Brian Eno

Brian Eno opened a new door of perception for me and would come to influence my approach to website design, copywriting style, and using limitations/restrictions as a strength. Although I first heard Brian Eno's soundscapes on the first two Roxy Music albums (Roxy Music and For Your Pleasure) — it was Randy Gregory who opened the door wider still by introducing me to Eno's solo work (Discreet Music, Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy), and Another Green World).

Brian Eno, who refers to himself as a "non-musician", is a musical artist who used aural soundscapes mixed with barely perceptible sounds to enchant his listeners. His influence can be felt, in modern day, throughout U2's music (as he co-produces them along with Daniel Lanois). He's no Timbaland-sure-fire-hit-machine - but he continues to enhance U2's music in ways that keep them sounding fresh and multi-dimensional.

Brian's Microsoft Gig

Brian Eno also did a short piece for Microsoft. Brian's recollection of "the problem" was that Microsoft came to him and said "We want a piece of music that is inspiring, universal, optimistic, futuristic, sentimental, and emotional. And we want it to be 3.25 seconds long". That little 3.25 second piece ended up to be the Windows 95 startup theme.

Don't Listen to Brian Eno's Music

Don't listen to Brian Eno's music. You might start seeing (or hearing) things that aren't there. And that's whats important in copywriting as well.