Bill Ryder-Jones

William Edward "Bill" Ryder-Jones (born 1983 in Warrington) is an English musician and film score composer from West Kirby, Merseyside. He was originally the lead guitarist with The Coral from 1996 until 2008 before leaving the band to pursue a solo career. Ryder-Jones' debut album If... was released in 2011. Following his departure from The Coral, he began writing songs and instrumental pieces and uploaded several demo recordings to his MySpace profile. In 2009, Ryder-Jones composed the score for his friend's short film Leave Taking, directed by Laurence Easeman.

Following his departure from The Coral, he began writing songs and instrumental pieces and uploaded several demo recordings to his MySpace profile. In 2009, Ryder-Jones composed the score for his friend's short film Leave Taking, directed by Laurence Easeman. The four compositions were released on his debut EP A Leave Taking Soundtrack as a free download in July 2011 by Double Six Records (a subsidiary of Domino Recording Company) via their website and a music video was filmed for the title track "A Leave Taking". The EP was also released on 12-inch and digital download formats on 26 September 2011. Ryder-Jones also composed the scores for the short films It's Natural to Be Afraid (2010) and Bed (2011).
Ryder-Jones' debut solo album If... was written as a musical adaptation of Italo Calvino's 1979 novel If on a Winters Night a Traveler, with each composition representing a different chapter in the book. The idea for the album was first conceived after a meeting with Laurence Bell, the head of Domino Records, who had suggested Ryder-Jones record an "imaginary film score". Recording sessions for If... took place during 2010 at various locations on Merseyside, including Elevator Studios, the Scandinavian Church of Liverpool, The Friary in Everton and Ryder-Jones' mother's house in West Kirby. Most of the album's tracks were recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic orchestra.[13] Ryder-Jones' musical influences for the album came from film score composers such as Abel Korzeniowski, Michael Galasso and Clint Mansell and rock artists such as Syd Barrett, Nick Cave and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. If... was released on 14 November 2011 and received largely positive reviews from music critcs.