Orpheo McCord
Orpheo McCord is an American composer and percussionist. He was a founding member of the now-defunct Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and was a former member of The Fall, Fool's Gold and Cass McCombs. His debut solo album, Recovery Inhale, was released on January 26, 2018. His second album, Music for Ketamine Therapy Vol. I, was released on October 8, 2023.
Early life and education
McCord attended Berklee College of Music, graduating in 2002. He has spent time in Ghana studying African percussion, and has also studied percussion in Mali, Cuba and Morocco.His father Joseph McCord has said he was named after the musician Orpheus from Greek mythology. Joseph McCord was a professional mime who went by the name Merlin, and was one of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters.
Career
The Fall (2006-07)
In May 2006 after several members of U.K. Band The Fall quit mid-tour, McCord was recruited by frontman Mark E. Smith to join The Fall along with guitarist Tim Presley and bassist Rob Barbato. McCord toured the US and Europe with the band, and was a member of The Fall for their 26th album Reformation Post TLC, as well as the live album Last Night at The Palais, recorded in 2007 and released two years later. The 2006-07 lineup was a pleasant one for The Fall, absent the infighting that marked most of the band's numerous incarnations. In his 2008 autobiography Renegade, Smith called McCord the best of the more than a dozen drummers The Fall had up to that point, with an openness to new ideas and straightforward playing that avoided cliches.Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (2007-present)
were formed in Los Angeles in 2007 by frontman Alex Ebert. McCord met Ebert at a mutual friend's party and then again while jogging in Elysian Park, where Ebert asked him to join the band. They released their debut album Up From Below in 2009, followed by Here in 2012, a self-titled album in 2013, and PersonA in 2016. The group won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film in 2013 for the documentary Big Easy Express. McCord incorporates African influences in his work with the band, using a hybridization of drum set, marimba, conga, djembe and electronic percussion.McCord played marimba on Alex Ebert's score for the 2013 film All Is Lost, which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
Solo work
On January 26, 2018, McCord's debut solo album, Recovery Inhale, was released on Sound Creature Records. The album is composed of "hypnotic instrumental pieces... treading the line between new age and minimalist ambient music." "Ghost Ship", the first single, was released in December 2017. On the album, McCord performs all instruments, predominantly effected marimba and kalimba.McCord's second solo album, Music for Ketamine Therapy Vol. I, was released on Sound Creature Records on October 8, 2023.
Other work
McCord has intermittently toured as drummer for Cass McCombs since 2007 and has played on four of his albums. He was formerly the drummer and percussion leader in Fool's Gold, an LA pop band whose music incorporates African rhythms. In 2010, he played with Harper Simon as a duo at the Festival au Désert in Mali, outside of Timbuktu. They also performed there with the Tuareg band Tinariwen. In 2014, McCord and Mikael Jorgensen formed the duo Prism Break, inspired by early 1970s German experimental rock. McCord has also performed with Ima Robot, The Flaming Lips, Jack Johnson, Dawes and He's My Brother She's My Sister.Chromasonic
Chromasonic, founded in 2019 by McCord, Joel Shearer, Johannes Girardoni and Harriet Girardoni, is a series of immersive light and sound experiences to inspire expanded states of awareness and connection, fostering deep relaxation and enhancing emotional well-being. The group created Chromasonic Refrequencing, which synchronizes lightwaves and soundwaves in real-time, creating synesthetic environments where light becomes audible and sound becomes visible. Chromasonic is a part of the NeuroArts movement, a transdisciplinary study of how the arts and aesthetic experiences change the body, brain, and behavior and how this knowledge is translated into practices that advance health and wellbeing. Data collected at Chromasonic's Satellite One permanent installation showed physiological changes, including increased parasympathetic activity and shifts in brain activity related to sensory processing and attention.There have been installations in California, Colorado, and Italy, and there is a permanent site in Venice, California, called Satellite One, which launched in 2021. In April 2024, Chromasonic collaborated with Google on an interactive exhibition, demonstrating how color influences one's perception of the world, at Milan Design Week in Italy. On January 8, 2025, Chromasonic Field, a 10,000-square-foot walk-through installation, opened in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles. Chromasonic Field is a vibrant light and sound constellation of repeating translucent scrims that create a series of open and interstitial spaces. In the experiential environment, each of the 21 nodes is activated by a single source of light and spatialized sound, creating a bridge between the ethereal and physical.