Cinematic Orchestra, The Vinyl Records
The brilliantly named Cinematic Orchestra is led by composer/programmer/multi-instrumentalist Jason Swinscoe. The music he recorded on his own in the mid-90s melded '60s and '70s jazz, orchestral soundtracks, rhythm loops, and live instrumentation into genre-defying compositions, as reflected on his contribution to Ninja Tune's 1997 Ninja Cuts 3 collection. The Cinematic Orchestra built on this musical blueprint, letting a group of live musicians improvise over sampled percussion or bass lines.