Jeff Greinke

Jeff Greinke is a renowned composer of dark ambient, electro-acoustic, and experimental music, as well as a visual artist. Greinke is a former meteorology student, and weather has always remained a central theme of his heavily atmospheric work, which blends electronic and acoustic instruments and textures in order to produce haunting yet inviting soundscapes. His earliest works include murky, grainy cassettes and LPs such as 1985's Cities in Fog and 1986's Moving Climates. He began adding more rhythmic elements to his work starting with 1994's Big Weather; around this time, he founded the group <a href="spotify:artist:3dTGg7jmcE1Lud4HWwbpsE">LAND</a>, which combined progressive rock, jazz, and world music influences. During the late '90s, he founded the downtempo/ethereal duo <a href="spotify:artist:3m9d0ad2CIobasdy3pAwwb">Hana</a> with Anisa Romero of <a href="spotify:artist:6TAcOd7nZhLXchXNXdJsmi">Sky Cries Mary</a>. Greinke's 2005 release Soundtracks showcased some of his compositions for film and dance. Subsequent works such as 2013's Scenes from a Train and 2018's Before Sunrise have included arrangements for orchestral instruments, fusing deep space ambient with modern classical.

Greinke began composing music in 1980, while studying meteorology at Pennsylvania State University. Along with collaborator Rob Angus, Greinke moved to Seattle in 1982 and co-founded record label and production company <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Intrepid%22">Intrepid</a>. The label released several cassettes by both artists, including 1984 collaboration Night and Fog, as well as Greinke's first LP, 1985's Cities in Fog. German label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dossier%22">Dossier</a> released 1987's Places of Motility and 1988's Timbral Planes, and Greinke contributed to numerous dark ambient, drone, and industrial compilations. In 1990, Changing Skies was released by Swedish label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Multimood+Records%22">Multimood Records</a>, and Greinke shared a split CD with avant-prog legends <a href="spotify:artist:3UGoJfjsENJ0x9rVckIuOg">Art Zoyd</a> and trombonist/composer <a href="spotify:artist:1mhS5UKsgRzY9KffORVlQ3">J.A. Deane</a>, released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ear-Rational+Records%22">Ear-Rational Records</a>. The same label issued Crossing Ngoli, Greinke's 1992 CD with Angus. Lost Terrain appeared on <a href="spotify:artist:3e5TNM5P93mTIZHiLRIoBP">Kim Cascone</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Silent%22">Silent</a> label the same year. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Linden+Music%22">Linden Music</a> released 1993's In Another Place and 1994's Big Weather. The latter featured guitar playing by <a href="spotify:artist:3Xgk4rjYcVVaCP2gePSVPc">Dennis Rea</a>, Greinke's bandmate in Fourth World fusion group <a href="spotify:artist:3dTGg7jmcE1Lud4HWwbpsE">LAND</a>. The band's self-titled debut was released by Australian label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Extreme%22">Extreme</a> in 1995, and they toured China in 1996, including a performance at the Beijing International Jazz Festival. <a href="spotify:artist:3dTGg7jmcE1Lud4HWwbpsE">LAND</a>'s second album, Archipelago, followed in 1997.

Greinke's solo album Swimming was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Prudence%22">Prudence</a> in 1998. The following year, he released Hana, a self-titled full-length by his collaborative duo with <a href="spotify:artist:6TAcOd7nZhLXchXNXdJsmi">Sky Cries Mary</a> vocalist Anisa Romero. The album was one of the premier releases on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22First+World+Music%22">First World Music</a>, a Seattle-based label run by several notable musicians including Greinke, <a href="spotify:artist:2gCtGjKVc4tIzYTBLszXX5">Trey Gunn</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7fSsJHT3uWZcm1WMALiHZt">Bill Rieflin</a> (who also played in <a href="spotify:artist:3dTGg7jmcE1Lud4HWwbpsE">LAND</a>). Following Greinke's 1999 solo album Ride, the label released <a href="spotify:artist:3m9d0ad2CIobasdy3pAwwb">Hana</a>'s second album, Omen, and <a href="spotify:artist:3dTGg7jmcE1Lud4HWwbpsE">LAND</a>'s third and final release, Road Movies, both in 2001. Dream the Red Clouds, Greinke's collaboration with darkwave duo <a href="spotify:artist:6hSuBll1XiqZtic8YBH5UE">Faith & Disease</a>, appeared in 2002, and solo album Wide View was released the same year. Weather from Another Planet was issued in 2003, followed by 2005's Soundtracks, collecting some of his film and dance pieces. Greinke moved to the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Lotuspike%22">Lotuspike</a> label for 2007's Winter Light and 2009's Virga. Scenes from a Train, featuring some of Greinke's former <a href="spotify:artist:3dTGg7jmcE1Lud4HWwbpsE">LAND</a> collaborators, was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Infectious+Music%22">Infectious Music</a> in 2013. Five years later, Greinke's Before Sunrise, an enchanting fusion of ambient and minimalist classical, was issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Spotted+Peccary%22">Spotted Peccary</a>. Other Weather appeared in 2021, followed by Noctilucent in 2022. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi