a collaboration with Moses Sumney. Album closer 'A Promise,' is a prime example of its broad connections, featuring longtime collaborator Heidi Vogel: assured and grandiose, accompanied by LA's Miguel Atwood Ferguson's mesmerizing string arrangements; it's a slow-burn release of the hopeful energy that's pent up on the record. The track is delicate but explosive, precise but emotive; a perfect example of the different strands which are tied together through the record.

The record was made with narrative in mind with instrumental pauses from imagined movie scenes interjecting at just the right moments; something that they've honed through several scores composed for films. "Man With A Movie Camera," released as an album in 2003, was the result of a commission in 2001, for the opening event for the Porto's year as European City of Culture, where they were asked to write and perform a new score for Dziga Vertov's avant garde 1929 silent film "Man With The Movie Camera." And in 2008, Swinscoe wrote an original film score for Disney's "The Crimson Wing," an incredible, feature length nature documentary, which also closed out the end credits of the Oscar winning Stephen Hawking biopic, "Theory Of Everything." The soundtrack picked up a nomination for 'Best Original Score' at Cannes, and film opened at the Empire Cinema in London's Leicester Square.


Since their 1999 debut, "Motion," The Cinematic Orchestra have sold hundreds of thousands of albums, generated half a billion streams and enjoyed critical support from the likes of Pitchfork (8.6 for second album Every Day which featured two collaborations with legendary Art Ensemble of Chicago singer Fontella Bass), The Guardian, New York Times, Le Monde, Resident Advisor, Fader, Mixmag, NME, Crack (whose Simple Things festival the band headlined), Rolling Stone, Gilles Peterson, Benji B, Jason Bentley, Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, Lauren Laverne, KCRW and Mary Anne Hobbs. 'To Build A Home' has been synced to dozens of films and TV shows, including the Orange Is The New Black finale and This Is Us, and the short film for the song was directed by Andrew Griffin and stars Peter Mullan (Trainspotting, Harry Potter).

Coming out of the darkness of these past few years, with much of the global touring on ‘To Believe’ sadly having to be cancelled, the future is incredibly bright for The Cinematic Orchestra. Swinscoe, from his new home base in Lisbon, Portugal, and Smith holding things down with friends and collaborators in LA, have been working hard on writing and recording new material, seeking out new young collaborators, and honing in on new design language and artwork for the group. There are plans afoot for different iterations of the live show and visuals, some more digitally minded, while others hark back to older technologies. 2022 and beyond are sure to be exciting times for The Cinematic Orchestra and their fans around the world.