P. O. Box 8078
New Plymouth
New Zealand
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P. O. Box 8078 |
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PHIL BOWERING: BACKGROUND INFORMATION |
Phil Bowering was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in New Plymouth. He learned tenor horn with Lionel Hall and played in brass and concert bands and in chamber music groups. He then took up bass guitar and played in bands around the Taranaki region, in local Repertory music/drama productions and in his first pub residency.
On leaving school Phil moved to Wellington, studying at Victoria University and completing a BA in 1977. He then studied Jazz Improvisation with Colin Hemmingsen at the Creative Music School, worked as a session musician on film soundtracks, composed music for Goodnight Old Man, an animated film by Euan Frizzell, and formed the "advanced jazz rock" band Outlines in 1979.
In 1980 Outlines recorded at Studio II, Radio New Zealand, Wellington for the Concert Programme. Phil attended the National Jazz Clinic, recorded songs for the Pacific Song Contest with others under the name Mixed Company and formed the Protons with guitarist Tony Richards. In 1981 the Protons released a single Lights On/Modern Homes and made a video clip at TVNZ's Avalon Studios. In 1982 Phil released the album Hiatus and his first solo single, the anti nuclear Wolves of Power/Mutants (as a result of nuclear fallout).
In 1982 Phil began recording in Auckland with Steve Garden, Mike Farrell, Matthew Brown and others as Low Profile. He then developed Flamewave Music Productions and the Flamewave International record label and between 1982 Low Profile recorded and released two albums, two EPs and a 12" and co-produced three music videos with independent film makers: Glass Cage (1983), Elephunk (1984) and Simon Says (1987).
During the 1980s Phil performed and recorded with a number of other ensembles including Cultural Affairs, The Buccaneers, Atmospherics, The Storm Sisters All Time Good Time Band, The Street Band, The Groove, Jazz City and Moving Lines. Moving Lines recorded original compositions at Studio II, Radio New Zealand, Wellington, for the Concert Programme series Crosscurrents and this material was subsequently released as Moving Lines 1 in 1987 by Ode Records.
Over this period Phil also did live sound mixing, recorded other bands, ran a studio/gallery, did workshops in schools as the musician member of a multimedia team, researched the Rites of Passage of migrant groups and worked for the Department of Education, who commissioned him to compose and record the music for Te Whakawhiti I Te Rori (Crossing the Road) in 1987.
In 1988 Phil returned to Victoria University to complete an MA in Communications. His thesis was a study of the relationship between synergy in the group dynamics of contemporary music making and the use of MIDI/personal computer based music systems in an OSI/ISDN environment.
In 1990 Phil moved to London where he worked mainly in the fields of desk top publishing and graphic design. He also performed with the Shining and Crazy 4 Animals, at Glastonbury Festival in 1992 and at the inauguration of Delta in 1993.
Since returning to New Zealand Phil has lived in Taranaki and Auckland, performed with Drum Magic, in the dance productions Marraminde and Sumptuousity, with Ditto, the Skinnydippers, the Taranaki Big Band, Uncle John's Band and the Anita Anker Trio, tutored on a TOPS programme and at MAINZ, run workshops with at-risk youth and taught privately and in a number of schools.
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