Biography
Multi-instrumentalists Andrew Hodson and Steve Jefferis comprise Warm Digits, whose intricate compositions fuse songwriting concepts shaped by Can, Neu!, and Kraftwerk, the thick textural accumulations of My Bloody Valentine, and the ethereal analog lines pioneered by Brian Eno. The pair’s first full-length effort, Keep Warm … With the Warm Digits, surfaced in 2012 and already signaled the interplay of retro longing and forward-looking vision that later dominated releases such as 2013’s Interchange, a work that reflected on mid-century faith in advancement through a lens of affectionate skepticism. Adding outside singers to Wireless World in 2017 and Flight of Ideas in 2020 only heightened the music’s reach and immediacy.
Before the duo existed, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne resident Hodson issued a 2006 album with his group the Matinee Orchestra and operated Seed Studios; among the artists he has produced are Maxïmo Park’s Paul Smith and the folk duo Cath & Phil Tyler. Manchester-based Jefferis, meanwhile, issued multiple albums and singles of lighthearted electronica under the Cathode name. Their earliest joint experiments yielded austere techno in the vein of Basic Channel and Modeselektor, yet an assignment to score an animated film live prompted the introduction of drums and guitar, forging the propulsive style that soon defined the project.
Having supplied remixes for UNKLE and Maxïmo Park and shared stages with Barbara Morgenstern, Goblin, and Field Music, Warm Digits turned to recording their debut. Field Music’s David Brewis supplied bass as the pair shaped improvised material into the ten tracks of Keep Warm … With the Warm Digits, issued by Distraction Records near the end of 2011. Early the following year they joined Brewis and his brother Peter for a BBC Radio 3 Late Junction session that later appeared in both digital and vinyl formats.
Warm Digits unveiled Interchange in 2013 as an audiovisual commission for Half Memory, the Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums program inviting artists to reinterpret institutional holdings. Drawing on 1970s footage documenting construction of the Tyneside Metro, the duo produced both film and score. They also supplied music for Esther Johnson’s documentary Asunder, which examined World War I’s effects across North East England; in 2017 the band, Field Music, and Bob Stanley performed that score with a string ensemble at the Barbican Centre. The same year Hodson and Jefferis released their third album, Wireless World, incorporating vocals from associates such as Peter Brewis, Saint Etienne’s Sarah Cracknell, and Devon Sproule into Motorik-driven reflections on technology’s dual capacities. Their fourth album, Flight of Ideas, followed the same trajectory in April 2020, exploring ideas that outlast their original purpose through contributions from Emma Pollock, the Orielles, the Lovely Eggs, and Rozi Plain.
Before the duo existed, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne resident Hodson issued a 2006 album with his group the Matinee Orchestra and operated Seed Studios; among the artists he has produced are Maxïmo Park’s Paul Smith and the folk duo Cath & Phil Tyler. Manchester-based Jefferis, meanwhile, issued multiple albums and singles of lighthearted electronica under the Cathode name. Their earliest joint experiments yielded austere techno in the vein of Basic Channel and Modeselektor, yet an assignment to score an animated film live prompted the introduction of drums and guitar, forging the propulsive style that soon defined the project.
Having supplied remixes for UNKLE and Maxïmo Park and shared stages with Barbara Morgenstern, Goblin, and Field Music, Warm Digits turned to recording their debut. Field Music’s David Brewis supplied bass as the pair shaped improvised material into the ten tracks of Keep Warm … With the Warm Digits, issued by Distraction Records near the end of 2011. Early the following year they joined Brewis and his brother Peter for a BBC Radio 3 Late Junction session that later appeared in both digital and vinyl formats.
Warm Digits unveiled Interchange in 2013 as an audiovisual commission for Half Memory, the Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums program inviting artists to reinterpret institutional holdings. Drawing on 1970s footage documenting construction of the Tyneside Metro, the duo produced both film and score. They also supplied music for Esther Johnson’s documentary Asunder, which examined World War I’s effects across North East England; in 2017 the band, Field Music, and Bob Stanley performed that score with a string ensemble at the Barbican Centre. The same year Hodson and Jefferis released their third album, Wireless World, incorporating vocals from associates such as Peter Brewis, Saint Etienne’s Sarah Cracknell, and Devon Sproule into Motorik-driven reflections on technology’s dual capacities. Their fourth album, Flight of Ideas, followed the same trajectory in April 2020, exploring ideas that outlast their original purpose through contributions from Emma Pollock, the Orielles, the Lovely Eggs, and Rozi Plain.
Albums
