Strung Out Panda profile picture

Strung Out Panda

About Me

I'm a violinist based in London.

I'm a founding member of Iskra - a group of string players having fun playing music together regardless of genre. We often perform across Europe with Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson. We have a string quartet album called 'Sanctuary'.

I have also worked for Vampire Weekend, Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, Minotaur Shock, Marc Almond, Sinead O'Connor, Nitin Sawhney, Duke Special, My Brightest Diamond, Jon Bilbrough and many more.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 07/04/2006
Band Members: James Underwood
Influences: Arvo Part, Brian Eno, Benjamin Britten, Bjork, Boards Of Canada, The Cure, Daft Punk, Damon Albarn, Final Fantasy, Haydn, Jóhann Jóhannsson, J.S Bach, M.I.A, Miles Davis, Minotaur Shock, Mozart, MBV, My Brightest Diamond, New Order, Nick Drake, Paul Frith & The Considerate Lovers, Portishead, Radiohead, Ratatat, Ravel, Scott Walker, Shostakovich, Slowdive, The Smiths, Sufjan Stevens, Terry Hall & Mushtaq, Trojan Records, Velvet Underground, Warp Records, White Stripes
Sounds Like: glorious strings!!!
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

Singles Club

Lo Recordings are launching a new singles club which features a tune by me and Minotaur Shock. Other participants include friends Johann Johannsson and Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie (from Stars Of The Lid) w...
Posted by on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:33:00 GMT

Whats been going on?

This panda isn't always the best at communicating via the medium of myspace. Anyway there's been a few things going on that might be worth mentioning. Last weekend I played with Johann Johannsson at t...
Posted by on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:30:00 GMT

Twitter

Yo,Just joined twitter and don't have a clue what i'm doing. So far I have 8 followers and 3 of them are spam. If you are so inclined drop by to http://twitter.com/iskrastrings and help me keep up wit...
Posted by on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:51:00 GMT

Summer Shows

I've just completed some fantastic summer shows with Johann Johannsson and band. These include performing to 2000 people in the courtyard of a castle (complete with moat!) in the stunning Italian city...
Posted by on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:24:00 GMT

A Bizarre Night

The following photo makes me laugh. Last month my string quartet performed at a festival in Rotterdam with Johann Johannsson. Originally we were booked to perform in a theatre with composer Nico Muhly...
Posted by on Sat, 02 May 2009 06:47:00 GMT

Free Music

4AD are giving away a whole load of free mp3s that includes the track 'My Burr' by Minotaur Shock which features my violin playing. Check it out... Also, Minotaur Shock's album 'Amat...
Posted by on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:57:00 GMT

Prague+Ghent

Last weekend my string quartet had the privilege of performing two sold out shows in churches in Prague and Ghent with Johann Johannsson. We performed some new material from Johann's forthcoming album...
Posted by on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:42:00 GMT

Milan

Last weekend my string quartet travelled to Milan to perform with Johann Johannsson at the Mito Festival. We had an absolute nightmare with Italian bureaucracy and British incompetence. Thankfully the...
Posted by on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:19:00 GMT

Official Radiohead Remix

Recently a friend at xl recordings emailed asking if my string quartet would record a remix for the Radiohead song 'Reckoner' to launch a new website. Obviously, I jumped at any opportunity to do some...
Posted by on Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:46:00 GMT

Proudly Presenting...

I'm proud to announce the release of a little musical gem i have had the privilege to be involved with. Its the new Minotaur Shock album, Amateur Dramatics. Last year i spent some quality time in Bris...
Posted by on Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:18:00 GMT