― donut debonair (donut), Monday, 23 May 2005 16:37 (eighteen years ago) link
Aside from being a grossly underrated band, they're a grossly miscategorized band, too... "New Age" is often where they're filed under for people who only give them a flash listen.. although I think they are far beyond that genre. Let's just say if John Fahey is one side of the mass influence on the whole Jim O'Rourke/"smooth" Thrill Jockey aesthetic, then Penguin Cafe Orchestra are the overlooked second half of that mass influence.
The band at the core has always been Simon Jeffes, who started the group in the early 70s and has always been a close contemporary of Brian Eno's -- if that gives a hint of where this music lies. The band have sporadically put out albums all the way until the mid 90s...sadly, Jeffes died of a brain tumor in 1997. There have been a few live albums, like When In Rome... (1988) (recorded in England of course) and Concert Programme (1995) that have been released that are great, too... but their best two albums are easily their first two.. Music From The Penguin Cafe (1976) and Penguin Cafe Orchestra (1981).
What sets the Penguin Cafe Orchestra apart from any other assemblance of mostly acoustic band/orchestras is their knack for being able to combine fun and minimalism and dynamics into something that's universally enjoyable, without having to require being LOUD then .... soft, etc. From someone coming from a college radio standpoint, I think they're the perfect bridge to music that would sit easily in an environment that requires "mellow" music... say, a coffeeshop, or what not. Granted, the word "Cafe" in the band name does suggest that, not-so-subconsciously, although the name comes from the location in a dream Jeffes had one time after a severe bout of food poisoning... anyway. here's the almost 80-minute rough guide:
...from Music From The Penguin Cafe (1976) 1. Penguin Cafe Single 2. Zopf a) From The Colonies 3. Zopf d) Milk 4. Zopf f) Giles Farnaby's Dream
...from Pengiun Cafe Orchestra (1981) 5. Air À Danser 6. Yodel 1 7. Telephone And Rubber Band 8. Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter 9. The Ecstasy Of Dancing Fleas 10. Steady State
...from Broadcasting From Home (1984) 11. Music For A Found Harmonium 12. Now Nothing
...from Signs Of Life (1987) 13. Horns Of The Bull 14. Sketch 15. Perpetuum Mobile
...from Union Cafe (1993) 16. Cage Dead 17. Organum 18. Another One From Porlock 19. Silver Star Of Bologna 20. Lie Back And Think Of England 21. Red Shorts
― donut debonair (donut), Monday, 23 May 2005 16:44 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Emancipation of Baaderonixx (KERERU 4 LIFE!) (Fabfunk), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 09:19 (eighteen years ago) link
Amazon's been my best bet for PCO stuff, really. No record store really carries them, because no record store knows exactly a) who they are, b) what albums to get, and c) what section of the record store to put them in. They've completely been erased from history since the late 80s, for whatever reason.
― donut debonair (donut), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:47 (eighteen years ago) link
― Die Emanzipation von Baaderonixx (redukt) (Fabfunk), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 19:23 (eighteen years ago) link
― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 17:40 (eighteen years ago) link
My favorite is the last one, Union Cafe, from 1993.. It's a double-album, and i think it has the best songs on it.. then again, I like Jeffes' piano work a lot, and this has quite a bit of it.. it's also not as "folky" as the previous ones... (not saying that's bad or good, just sayin')
― donut ferry (donut), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 17:49 (eighteen years ago) link
― Edward Bax (EdBax), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 19:50 (eighteen years ago) link
although, my enjoyment of this album and my cooking of dinner have made me feel as if i might be turning into a yuppie. that and thouroughly enjoying Paul Simon's Graceland all last week. yup.
― brontosaur, Wednesday, 20 July 2005 20:01 (eighteen years ago) link
said
the
"G" word.
― donut ferry (donut), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 20:16 (eighteen years ago) link
I don't suppose anybody recorded the Radio 4 doc about the Penguin Cafe Orchestra at the end of May? If anyone could provide me with a copy I'd be forever grateful.
― ozbash, Saturday, 7 July 2007 19:14 (sixteen years ago) link
That documentary is on the BBC iplayer at the moment. It's fascinating to hear how some of the tracks came together.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/noscript.shtml?/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/penguincafeorchestra
― The Wayward Johnny B, Sunday, 1 June 2008 19:44 (fifteen years ago) link
Is it actually the same documentary?!
― toby, Sunday, 1 June 2008 23:58 (fifteen years ago) link
CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC
I ADORE PENGUIN CAFE ORCHESTRA. THEY ARE PERFECT.
