We Play Albums.
“an extraordinarily inventive and imaginative reinterpretation, an aural tour de force”
— Oliver Condy, Official Apple Music iTunes review of LANDSCAPES, KNIVES & GLUE — Radiohead’s Kid A Recycled, 04.06.21
Wooden Elephant are a contemporary classical string quintet who reimagine classic electronic-based albums and present them as totally acoustic, longform contemporary classical concert works.
Formed in 2017, they have collaborated with Moor Mother, Ballett am Rhein, and Beethovenorchester Bonn, and their arrangements have been performed by Concertgebouw Orchestra and soundtracked by AppleTV.
In Summer 2024 Wooden Elephant will premier their latest project — Aphex Twin’s epic double album Drukqs in collaboration with prepared piano specialist Mathias Halvorsen.
Future plans include a commission by Verbier Festival to rework one of Miles Davis’ countless groundbreaking albums, In a Silent Way, to mark the jazz legend’s centenary in 2026.
“incredible mixtures of sound and words… expressive depth…
an extremely ductile orchestral fabric.”
— Giorgio Cerasoli, Il Giornale Della Musica, on Wooden Elephant’s version of Moor Mother’s Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes, performed with Beethovenorchester Bonn and Moor Mother herself, 16.09.22
Inspirations.
A big inspiration for the ensemble and the arrangements came from Wooden Elephant violist and composer Ian Anderson’s work with the London Contemporary Orchestra. In 2014-15, the LCO collaborated with Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood on his contemporary string chamber music, culminating in a tour across Europe with him, and playing on Radiohead’s latest album, A Moon Shaped Pool. Along the way Jonny continually experimented with sound production techniques, which included introducing unusual objects to the process such as plectrums and pacay shakers. His constant questions of “what happens if you pluck it with this?” or “what happens if you hit it with that?” massively influenced Wooden Elephant’s album interpretations.
Working alongside experimental genre-bending PODIUM Festival Esslingen (Germany), Wooden Elephant completed a 3-album series, comprising Björk's Homogenic (2017), Radiohead's Kid A (2018), and Beyoncé's Lemonade (2019, complete with the poetry of Warsan Shire from the visual album).
“wonderfully inventive and gloriously off the wall... nothing short of spectacular”
— Robert Hugill, composer and journalist, on LANDSCAPES, KNIVES & GLUE — Radiohead’s Kid A Recycled, 30.06.21
Development.
Wooden Elephant have been invited to perform their albums at venues and festivals such as Verbier Festival, Philharmonie de Paris’ Days Off Festival, Berlin Konzerthaus, London Jazz Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and Beethovenfest Bonn.
In September 2022 Woooden Elephant collaborated with Ballett am Rhein, Beethovenfest Bonn, and choreographer Gil Harush to create a ballet around electronic artist SOPHIE’s trans-themed album OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES. At the same festival they premiered their version of Moor Mother’s album Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes for symphony orchestra, string quintet, and narrator, performing alongside Beethovenorchester Bonn and Moor Mother herself. They are currently recording their version of Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes with Moor Mother and Beethovenorchester Bonn for general release.
In June 2021, with Radiohead’s permission, Wooden Elephant released their acoustic version of Kid A on Berlin label Backlash Music. Two of the tracks were subsequently used in Apple TV’s Golden Globe-nominated feature film Swan Song, starring Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and Glenn Close.