Christopher Duffin
Keyboards and Saxophones
Live and Studio Session Musician
Composer and Tutor
Duffin is a multi-instrumentalist session musician and composer based in the North of England. Pitchfork has said that Duffin “wields his sax like a flamethrower, blasting open portals into unrestrained psych-jazz chaos...like a lion tamer luring his beast into a cage.” 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, recording, teaching, and composing music for film and television.
Selected Discography
Appearances and releases on labels such as Domino, Sonic Cathedral, FIRE, Captured Tracks, Fortuna Pop, Too Pure, Sony, Hatch, Come Play with Me, Polytechnic Youth... and many more. These have been with a bunch of people you've heard of and a bunch you haven't.
Below is a small sample of recorded output, composition, arrangement and session work.
VIRGINIA WING - PRIVATE LIFE
Autumn 2020
Saxophones / Flutes / Clarinets / Recorders
Bass Guitar
Synths
Recording, Programming and Production
Co-Writing
BEAUTIFUL LUNCHES - SLUMGULLION
Winter 2020
Saxophones
Sampling
Rhodes
Synths
Co-Writing, Recording, Production
XAM DUO - XAM DUO II
Winter 2020
Tenor Saxophone
Soprano Saxophone
Rhodes
Various Synths
Writing / Recording / Production
MEMNON SA - WORLD SERPANT
April 2020
Tenor Saxophone
DRAHLA - USELESS COORDINATES
May 2019
Tenor Saxophone
Co-Writing
VIRGINIA WING - ECSTATIC ARROW
June 2018
Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
Synthesisers
Fender Rhodes
Co-Writing
HOOKWORMS - MICROSHIFT
February 2018
Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
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
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 updates 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*
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
Composition and Scores
Chris writes 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. The film features an original score by Chris Duffin and Tom Basri (together as Northern Flowerhouse) and the XAM Duo track, Pine Barrens. The film has played at the Leeds International Film Festival, Underwire Festival, Last Frame Film Festival and many more.
Scrum - Following the success of Alice 404, Kate Graham and Northern Flowerhouse (Chris Duffin & Tom Basri) are collaborating again, this time on the BFI backed, Scrum. Due for release in 2020.