― teflon monkey, Monday, 2 June 2008 03:59 (fifteen years ago) link
they make the best rainy day music :\ :)
― sleepingbag, Monday, 2 June 2008 08:22 (fifteen years ago) link
Thinking about it, it 100% isn't the same documentary, because this one featured stuff about the December 07 reunion concerts...
― toby, Monday, 2 June 2008 12:18 (fifteen years ago) link
I've just received remasters of five Penguin Cafe Orchestra albums, and am now hearing their music for the first time (I think, although the very first track was familiar).
This is lovely.
Carry on.
― Matthew H, Wednesday, 9 July 2008 14:45 (fifteen years ago) link
OK, here comes the cliche:
"But the originals sounded really gorgeous anyway!"
But it's true. Do the remasters come with bonuses? Or are they just reissues? Cuz I think some of the CDs were out of print if I'm not mistaken.
― Mackro Mackro, Wednesday, 9 July 2008 14:52 (fifteen years ago) link
Listening to "Telephone and Rubber Band" right now. The only song of theirs I have. (Thank you, 1981 comp!) So amazing -- why don't I have any of their records?
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 9 July 2008 15:07 (fifteen years ago) link
Just straight reissues:
Music From... Penguin Cafe Orchestra Broadcasting From Home Signs Of Life When In Rome
― Matthew H, Wednesday, 9 July 2008 15:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Huh, no Union Cafe? That's, like, their best one, second to s/t.
― Mackro Mackro, Wednesday, 9 July 2008 15:53 (fifteen years ago) link
The originals do sound wicked, and PCO certainly don't need their levels bumping up to compete with Coldplay or whatever, BUT remastering gives a fantastic reason to reprint artrwork with better technology and rerelease these ace records witha bit of publicity and win a new audience, potentially.
― Scik Mouthy, Wednesday, 9 July 2008 16:06 (fifteen years ago) link
The remaster of the self-titled album arrived today as the Album of the Month from the Rough Trade Album Club. It came with a sampler CD of all their other albums. I had never heard any of this stuff before; it's really beautiful and so incredibly well produced.
― Savannah Smiles, Friday, 25 July 2008 16:28 (fifteen years ago) link
So happy about these reissues. I just picked up s/t (my favorite) and will get the others eventually. What a great band.
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Tuesday, 29 July 2008 15:33 (fifteen years ago) link
Really glad to hear this, I received the Rough Trade reissue from the album club and am looking forward to listening to it now.
― Neil S, Tuesday, 29 July 2008 15:40 (fifteen years ago) link
I dabbled with these and there is one of their tracks that I love.What a shiteo post as I can't remember what it's called Sailed a bit too close to dodgy sails imho - what with my limited musical appreciation
― Fer Ark, Tuesday, 29 July 2008 15:59 (fifteen years ago) link
the first album is the only one I really like but I like it a lot. only have the vinyl though.
― akm, Tuesday, 29 July 2008 23:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Classic! Got Concert Program when it came out, listen to it every once in a while, promise myself I'll order the rest of their stuff stat, but never did, will finally do it now.
― StanM, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 10:56 (fifteen years ago) link
Classic... but this is dud :(
― Treblekicker, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 11:01 (fifteen years ago) link
I just got into these guys. This is one of the best, most underrated bands in history. Holy fucking shit. I've never so quickly gotten every single album by a band before.
― Pantheism F. Mohair (res), Friday, 16 January 2009 21:19 (fifteen years ago) link
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eU8IziD08t4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eU8IziD08t4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZygIVDql8Bk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZygIVDql8Bk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
― Matos W.K., Friday, 27 March 2009 21:50 (fifteen years ago) link
ugh
― Matos W.K., Friday, 27 March 2009 21:51 (fifteen years ago) link
^ those clips are fantastic. the albums i have (s/t and 'music from the penguin cafe') are sorta perfect, exactly the kind of airy pop-minimalism i've been craving lately. i think the only thing that kept me from fully appreciating this band was a mental association with investment banking commercials, which i will always think of when i hear this-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvbCV6E0Wro
i can't really find anything about it online, but wasn't this in the background of prudential commercials or something for years? not like that's a bad thing per se, just really hard to disassociate for me.
― psychgawsple, Wednesday, 30 September 2009 21:09 (fourteen years ago) link
So, I was poking around the Penguin Cafe site today to see if they are going to ever play over in the States, and I noticed there is a new album called A Matter of Life. Obviously no Simon Jeffes stuff, but apparently his son has taken over.
Has anyone heard this? Is it worthy of the name Penguin Cafe? And has anyone seen the touring group, and is that worth it?
