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Brian Eno is born
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Eno starts getting interested in music
Listens to American RB, doo wop and blues -
First band: Black Aces
This band was formed by Eno and 3 of his friends from his home town, Melton. He played the drums. -
First Appearance
Eno's first musical appearance was him singing in "Paragraph 7", a song in the album "The Great Learning", in 1971. The album is an edition made by german label Deutsche Grammophon. -
Period: to
Roxy Music
In 1971, Eno joined Roxy Music, an art and glam rock band.
He participated in the band's first 2 albums: Roxy Music (1972) and For Your Pleasure (1973), playing a synthesiser, doing backup vocals and tape effects.
Initially, Eno wasn't on stage, but after the band got a deal with a label, Eno could play his synthesiser on stage.
Eno left the band in 1973 after a disagreement with the band's lead singer Bryan Ferry.
Thanks to his participation, Eno was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. -
Period: to
Fripp & Eno
In this timespan, Eno collaborated with guitarrist Robert Fripp. They both released 2 albums. -
No Pussyfooting
The album is considered to be part of the beginning of ambient music, but was considered a electronic music album. -
Top 40 Hit in the UK
In March 1974, Eno released "Seven Deadly Finns", a single accompanied by "Later On", which reached the top 40 in the UK's charts. -
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
This album featured a lot of musicians, and Eno decided to make this album a rock and pop album instead of an experimental and electronic music album.
It references sometimes various geographic and political topics, like the Chinese Communist Revolution. -
Here Come the Warm Jets
This album was Eno's first solo album. It mixes a lot of rock genres and avant-garde music, which is experimental music before a genre becomes popular. It features Robert Fripp and other guitarrists in the tracks.
The album reached number 151 in on Billboard charts, and number 26 on UK's charts. -
Start of his solo career
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Evening Star
The album was a closer step to Eno's creation of the ambient music genre. The tracks have many synthesizer effect by Eno.
Some of the tracks also contain drone music, a genre created around 1960, characterized by the use and extension of a note in a long period of time. -
Discreet Music
First album being released with Eno's full name, Brian Eno.
This is a ambient and minimalist music album, a genre that includes repetitive patterns, drone music and constant instrumentals and beats. -
Another Green World
This album marked a transition from Eno's rock and pop albums to ambient music albums. Only 5 of the 14 tracks contain vocals. -
Cluster & Eno
Collaboration with ambient music group Cluster. It mixes Eno's ambient music feelings and Cluster's avant-garde (experimental music).
All the tracks have German names. -
Ambient 1: Music for Airports
First of Eno's albums released with the existing term "ambient music". This album made ambient music popular and known.
As the name reads, its purpose is music for airport atmospheres. Eno got the idea of making this album when he was waiting for a flight and realized that the atmosphere was very boring.
The album was considered by the website "Pitchfork" in 2016, the greatest ambient album of all time. -
Period: to
"Ambient" Series
This was a Series of 4 ambient music albums, created when the term "ambient music" was coined (official)
The first of the 4 albums "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" was what made ambient music popular at the time. -
Berlin Trilogy
Brian Eno collaborated with Tony Visconti and British superstar David Bowie to create 3 albums: Low (1977), Heroes (1977) and Lodger (1979).
These albums mix rock music with ambient music, and a variety of different musical genres. -
Ambient 3: Day of Radiance
Third album of the ambient series, in collaboration with american ambient artist Laraaji.
It barely uses electronics, but it uses acoustic stringed instruments managed by Laraaji, while Eno controlled the production. -
Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror
Second album of the "Ambient" series, in collaboration with Harold Budd.
Eno managed the sound, while Budd made the music, with a piano making electronic sounds. -
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
This album is a collaboration with the Talking Heads' lead singer David Byrne.
During 1980 and 1981, Eno was travelling through Africa, which inspired him to include African and Middle Eastern rythms and sounds in some of the tracks. It also includes vocals, guitars, and synthesiser electronic sounds. -
Ambient 4: On Land
Fourth and last album of Eno's "Ambient" series.
Eno uses synthesiser notes accompanied by nature, animal and a lot of other different sounds.
Some of the tracks are named after real life places. -
Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
Collaboration with his brother, Roger Eno, and canadian producer Daniel Lanois.
The intention of this album was to make music for "For All Mankind" a documentary about the Apollo Space Program released in 1989. -
Self-generative music
Around this time, Brian Eno started working with self-generated music systems, electronic systems than can make music. Eno then coined "generative music" as a genre.
According to Eno, the music can unfold in a wide range of infinite and non-repeating variations of sound. -
Wrong Way Up
Collaboration with rock, avant-garde and drone musician John Cale.
It mixes electronic and rock music, and includes a lot of vocals along with a wide range of instruments in the tracks, like keyboards, drums, stringed instruments and even a horn. -
Nerve Net
This album has contributions from Eno's former contributors, like guitarrist Robert Fripp.
