ALL ABOUT JOHN MITCHELL
John Mitchell is an English musician, songwriter and record producer.
A multi-instrumentalist who predominantly sings and plays guitar, Mitchell is a member of several popular progressive rock bands, including Frost*, It Bites and Arena. John releases his solo music under the pseudonym Lonely Robot. John also masterminded the bands Kino and The Urbane and played bass for alternative rock band A.
John has performed live with the likes of John Wetton (Asia) and Martin Barre (Jethro Tull) to name a few.
John is also a record producer and sound engineer at Outhouse Studios, his own recording studio in Reading, UK, where he has recorded and produced music for a number of mainstream rock artists including Enter Shikari, You Me At Six, Steven Wilson, Don Broco, Lower Than Atlantis, Architects, The Blackout, Kids In Glass Houses, Funeral for a Friend, Deaf Havana and many more.
John is a massive enthusiast of sailing and vintage cars (notably Jaguar) and is currently finding it increasingly hard to navigate his driveway!
KINO - RADIO VOLTAIRE
Kino's first album since 2005 sees John Mitchell (It Bites, Lonely Robot) & Pete Trewavas (Marillion) teaming up once more, with Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson) on drums & John Beck (It Bites) guesting on keyboards.
Recorded at the end of 2017, writing began at the end of that Summer. “We actually began the writing process in late August” says John Mitchell. “Pete had a few tunes and so did I, and we went from there.” Mitchell and Trewavas were both a crucial part of the original band more than a decade ago, with the former providing lead vocals and guitar parts, while the latter played his trademark bass lines and also contributed backing vocals.
Keyboard player John Beck, who is also a band-mate of Mitchell's in It Bites, has been brought back. But while he was fully involved on the debut album, this time his role is that of a guest musician. “Yes, I am delighted to say we've got John on board. His keyboard playing is splattered throughout the album, and I've also done the odd keyboard part myself.” The task of drummer this time fell to Craig Blundell, as Mitchell explains: “This time around Craig was the obvious choice to be the drummer, as far as I was concerned. I have worked with him so much that there was nobody else in the frame.”
Of the albums direction, Mitchell illustrates: “The title sounds very cool and obviously there's a connection with the band Cabaret Voltaire. But Voltaire himself (the 18th century French philosopher) had a fascination with death, which appealed to me. He also stood for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. On top of that, I love the idea of a radio station that would reflect his views on life and cut through the bullshit which seems to be all over politics. Now, that is the type of radio station I think would reflect what a lot of us want to hear.”