― brontosaur, Friday, 4 March 2011 16:45 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXJXe7MMMtI
― brontosaur, Friday, 4 March 2011 17:00 (thirteen years ago) link
I interviewed his son Simon Jeffes last month.
Basically, it's him and a bunch of mates doing his dad's music, but they've done an original album called A Matter Of Life... which is surprisingly good and fits into the canon quite well. Some of the original Orchestra still perform as a band called The Anteaters.
Penguin Cafe are announcing a new tour very soon.
― Chap With Wings... Five Rounds Rapid (Doran), Friday, 4 March 2011 18:26 (thirteen years ago) link
Neil Coddling from Suede is in Penguin Cafe weirdly enough.
― Chap With Wings... Five Rounds Rapid (Doran), Friday, 4 March 2011 18:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Nice interview. When I was doing more research, I was a little saddened that the new Penguin Cafe didn't actually have any original members in it. It would be nice if Arthur Jeffes just made music under another name, but his compositions sound pretty good on first listen. Thanks!
― brontosaur, Friday, 4 March 2011 19:25 (thirteen years ago) link
sweet! Music From The Penguin Cafe is prolly my most rewarding discovery of the year
― kelpolaris, Friday, 4 March 2011 22:15 (thirteen years ago) link
They've been in a lot of commercials. I know IBM used "Perpetuum Mobile" in an ad at one point, probably in the 90s.
― Poliopolice, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:07 (eleven years ago) link
obviously "Music for a Found Harmonium" is basically everywhere. it's practically public domain at this point
― frogbs, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:10 (eleven years ago) link
has there ever been a band name story as beautiful as this one?
In 1972 I was in the south of France. I had eaten some bad fish and was in consequence rather ill. As I lay in bed I had a strange recurring vision, there, before me, was a concrete building like a hotel or council block. I could see into the rooms, each of which was continually scanned by an electronic eye. In the rooms were people, everyone of them preoccupied. In one room a person was looking into a mirror and in another a couple were making love but lovelessly, in a third a composer was listening to music through earphones. Around him there were banks of electronic equipment. But all was silence. Like everyone in his place he had been neutralized, made grey and anonymous. The scene was for me one of ordered desolation. It was as if I were looking into a place which had no heart. Next day when I felt better, I was on the beach sunbathing and suddenly a poem popped into my head. It started out 'I am the proprietor of the Penguin Cafe, I will tell you things at random' and it went on about how the quality of randomness, spontaneity, surprise, unexpectedness and irrationality in our lives is a very precious thing. And if you suppress that to have a nice orderly life, you kill off what's most important. Whereas in the Penguin Cafe your unconscious can just be. It's acceptable there, and that's how everybody is. There is an acceptance there that has to do with living the present with no fear in ourselves.
― Poliopolice, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:13 (eleven years ago) link
"Perpetuum Mobile" seems to perfectly encapsulate creative industriousness, doesn't it?
― Poliopolice, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:23 (eleven years ago) link
"Rubber Band" was used everywhere too.
― Guess what? They crucified him. (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:33 (eleven years ago) link
sampled in that goddamn spacehog song
― Poliopolice, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:36 (eleven years ago) link
― Poliopolice, Wednesday, June 6, 2012 1:13 PM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Probably not. Illustrated on one of their album covers BTW (which i found seriously WTF-y until i learned the backstory). Great music, in any case.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51aD4DFtG7L._SS400_.jpg
― Lee626, Thursday, 7 June 2012 01:16 (eleven years ago) link
'penguin cafe orchestra' and 'broadcasting from home' two of my favorite purchases of this year. the music and this thread were awesome in 2012
― Binder, Binder & (Sufjan Grafton), Sunday, 6 January 2013 08:06 (eleven years ago) link
This band and Miles Davis are the only artists I can tolerate when I recover from a bout of tinnitus.
― ma ck ro ma ck ro (mackro mackro), Sunday, 6 January 2013 09:27 (eleven years ago) link
Is there any chance this Red Book that's coming out will be any good? PCO are one of my all-time favorites, but I'm not sure whoever's running the show (is it Simon Jeffe's son) can carry the torch.
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/af/d2/57/afd257a20638f47f8d9d447a6627c4d1.jpg
I'm already underwhelmed by the album art.
― afriendlypioneer, Thursday, 9 January 2014 21:50 (ten years ago) link
I had Bean Fields playing at my weddding!
― Poliopolice, Thursday, 27 February 2014 21:42 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AFOUK1HkEs
<3
also the live in rome take of this is really good. as is the whole thing!!
― global tetrahedron, Tuesday, 30 December 2014 03:45 (nine years ago) link
anyone who claims they dislike the music of PCO are lying
― ET sippin the wig (spazzmatazz), Tuesday, 30 December 2014 07:39 (nine years ago) link
Wasn't this album cover adapted into "Eyes Wide Shut?"
