Jon Hopkins is an electronic music producer and musician from Kingston upon Thames, England. Born in 1979, he works across ambient, contemporary classical, electronic, electronica, IDM and tech house.

Background

Hopkins grows up in Wimbledon after being born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. He begins playing piano at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music in London at 12 and studies there until 17. He becomes interested in electronic music after hearing early house music on the radio at seven or eight, and also listens to Depeche Mode and the Pet Shop Boys, which help shape an early interest in synthesisers. As a teenager he also listens to acid house, early hardcore, grunge, and electronic acts including Acen, Seefeel and Plaid. He later receives his first computer, an Amiga 500, at 14 and begins programming MIDI material, then uses money won from piano competitions to buy a Roland synth and start composing his first long-form electronic pieces.

While studying, Ravel and Stravinsky are major influences, and he wins a competition to perform Ravel's Piano Concerto in G with an orchestra. He considers becoming a professional pianist, but decides that classical performance is too formal and unsettling to pursue full-time.

Career

Hopkins begins his career playing keyboard for Imogen Heap. He goes on to produce or contribute to albums by Brian Eno, Coldplay, David Holmes and others. His collaborations include Small Craft on a Milk Sea with Brian Eno and Leo Abrahams, and Diamond Mine with King Creosote.

His soundtrack for the 2010 film Monsters is nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Score. His third solo album, Insides, reaches number 15 on the Dance/Electronic Album Chart in 2009. Small Craft on a Milk Sea and Diamond Mine both reach number 82 on the UK Albums Chart. Diamond Mine is nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2011, and Immunity is also nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2013.

His fifth studio album, Singularity, is issued on Domino Recordings, which is also his label. He maintains a regular touring schedule in England and internationally and performs at festivals including Moogfest, MUTEK, Beacons Festival, Electric Zoo and Glastonbury Festival, as well as at venues such as Madison Square Garden and the London O2 Arena. He also premieres the iy_project at Wonderfruit in Thailand with light artist Chris Levine.

Working methods

Hopkins practices autogenic training and Transcendental Meditation, and says these help ideas flow in a less inhibited way. His music is described as moving between solo acoustic piano, bass-heavy electro, digital coldness and subtle, bucolic textures, with downtempo arrangements and ambient elements.