Kevin Buckland is an alumnus of our BMus course, an innovative and experimental musician and bassist now studying a PhD at the University of Birmingham.
He started studying privately with us when we were known as Bass Tech before joining our BMus programme. Kevin had aspirations to improve his abilities as a bassist after enjoying stints as a performer with various jazz bands, theatre pits and on cruise ships.
Commenting, Kevin said: "It was quite daunting going to study as a mature student. But it was great with the arranging and composition module proving to be a real turning point for me.
The tutor was fantastic, and really encouraged me even though I had a slightly more leftfield approach to composing. I was playing solo bass, and using my own field recordings in the compositions. She also encouraged me to continue and study further."
Since then, Kevin has continued to do so, graduating with an MA in music/electroacoustic composition from the University of Birmingham in 2018 and now gearing up to begin the second year of a PhD, also in electroacoustic composition.
His projects since leaving iCMP include touring as a solo bass player with shows in the UK, France and Holland as well as performing with another solo bassist, Steve Lawson.
“More recently I’ve adopted a more experimental approach, using a MacBook, midi/electronics and MAX/MSP, with that I’ve again done gigs around the UK and also in Amsterdam last October.
I’ve released several solo albums, either myself through Bandcamp, and also through a few independent record labels. I wouldn’t have done any of this if I hadn’t attended ICMP. It totally changed my life.”
Visit Kevin’s Quietest Records label on Bandcamp.