Leo Abrahams

Leo Matthew Abrahams (born 28 November 1977) is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated with Brian Eno, Katie Melua, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, Regina Spektor, Jon Hopkins and Paul Simon. After attending the Royal Academy of Music in England, he started his musical career by touring as lead guitarist with Imogen Heap.

Since 2005, he has released six solo albums, largely in an ambient style involving complex arrangements and a use of guitar-generated textures. He has also co-written or arranged a variety of film soundtracks, including Peter Jackson's 2009 release The Lovely Bones and Steve McQueen's Hunger. Abrahams has produced Regina Spektor's album Remember Us to Life. Hayden Thorpe's Diviner, Editors' Violence and Ghostpoet's Dark Days + Canapés.

Career Early years Abrahams attended the Royal Academy of Music. He studied under Steve Martland and Nick Ingman. During his studies, Abrahams was invited to join Imogen Heap's touring band. guitar shop. Eno stated, "I spotted him trying out a guitar, the first I've ever seen in a guitar shop who wasn't playing 'Stairway to Heaven', so I thought he must be good."

In 2010, Abrahams joined with long-time collaborators Jon Hopkins and Brian Eno to create the album Small Craft on a Milk Sea. The album is based largely on a two-week period of joint improvisation, A Boomkat review stated "Abrahams blends piano, guitar, and electronics to an almost euphoric effect – the record feels like you are walking in a dream." Sea of Tranquility reviewed the album saying "he respects a certain level of restraint – the solo guitar- putting into sharp relief the...limitless opportunities for the resultant sounds and form. This work is thoughtful, adventurous, and the result of a high degree of artistic integrity."

His third album, the 2007 The Unrest Cure, was initially built out of sessions in New York with David Holmes' rhythm section. Brian Eno, KT Turnstall, Ed Harcourt, Foy Vance, Pati Yang, Merz, Phoebe Legere, Kari Kleiv, and poet Bingo Gazingo also contributed to the album. On his 2008 album Grape and the Grain, Abrahams continued to use English Folk themes,

He has released two further EPs on the Just Music label, and also released a vocal-based record on One Little Indian in 2011.

He has co-written or arranged a variety of film soundtracks, including Peter Jackson's 2009 release The Lovely Bones with Brian Eno, Steve McQueen's award-winning Hunger with David Holmes, Seeking 1906 with Simon Winchester, Gardens of Paradise, The Graduates, After Happily Ever After, and also on the Oceans series with David Holmes.

Discography Solo albums Honeytrap (2005) Scene Memory (2006) The Unrest Cure (2007) The Grape and the Grain (2008) Daylight (2015) Scene Memory II (2021)

EPs and singles EP1 (2006) Searching 1906 (2006) December Songs (2009) Zero Sum (2013) Yield (2022)

Collaborations 2000: "Last of England" by Sex Gang Children – composer, producer, all instruments 2001: Here Be Monsters by Ed Harcourt – guitar/string arrangements, guitar 2003: From Every Sphere by Ed Harcourt – orchestral arrangements, guitar/keyboard 2003: Silence is Easy by Starsailor (#2 UK) – string arrangements 2005: How the Mighty Fall by Mark Owen (#78 UK) – co-writer 2005: Elephant's Graveyard by Ed Harcourt – string/wind arrangements 2006: Madman in the Basket by Andi Sex Gang – production, guitars 2006: Musikain by J. Peter Schwalm – guitars 2007: Inventing New Destruction by Andi Sex Gang – laptop guitars 2008: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today with David Byrne/Brian Eno (#1 CMJ) – production, various instrumentals 2008: The Redcastle Sessions with Cara Dillon – co-production, guitars, piano, percussion 2008: The Holy Pictures with David Holmes – guitar, bass, various keyboards, marxophone and hurdy gurdy 2009: Slow Attack by Brett Anderson – co-writer, producer 2009: Come to Life by Natalie Imbruglia – additional production, guitar 2009: Frozen Heart EP by Smoke Fairies – production, keys 2009: Portraits of the Artists by Foy Vance – producer, co-writer, arranger, guitar, piano 2010: Ghosts by Smoke Fairies – producer 2010: Small Craft on a Milk Sea with Brian Eno and Jon Hopkins – co-writer, co-producer, guitar, guitaret, laptop 2010: Carl Barât by Carl Barât – co-writer, technical, guitar, mini-piano, omnichord, guitorgan, bass 2011: Death Fires by Carl Barât – producer, co-writer, arranger, guitar, piano 2011: Black Rainbows by Brett Anderson – co-writer, producer, guitar 2011: John Martyn Tribute by Paolo Nutini – producer, arranger, guitar, piano 2011: Cashmere If You Can by Chris Difford – producer, co-writer, arranger, guitar, piano 2011: Spitting Daggers by Sparrow and the Workshop – producer 2011: Foxlight by Iarla O'Lionaird – producer 2011: From Africa with Fury by Seun Kuti – producer 2011: Outside by Aisha Orazbayeva – producer/editor 2012: State Hospital (EP) by Frightened Rabbit – producer 2012: Portrait by Josephine Oniyama – co-writer, producer, instruments 2013: Pedestrian Verse by Frightened Rabbit – producer 2013: Edgeland by Karl Hyde – producer, co-writer 2013: EP by Olivia Chaney – producer 2014: Entity by Oscar and the Wolf – additional production and mix 2014: The Hand Gallery by Aisha Orazbayeva – engineer 2014: Present Tense by Wild Beasts – co-producer, session musician 2014: Caustic Love by Paolo Nutini – co-writer, co-producer, guitar, keyboards, programming, Wurlitzer, string and horn arrangement (Superfly) 2014: Lurrean etzanda by Ruper Ordorika – guitar 2014: New Beginnings by Hotei – co-writer, producer 2015: My Dreams Dictate My Reality by Soko – producer, engineering, guitar, hurdy-gurdy 2015: The Fade In Time by Sam Lee – mixed 2016: Remember Us To Life by Regina Spektor – producer 2016: EP 'S' by Emmy The Great - co-writer 2017: Silver Eye by Goldfrapp - programming 2017: Al Jamilat by Yasmine Hamdan - co-producer 2017: Dark Days and Canapés by Ghostpoet - co-writer, producer 2018: Violence by Editors - producer 2018: Songs You Make At Night by Tunng - co-mixer 2019: Diviner by Hayden Thorpe - producer, guitar, keyboards 2020: Album No. 8 by Katie Melua - producer, instruments 2020: Visitations with Shahzad Ismaily - producer, guitar, mixing, composer 2020: Krononaut by Krononaut (with Martin France) - producer, guitar, mixing, composer

Soundtracks 2007: Searching 1906 – writer, performer 2009: Five Minutes of Heaven – co-writer with David Holmes 2009: Hunger – co-writer with David Holmes 2009: The Lovely Bones – co-writer with Brian Eno, guitar 2010: Yohan: The Child Wanderer – orchestrator 2011 'After Happily Ever After' – composer 2012: "Gardens of Paradise" – composer 2012: "The Graduates/Los Graduados" – composer 2013: "The Outer Edges (Edgeland)" – composer