Love this group. One of the sadder aspects of Jeffes death is that he and the band were so obscure (by design, really) that not a lot of people took notice.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 30 December 2014 17:00 (nine years ago) link
Still haven't heard The Red Book. I do really like this new song, however:
http://boilerroom.tv/penguin-cafe-the-track-of-the-dull-sun/
― afriendlypioneer, Saturday, 21 March 2015 16:37 (nine years ago) link
CLASSIC OBVIOUSLY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYUAud0C-2A
― flappy bird, Thursday, 5 April 2018 05:34 (five years ago) link
I’m super into Broadcasting From Home these days, might be my fave PCO now
― when worlds collide I'll see you again (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 5 April 2018 11:48 (five years ago) link
The new Penguin Cafe album called Handfuls of Night is quite nice, calm, slow, slightly melancholic instrumental music with classical instruments. The Penguin Cafe is hosted by Arthur Jeffes, Simon Jeffes son.
― walking towards the sun since 2007 (alex in mainhattan), Sunday, 29 December 2019 18:16 (four years ago) link
If anyone is needing a PCO/gentle chamber music fix, this (2018) Group Listening record is doing it for me right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTM5c9WN1EY
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Monday, 14 September 2020 19:46 (three years ago) link
Thank you!
― flappy bird, Monday, 14 September 2020 19:58 (three years ago) link
Thanks, this is really good and does indeed hit the Penguin Cafe Orchestra vibe (though on first listen not with the same richness, but -- who does?)
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 14 September 2020 20:23 (three years ago) link
An Arthur Russell cover, no less! This is nice.
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 15 September 2020 00:02 (three years ago) link
I've listened to the album a few times over the last couple of days and aye, not quite in the same league as PCO but lovely all the same.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Tuesday, 15 September 2020 14:46 (three years ago) link
listening to the first album now and yeah: why did i pass on this record so many times? this is "where have you been all my life" kind of good.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Monday, 26 April 2021 04:17 (two years ago) link
absolutely! what a great vibe
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 26 April 2021 04:26 (two years ago) link
First 2 albums (Music from PCO and PCO respectivly) are both great. I was haunted by the cover of the 1st album way before hearing it. Gotta say I prefer the weird folk of the 2nd album to the more dreamy 1st but they both sound great on a Sunday morning.
― I have no couch and I must stream (NotEnough), Monday, 26 April 2021 16:47 (two years ago) link
the hiphop group i was in many years ago had a track where we sampled "telephone and rubberband" and somebody in the audience at one of our shows knew the sample and booed us and gave the double thumbs down. good times.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Monday, 26 April 2021 20:28 (two years ago) link
Austin where do you live that hiphop crowds are full of Penguin Cafe Orchestra fans
― frogbs, Wednesday, 24 November 2021 04:36 (two years ago) link
I guess if I'm gonna bump this thread I should comment on their music. what I really like is how casually brilliant they could be. that horn bit on "In the Back of a Taxi" is a good example. Its a goofy moment but its also perfect. Also I noticed "Heartwind" has a cowrite by Ryuichi Sakamoto...did they work together or did they borrow a melody?
― frogbs, Wednesday, 24 November 2021 04:44 (two years ago) link
It was in Reno, frogs. No idea who the guy was. We were playing on a benefit bill with all different types of bands, one of which was a group of aging old school punks playing semi-joke "pirate rock", so I've always assumed our heckler was someone from that lot.
The name of their band was Scurvy Bastards, by the way.
I love Penguin Cafe Orchestra, also by the way.
― please don't refer to me as (Austin), Wednesday, 24 November 2021 05:15 (two years ago) link
New Group Listening album is lovely: https://grouplistening.bandcamp.com/album/clarinet-piano-selected-works-vol-2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iDdqY-VEcg
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Friday, 18 February 2022 09:09 (two years ago) link
Bought Signs of Life on CD for a dollar today, first thing I've ever heard by them. Except for the last song, really like it--not sure what I expected, but this wasn't it. Favourite is "Oscar Tango."
― clemenza, Sunday, 3 September 2023 01:47 (six months ago) link
Wrong song: "Horns of the Bull."
― clemenza, Sunday, 3 September 2023 04:09 (six months ago) link
I’d like to like the new Penguin Cafe line-up and recordings but it’s just not the same. The soul isn’t there. I follow their social media and see albums and recordings coming and going and wish I enjoyed it.
― afriendlypioneer, Sunday, 3 September 2023 13:32 (six months ago) link
I really cherish PCO. That’s all.