Fiona Brice

Fiona Brice
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Background information
Born	5 november
Origin	Northampton, England
Genres	Contemporary classical Alternative rock Pop music
Instruments	Violin/Electric violin Keyboards Piano Theremin Tambourine Synthesizer
Associated acts	Placebo Patrick Wolf John Grant Vashti Bunyan Stephanie Dosen Kanye West Howard Jones Michael J. Sheehy Anthony Reynolds Tram Dream City Film Club

Fiona Brice is a composer, orchestral arranger and violinist. She is best known as a sidewoman with the alternative rock band Placebo.

Brice writes orchestral arrangements for various artists and has toured and recorded with several major pop and rock acts, including Placebo, Kanye West, Sugababes, Boy George, Westlife, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Patrick Wolf and Simply Red. In addition, she conducts a solo career (with the latest album, The Separate, released in July 2012) and works as a songwriter with other artists.

Involvement with Placebo

Her first engagement with Placebo was in 2005, contributing the string arrangements on Meds. Some years later, in December 2008, Brice joined Placebo for their singular live performance in Angkor Wat. There, she played the violin part on unique re-arrangements of several Placebo songs. In between, Brice also provided string arrangements in the studio recording of Battle for the Sun.

As Placebo continued to tour in 2009, before and after the release of Battle for the Sun, Brice joined them, rendering live the violin sounds identified with the album. She is the first-ever female Placebo member, either core or sideman.

She also played together with Placebo at their MTV Unplugged session in 2015.

Biography

After graduating from King's College London and the Royal Academy of Music, London, Brice started playing violin onstage with Dream City Film Club and featured on their album "In the Cold Light of Morning" (Beggars Banquet, 1999). Around this time she also began performing with other London-based acts including Tram, Suzanne Rhatigan, Simon Breed, Menlo Park and Jack. Michael J. Sheehy's solo album "Sweet Blue Gene" was the first album to feature Brice's string arrangements.

Brice then spent several years as a session violinist in London, appearing regularly on TV with numerous Top 40 Chart Acts including Kanye West, Will Young, Gorillaz, Westlife, Il Divo, Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Boy George, Ian Brown and Ronan Keating (Live from Abbey Road, Popworld, Top of the Pops, Strictly Come Dancing, This Morning, Parkinson) whilst still writing and performing with lesser known artists. More recently, she has focussed on arranging and performing with more alternative-minded artists and singer/songwriters. Brice has a long-term connection with Bella Union Records and has written, toured and recorded with John Grant, Midlake, Roy Harper, Stephanie Dosen and several of their other artists. Whilst being involved with Placebo, she continues to work with other artists, notably Michael J. Sheehy and Patrick Wolf, and writes original orchestral music.

As an orchestral arranger when has worked with the BBC Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Sinfonia Cymru, Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, Metropol Orchestra and Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

Fiona is represented by Paul Devaney at Jude Street Management.

Discography

Orchestral arrangements include the following albums:

• Placebo – "MTV Unplugged" (2015) (string arrangements, violin, piano, backing vocals, whirly tube, glockenspiel)
• John Grant with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Live in Concert (2014) (orchestral arrangements, additional vocals & piano)
• Anna Calvi – "One Breath" (2013) (string arrangements, conducting)
• Placebo – "Loud Like Love" (2013) (string arrangements)
• John Grant – "Pale Green Ghosts" (2013) (string & brass arrangements)
• The Separate – Orchestral Variations V.01 (2012) (string arrangements)
• Sarah Jaffe – "The Body Wins" (2012) (orchestral arrangements)
• Patrick Wolf – "Lupercalia" (2011) (orchestral arrangements)
• John Grant – Queen of Denmark (2010) (arrangements, violin)
• Placebo – Battle for the Sun (2009)
• Patrick Wolf – The Bachelor (2009)
• Michael J. Sheehy and the Hired Mourners – The Rise and Fall of Francis Delaney (2009) (arrangements, violin)
• Gemma Ray – Lights Out Zoltar! (2009) (arrangements, violin)
• Lucas Renney – Strange Glory (2009)
• Howard Jones – Ordinary Heroes (2009)
• Andy Hunter – Colour (2008)
• Amy Studt – My Paper Made Men (2008) (Track "Walking Out")
• Anthony Reynolds – British Ballads (2008) (arrangements, violin)
• Kate Nash – Made of Bricks (2007)
• Kill the Young – Proud Sponsors of Boredom (2007) (Track "Television Show")
• Kelly Jones – Only the Names have been Changed (2007)
• Stephanie Dosen – A Lily for the Spectre (2007) (arrangements, violin)
• Michael J. Sheehy – Ghost on the Motorway (2007) (arrangements, violin)
• The Servant – How to Destroy a Relationship (2006)
• The Feeling – Twelve Stops and Home (2006) (Track "I Miss You") (arrangements, violin)
• Placebo – Meds (2006)
• Ed Harcourt – The Beautiful Lie (2005) (Tracks "You Only Call Me When You're Drunk" and "The Drug")
• Clearlake – Amber (2005) (arrangements, violin)
• Vashti Bunyan – Lookaftering (2005) (Track "The Same but Different") (additional arrangement, violin)
• The Jeevas – Cowboys and Indians (2004) (Tracks "Back Home" and "How Much do You Suck?") (violin)
• Mr Wright – Goodnight Baby (2004) (arrangements, violin)
• Tram – A Kind of Closure (2002) (string and brass arrangements, violin)
• Michael J. Sheehy – Ill Gotten Gains (2001) (arrangements, violin)
• Tram – Frequently Asked Questions (2000) (arrangements, violin)
• Michael J. Sheehy – Sweet Blue Gene (2000) (arrangements, violin)
• Dream City Film Club – In the Cold Light of Morning (1998) (arrangements, violin)

Filmography

Brice appeared in the following films:

• The Making of Battle for the Sun: The Album (Placebo documentary)
• Vashti Bunyan: From Here to Before (documentary directed by Kieran Evans)
• Donavon Frankenreiter, The Abbey Road Sessions
• Kanye West – Late Orchestration (Kanye West live at Abbey Road)
• David Axelrod Live at the Royal Festival Hall

External links

• Official website
• Fiona Brice on Facebook