Christopher Duffin
Musician, Producer, Composer
Duffin is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer based in the North of England. Pitchfork says that "Duffin isn’t just some decorative noisemaker, but a crucial corrupting influence - he wields his sax like a flamethrower, blasting open portals into unrestrained psych-jazz chaos...like a lion tamer luring his beast into a cage” whilst The Wire describe him as "a slippery antagonist - often fidgety and slyly taking on the characteristics of multiple instruments". A keen collaborator, experimental and in-demand, he is currently recording and touring internationally with avant garde experimental musicians, Virginia Wing, electronic spiritual jazz acts, James Holden and XAM Duo, and providing free improvisation with post punk outfit, Drahla. He splits his time between touring, producing, teaching, and composing music for film and television.
Selected Discography
Appearances and releases on labels such as Domino, Island Records, Sonic Cathedral, FIRE, Captured Tracks, Fortuna Pop, Too Pure, Sony, Hatch, Come Play with Me, Polytechnic Youth...
Below is a small sample of recorded output, composition, arrangement and session work.
XAM DUO - XAM DUO II
March 2022
Production, Composition, Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Rhodes, Various Synths
YARD ACT - TBC
February 2022
Tenor and Soprano Saxophones
BEAUTIFUL LUNCHES - SLUMGULLION
June 2021
Producer, Composition, Saxophones and all other woodwind, Sampling, Rhodes, Synths
VIRGINIA WING - PRIVATE LIFE
Febuary 2021
Production, Composer, Saxophones / Flutes / Clarinets / Recorders, Bass Guitar, Synths and Pianos
VIRGINIA WING - ECSTATIC ARROW
June 2018
Tenor & Soprano Saxophones, Synthesisers, Fender Rhodes, Co-Writing
VIRGINIA WING / XAM DUO - TOMORROW'S GIFT
December 2017
Tenor & Soprano Saxophones, Hammond Organ, Fender Rhodes, Melodica, Various Synthesisers, Writing
DEADWALL - THE ZERO CLIFF
March 2017
Fender Rhodes, Mellotron, Hammond Organ, Philichorda, Saxophones, Moog Little Phatty, Juno 6, Fender VI, Programming, String Arrangements, Writing
XAM DUO - XAM DUO
November 2016
Tenor & Alto Saxophones, Organs, Synthesisers, Sequencing, Fender Rhodes, writing and production
Live
Live work has included global tours, international festival appearances, radio sessions and guest spots with the likes of James Holden, Virginia Wing, Hookworms, Drahla, XAM Duo, Modern Nature and many more.
Live Dates
(I'll try and keep this updated as much as possible...)
*Virginia Wing
^James Holden and The Animal Spirits
+Drahla
#XAM Duo
%Holodrum
July
19th - Latitude*
21st - Latitude+
27th - Farm Fest, Somerset^
30th - Copper Owl, Victoria*
31st - Static Jupiter, Vancouver*
August
1st - Vera Project - Seattle*
2nd, 3rd, 4th - Pickathon Festival, Portland*
5th - Rickshaw Shop, San Francisco*
7th - The Echo, Los Angeles*
9th - Elsewhere, Brooklyn, New York*
16th - Smina Jazz Festival, Romania^
23rd - The Lost Village Festival, Lincoln^
24th - This Must Be The Place, Leeds*
29th - End of The Road Festival, Larmer Tree Gardens*
September
13th - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds#
17th - YES, Manchester#
October
19th - Boudica Festival, Coventry*
20th - WIld Paths Festival, Norwich*
November
2nd - Soup Kitchen, Manchester%
24th - Meet Factory, Prague+
25th - Kulturak Klub, Bratislava+
26th - Dura Kurt, Budapest+
27th - Chmury, Warsaw+
29th - Klub RE, Krakow+
December
5th - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds%
31st - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds - NYE House Band
2020
March
17th - SXSW, Austin, Texas*
18th - SXSW, Austin, Texas*
19th - SXSW, Austin, Texas*
20th - SXSW, Austin, Texas*
21st - SXSW, Austin, Texas*
24th March - 16th April - USA Tour*
2021
February
11th - SXSW Online*
August
14th - Deaf Institute, Manchester - Ultrasound
15th - Bush Hall, London - Ultrasound
September
22nd - Elsewhere, Margate*
23rd - Hope & Ruin, Brighton
24th - Moth Club, London
28th - Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh
29th - Broadcast, Glasgow
30th - The Cluny, Newcastle
October
1st - Headrow House, Leeds
2nd - The White Hotel, Manchester
6th - Fusion Arts Centre, Oxford
7th - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
8th - The Crofters Rights, Bristol
9th - Blue Moon, Cambridge
Composition and Scores
Bespoke pieces for exhibitions, video, events, advertisements, etc... always open to talking about possible commissions and collaborations.
Filmography - Scores
Alice 404 - Directed by Kate Graham, Alice 404 (pictured) is look at grief through a modern technology lens.
Scrum - Following the success of Alice 404, Kate Graham and Northern Flowerhouse (Chris and Tom Basri) collaborated once again, this time on the BFI backed, Scrum.
Hairdresser Michelle (Kelli Hollis) arrives at a muddy rugby ground, furious to find that her 14 year-old daughter, Jodie (Emma Wrightson), has cut her face playing rugby league. Despite her daughter’s protests, Michelle bans Jodie from ever playing again.
Set in present day Leeds, Yorkshire, Scrum is an affecting look at a mother-daughter relationship that reminds us sometimes the people we love aren’t quite who we expect them to be, and that’s OK.
Teaching
Chris teaches from his studio space based in Leeds
Piano - classical, jazz, contemporary
Keyboards - playing styles, techniques, the studio is full of synthesisers, an upright piano and a Fender Rhodes
Saxophone