More Love & Death

Johnny grew up in a small village in the English countryside. This involved a lot of running around in circles followed by a brief period of being institutionalised.
It wasn't until Johnny was fifteen that he picked up an instrument, buying a guitar, in that same way that many 15-year-old boys do. After receiving some particularly generous comments about a poem he wrote for a funeral he immediately started writing songs as there was little evidence of other paths to head down. At the age of 18 Johnny swapped to the piano and started to get interested in arranging.

In 2002 Johnny travelled to Canada to have his music coupled with dance. After arriving in Toronto the plans fell through and Johnny decided to make his first solo record, 'Break your Little Heart'. Johnny spent a month wandering the streets listening to buskers and visiting open mic nights to recruit a selection of Toronto's finest underground musicians. Johnny's producer Ru Cook flew out to capture the sessions in St Pauls Trinity Church.
With the album finished Johnny returned to the UK and got in touch with old musical friends Ben Milway (drums) and Dave Lynch (bass) to re-interpret the songs for a live show. Artist Andy Holden also joined the project to build individual short films to go along side each track.
In 2005 the second album was conceived. Whilst living in south London with a group of artists Johnny started to explore a different side to his craft. After an intensive period of studying orchestration techniques hundreds of pages of scrutinized manuscript were brought to the studio, arranged for the trio and a small chamber orchestra. The 2007 release of 'Songs Without a Purpose'(SWP), combined with more live films by Andy Holden was worked into a tour around the UK with ocasional trips into main land Europe.
During 2007 Johnny combined with old friends Show Without Punch and Grubby Mitts (featuring Roger Illingworth and Andy Holden) to form Lost Toys records. This mini label helps the three acts collaborate logistically and musically.
As Johnny started to work more closely with David Lynch and Ben Milway the name 'The Johnny Parry Trio' was adopted to represent the wider influences of the ensemble.
In late 2007 the Trio embarked on part one of three EP's, 'The Little Prayers'. After spending the summer building their own recording studio in the countryside the trio started recording in November 07.

The first unveiling of the new compositions and arrangements was at the Luminiare, January 2008. Johnny is continuing to promote Songs Without A Purpose and the Little Prayers EP with gigs around London, the Uk and performances abroad. Over the last few months Johnny has been gigging with a paired down acoustic show. This is a stark contrast with Johnny's traditional show which features backing tracks and projected visuals. These more intimate gigs have been performed at Slaughtered Lamb, 12 bar, Biddle Brothers and the Spitz. The trio mix intimate acoustic shows with laptop led visual extravaganzas depending on the venue and other bands sharing their bills.

On May 9th Johnny Parry launched his new album 'More Love & Death' with a performance at London's Union Chapel. This performance gave birth to the Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra, which includes a string quartet, trumpet, sopranos, saxophones and live visuals. 'More Love & Death' sees Johnny return to his orchestral roots and The Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra is embarking on a series of gigs to perform these expansive orchestral arrangements live.
“More Love & Death” was released in Germany on “SONGS & WHISPERS” at January 28th 2011.

www.johnnyparry.com