Robert Haigh, also known as Omni Trio, is a British electronic, ambient and experimental musician.
Career
Early work (1979–1991)
At school, Haigh was in a band called Labyrinth playing original material that was influenced by David Bowie and Roxy Music.[1] In the early 1980s Haigh released a series of experimental ambient albums under the names Robert Haigh and Sema – the most notable being ‘Three Seasons Only’ and ‘Notes From Underground’. He also contributed to several Nurse With Wound projects and formed an industrial avant-funk band called The Truth Club together with Trefor Goronwy, who would go on to join This Heat. In a 1994 feature in The Wire on ambient jungle by Simon Reynolds, Haigh's influences were listed as Pere Ubu, The Pop Group, Can, Faust and Neu! as well as Miles Davis and King Tubby.[2]
Omni Trio (1992–2004)
In the 1990s, Haigh developed a unique style of what has become known as ‘ambientdrum 'n' bass’ and released six EPs and six albums under the name Omni Trio to great acclaim. The Omni Trio sound is notable for its intricate breakbeat patterns, orchestrated production, atmospheric sound palette, sweetly melodic piano vamps, and creative use of sampled soul-diva vocals.[3] Omni Trio was one of the original drum 'n' bass producers, who first released for Moving Shadow as early as 1993. He produced several anthems in the period now known as "old skool", including "Mystic Stepper (Feel Better)", "Renegade Snares", "Thru the Vibe", and "Living for the Future". All of these featured on his acclaimed first LP, The Deepest Cut Vol 1 (1995), which was released under the title Music For The Next Millennium that same year in the US through Sm:)e Communications.
He followed this up with The Haunted Science in 1996, which included the singles "Trippin' on Broken Beats" and "Nu Birth of Cool". Mainstream trends in dancefloor-oriented drum 'n' bass rapidly diverged from his musical style, and subsequent albums Skeleton Keys (1997), the Detroit techno-influenced Byte Size Life (1999), and Even Angels Cast Shadows (2001) produced no big club hits on the scale of his early singles, but they further cemented his reputation as one of the finest album-oriented musicians in the genre. Indeed, he was the first drum'n'bass artist to produce six full-length artist albums.
Following the release of the sixth and final Omni Trio album Rogue Satellite in 2004, Haigh decided to cease recording as Omni Trio.[4]
Current work (2005–present)
Since Omni Trio, Haigh has released a series of modern classical and minimalist albums under his own name: the post MinimalistFrom the Air (2006) and Written on Water (2008), and the piano works: Notes and Crossings (2009), Anonymous Lights (2010), Strange and Secret Things (2011), and Darkling Streams (2013).[5] On his decision to cease recording as Omni Trio he has said: "After Even Angels Cast Shadows and especially the minimal structures of Rogue Satellite, I felt that perhaps my work was done in this particular area. All along the intention was to do the Omni Trio stuff alongside producing and releasing piano based material under my own name. Then the Omni thing blew up much bigger than I had anticipated. But throughout the '90s I also kept writing piano and minimal themes. By the early 2000s the time seemed right to put the emphasis on developing this material."[4]
In 2014, German label VOD released the compilation album Cold Pieces. This is a companion collection to 2012's Time Will Say Nothing box set. These two compilations represent Haigh's earliest solo output – covering most of the eighties (1982 to 1989.) Where Time Will Say Nothing focused on Haigh's darker and more industrial period, Cold Pieces represents the evolution into more piano based experimentation.[6]
In January 2015, Haigh released an 18 track collection of piano compositions called The Silence Of Ghosts. Much of the material on The Silence of Ghosts is developed from piano improvisation. In a recent interview he states: "Most of my compositions start from freeform improvisation at the piano. Later I revisit the more compelling themes and from there, structures start to emerge. I never use formal notation just the odd rough diagrams and written reminders."[7]
Discography
As Sema
Studio albums
Notes from the Underground (Le Rey, 1982)
Themes from Hunger (Le Rey, 1982)
Extract from Rosa Silber (Ley Rey, 1983)
Singles
"S. Minor Ghosts" 7" (Marquee Moon, 1982)
Compilation albums
Time Will Say Nothing 1982–1984 (Vinyl-On-Demand, 2012)
Collaborative recordings
Three Seasons Only with Robert Haigh (Le Rey, 1984)
^"Archived copy". www.vinyl-on-demand.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