It's the first album in a long time in which Eno uses rock material. It also includes some jazz and electronics. -
The Shutov Assembly
This album was made for Russian painter and friend of Eno, Sergei Shutov. Shutov often uses Eno's music in his studio, and once gifted Eno a painting, so Eno made this album for him in return.
Eno uses more atonality (lack of a tone center or tone structure) and not musical scales, pitch or modes. -
Laid
First album from the collaboration of Eno with British rock band "James". Eno had a part in this album as a producer for James' rock music.
It was seen as a success in the US and the UK.
The album peaked at 72 in the Billboard charts. -
Wah Wah
Second and last album of Eno's collaboration with British rock band "James".
As in "Laid", Eno had a part in the album as a producer.
The album peaked at number 11 in the UK's album charts. -
Original Soundtracks 1
This album is a collaboration with Irish rock band U2, under the pseudonym "Passengers". Some of the tracks are improvised, rather than being made and recorded.
"Passengers" collaborated in some of the tracks with famous musicians, like Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti.
Half of the album is instrumental, but other tracks include a lot of vocals.
A lot of the tracks topped different charts in different countries, and were used in famous films. -
The Equatorial Stars
Collaboration with guitarrist Robert Fripp, bringing back the old Fripp Eno duo. -
Tékitoi
Eno participated in this album by French-Algerian singer Rachid Taha. It's a raï album, Algerian folk music.
The name is an unusual spelling of "Tu es qui, toi?" which means "Who do you think you are?" in English.
The lyrics are in French and Arabic, and feature Eno playing the synthesiser and the drums, as well as contributing bass and vocals. -
Another Day on Earth
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77 Million Paintings
This album is a generative music album and a combination of art software and DVD. It comes with 2 DVDs: 1 with the program that makes random music and 1 containing interviews with Eno.
As the name says, it's a generative music album that has 77 million combinations of video slides when the DVD program is launched.
It is very unlikely that the listener will hear the same piece of music twice. -
Soundtrack for Videogame "Spore"
In 2008, Brian Eno made music for the videogame "Spore", released by Electronic Arts.
He used generative music, music created by a system for the soundtracks he had to make. -
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Second collaboration between Eno and the Talking Heads' lead singer, David Byrne.
The duo was inspired by gospel music, and unlike other albums, this one features vocals along all the tracks, that talk about human themes, like humanity vs technology, optimism and pesimism.
The album was well received and had good critics overall.
It received 3 Grammy Awards for the music and the production, and topped a lot of worldwide charts. -
Small Craft on a Milk Sea
Collaboration with electronic musician Jon Hopkins and rock and ambient musician Leo Abrahams.
Mixes every collaborator's genres: ambient, electronic and rock.
It received positive reviews, including a 73/100 in Metacritic based on the average of 34 reviews. -
Drums Between the Bells
Collaboration with English poet Rick Holland. The album is based on his words, mixed with ambient and electronic sounds. -
Zoom
Second participation of Brian Eno in one of Rachid Taha's albums. This is a raï album, algerian folk music.
Like in the other album with Taha, Eno contributes with bass, brass, vocals and percussion. -
Heavy Seas of Love
This is a single by Damon Albarn, the fifth of his album "Everyday Robots". Eno sang and co-produced this single, along with the Leytonstone City Mission Choir.
It is a indie pop album, a pop subgenre that combines pop with guitar and a DIY behaviour. -
Someday World
Collaboration with Karl Hyde, a member of electronic group "Underworld". The album also features other known musicians, such as Will Champion from Coldplay, John Reynolds and Andy Mackay from Roxy Music, Eno's first band.
It's a electronic music album, and received good reviews. -
High Life
This album is the sequel of Someday World, and is another collaboration with electronic musician Karl Hyde.
Unlike the other album, this one has more rock style, with guitar playing and bass alongside. -
The Ship
This is a solo album, and the first solo album to contain vocals since Another Day on Earth in 2005.
It's the second highest charted album in Eno's career, topping at number 28 in the UK's Chart and 175 in the Billboard Chart. -
Reflection
This is a piece of generative ambient music, that has 2 versions: a pre-recorder version, available on CD which is 54 minutes long and the generative one that has infinite duration. It plays different music at different times of the day, made by a system.
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2017. -
Mixing Colours
Collaboration with Brian's brother, Roger Eno, who is also an ambient music composer. It's their first album together since 1983.
The album received moderately good critics, with an average of 72/100 on Metacritic, based on 11 reviews. -
Ithaka
Eno made music for this documentary, directed by Ben Lawrence, about John Shipton's battle to save his son Julian Assange. -
ForeverAndEverNoMore
This album contains vocals, regarding environmental and gepolitical topics, focusing on the climate crisis.
It reached the top 40 in the UK Albums Chart, and received good reviews. -
Secret Life
Ambient album, collaboration with British musician Fred Again, who performs the vocals.