Curved Air

Curved Air

Curved Air is a progressive rock group from London, formed in 1970 and active from then to the present. The band works within folk rock and progressive rock, and its music combines classical, folk and electronic elements. It is known for the vocals of Sonja Kristina and the violin playing of Darryl Way, as well as the synthesizer work of Francis Monkman.

Early years and classic period

The group gains attention in the 1970s as one of the more distinctive British rock acts of the period. Sonja Kristina had previously performed in the London production of Hair. Curved Air’s debut album, Air Conditioning, appears in 1970 and includes the track “Vivaldi”. Their second album, Second Album, appears in 1971 and contains their only chart hit, “Back Street Luv”, alongside the extended piece “Piece of Mind”.

The band’s third album, Phantasmagoria from 1972, is often treated as its artistic high point. After Air Cut in 1973, Eddie Jobson joins the group as a violinist and keyboard player. Later line-ups include Sonja Kristina and her husband Stewart Copeland, who later helps form The Police.

Later activity

With that line-up, Curved Air releases Midnight Wire in 1975 and Airborne in 1976. The group then becomes largely inactive before re-forming in 2008. In the following years it releases the live album Live Atmosphere, drawn from a UK tour, and the studio album North Star in 2014. Sonja Kristina remains the only original member in the current line-up.

Line-up

Members associated with the group include Sonja Kristina, Kirby Gregory, Eddie Jobson, Jim Russell, Mike Wedgwood, Stewart Copeland, Ian Eyre, Francis Monkman, Darryl Way and Florian Pilkington-Miksa.