The Spectacular Sound of Andy Pickford & Jay Hunter Morris

It Matters Radio

Andy Pickford’s musical associations began at the age of four emulating tunes on his grandmother’s piano. Hearing synthesizer music fired Andy’s imagination. In 1981, Andy got his first monophonic synthesizer. Coupled up with a cassette deck and a reel-to-reel, Andy started composing synth music. Around 1983, Andy set about recording a cassette album called Linear Functions under the name of Kris McKuen. In 1992 a demo of Andy’s work was sent to Ashley Franklin at BBC Radio Derby where he got his first break on the now legendary ‘Soundscapes’ programme. Early 1993, Replicant began. This album, dedicated to the artist Ian Mullis who was responsible for the original Linear Functions album sleeve, Andy has collaborated with the likes of Ian Boddy, Asana and Paul Nagle under the pseudonym Binar and Spank, The Dark Monkey. He has now decided to throw himself back into his music again with re-mastered album material, plus re-releases of both Xenomorph and Nemesis. Opera singer, Grammy Winner and Author, Jay Hunter Morris came into the national spotlight when he created the role of Tony in Terrence McNally’s celebrated play Master Class In a career spanning twenty-five years, some of his favourite Operatic roles have included Rodolfo, Alfredo, Pinkerton, Calaf, Cavaradossi, Des Grieux, Canio, Stolzing, Erik, Bacchus, Florestan, Don Jose, Steva, and Samson. Morris has most recently been seen on PBS as a very different kind of hero in the role of Captain Ahab in Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick from the San Francisco Opera. A contemporary opera veteran of great renown, Morris has been heard in several world premiere productions He will create the role of Teague in Cold Mountain (Higdon) which premieres with a major US Festival in 2015. In 2013, Opera Lively published his first book Diary of a Redneck Opera Zinger