"Everything will be alright"

Raleigh Addington
Raleigh Addington
editor at Chartwell Speakers

Brian Eno, legendary pioneer of electronic music, has never been known for his sunny outlook. True, he did co-found Roxy Music; yes, he has produced a back catalogue of widely acclaimed solo projects, and indeed, he has worked with a roster of pop giants, from Talking Heads and David Bowie to U2 and Coldplay, that would make most other producers green with envy. However, there has always been a thread of melancholia running through his output, an anxiety, he says, born out of having hopes for the future that, deep down, he never believed could be fulfilled.

But things have changed. For, according to his July 1st interview with FT Weekend, his latest album ‘Drums Between The Bells’ (released on Warp Records on July 4th ) is underpinned by a much more positive worldview. He is inspired by the new creative pluralism allowed by advances in technology. His Malthusian pessimism has been replaced by the belief that humanity has never had it so good, and that this trend is set to continue.

And who is one of the key influences behind this U-turn in his mentality? Why, it is none other than Matt Ridley, whom Chartwell represents exclusively as a speaker in the UK and Europe.

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