COLD WAR follows a journey Pip first started with bands like SEE YOU AT THE RITZ FRITZ, SAUL GINSBERG, STRATOCRUISER, and SOLID STATE OPERA - a long winding road from early electronics to writing symphonic scores, COLD WAR continues that path of discovery, transforming spent military equipment into musical sounds with works like Concerto for Sonar Generator and Mined Games.

More recently ON DEAF EARS revisits his eco roots, performing tracks like The Pollution Song of ‘69 and the concept work Planet of the Seas, which flagged up climate change issues nearly fifty years ago.

SILENT CHIMES

The English town of Loughborough has one of the finest Carillon bell towers in Europe and to mark its inauguration in 1923, Elgar wrote Memorial Chime. To mark its centenary, Pip created Silent Chimes, which was performed to a large public gathering in Loughborough’s Queen’s Park, on Saturday 22 July 2023.

When the instrument was first built as a Memorial, two of its 49 bells (D flat and E flat) were not cast - although included on the keyboard. As Pip was keen to write a piece that resonated with today’s audiences, he worked closely with Borough Carillonneur, Caroline Sharpe, to compose a score where striking the ‘missing’ bells would create ‘silent’ moments for personal reflection.

‘This is a good piece, composed with integrity and knowledge of the carillon’s history and significance. I do not know of any other composition for simply carillon and spoken word, so this is a real innovation.’ Stuart Freed, Elgar Society

 ‘A welcome contribution to the carillon repertoire’ The Carillonneur