jez riley french

April 2021:

15 years supplying JrF microphones to 1000's of other artists, listeners, sound designers, composers.

I'm not that comfortable with self-promotion so I'll quote from others but say that it has been a privilege to see / hear how;

"the microphones, & (your own) work including projects highlighting the work of other artists, have had a significant influence on contemporary field recording, listening & Sound Art practices" (BL)

"If you've seen a film produced in the past decade or so, watched a nature documentary, attended a Sound Art exhibition, a workshop on located sound, watched or listened to experimental music, played a game with good sound design, there's a good chance you've been hearing sounds recorded / transmitted / performed via a JrF contact microphone, hydrophone or electromagnetic coil" (BBC)

I don't shout about them, I tend not to advertise as such, preferring for their reputation to speak, & I don't post lots of 'me with recording equipment' pics on social media. I simply work with these mics myself, along with my daughter, Pheobe riley Law, finding ways to make sure they give excellent results at a fair price. It's about community.

‘The Green Planet’, the latest David Attenborough series, begins on January 9th here in the UK & features extensive use of JrF c-series contact mics, JrF adapted plant microphones, d-series hydrophones and some of the techniques I have developed for listening to the actual sound of plants (trees, grasses, flowers, funghi, aquatic species etc).

My microphones have been used in most of the Attenborough series over the past decade or so, along with certain approaches to recording that I have shared with some of the sound recordists involved, & I make the mics I design available to anyone who wants to purchase them, working hard to keep the price accessible in the face of increased costs each year and brexit. Like many in the creative sector it is blatantly obvious to me, and always was, that the ability for us to invent, create, contribute to communities across the world was of zero interest to those who wanted brexit because it served their egos, prejudices and their ability to exploit it for their own gain. I probably don’t have any brexit supporters amongst my social media contacts but if I did I’d want them to reflect on the constant stress and worry their actions have caused as they enjoy sounds that were previously inaudible, and consider the fact that these microphones are also used widely around the world in projects that are helping with research into the environmental impact of our species. We give, they take. At some point we have to change that and put aside our passivity.

and here's a video of David Attenborough listening to a tree using a JrF c-series contact mic;

JrF contact microphones, hydrophones and coils have been used by thousands of musicians, artists, tv, film and games companies, universities, arts organisations, galleries and wildlife trusts around the world. They and the techniques Jez has expanded or introduced have had a significant effect on all areas of sound culture over the years. 

some of those that use JrF mics include:

BBC radio and TV (including the new 'Planet Earth II' series & 'Blue Planet - Ocean' series). I've supplied different members of the BBC sound teams (inc. Chris Watson) with contact microphones and hydrophones for some years now & currently they are being used to record plant sounds for the next Attenborough series, using techniques I advised them on.

Skywalker sound

The Deep submarium

Channel 4 television

Wildfowl and Wetlands trust

The Barbican, London

White Cube gallery, London

Tate Modern

Tate Britain

Pheobe riley Law

BFI (british film institute)

Chris Watson

Sigur Ros

Cecilia Jonsson

Emily Richardson

Alice Eldridge

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Theatre National De Chaillot

Imogen Heap

Bana Haffar

Tarek Atoui

Moma, New York

Sealife centres, UK

Hull school of Art and Design

Sally Ann McIntyre

Sydney College of the Arts,

University of Sydney

ITN

ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company)

Evelyn Glennie

BBC proms

RSPB

New Zealand radio

Leeds Beckett University

Hull University

Cambridge University

Edinburgh University

Glasgow University

Newcastle University

National film and television school

Eliza Bozek

Sherry Ostopovitch

Karen Power

Francisco Lopez

Middlesex University

Cal Arts, USA

Helsinki University

Oxford University

Sheffield Hallam University

University of Surrey

Goldsmiths University

Heriot-Watt University

The National Theatre, UK

DICE (ea games design studio, stockholm)

Studio 24, Pinewood studios

Invisible Dust

Gordon Hempton

Heather Andrews

University college Cork

Queens University, Belfast

Belfast Uni sonic arts research lab

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Fordham University, USA

Loughborough University

University of Bath

Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

Jana Irmert

Geneva Skeen ("Ableton and my Jez riley French contact mic maintain their position as the top two most important pieces of gear I have" - interview)

Olivia Louvel

Anna Bertmark

Jenny Sunesson 

Cicely Irvine

Manja Ristic

Ulrike Sparre 

Environmental Research Center, Sohar University, Oman

Quay Brothers

Richard Youngs

Lawrence English

Brandon LaBelle

Bohman Brothers

Lincoln University

Morley College, London

Birmingham University

Nicolas Becker

BJ Nilsen

Simon Scott

ELO

David Blaine 

they've also been used on films / tv series /games / theatre shows such as:

The Theory of Everything

Room

The Imitation Game

Gravity

Arrival

Fantastic Beasts

Chernobyl

Sicario

Godzilla

God's own country

Matilda

Harry Potter & the Cursed Child

The book of Mormon 

Wicked

The Lion King

The Women in Black

Summer and Smoke

Game of Thrones

The Martian

Blade Runner 2049

Call of Duty

Star Wars (films and games)

Battlefield and 100's more....