Biography

Arthur Jeffes founded Penguin Cafe in 2009, bringing together a talented and disparate group of musicians initially to perform his father Simon Jeffes’ legacy of world renowned PCO music, ten years after his untimely death in 1997.

Arthur, a talented composer in his own right, quickly began to create new and unique genre-defying music, with the spellbinding philosophy of the Penguin Cafe always in his mind.

Four new albums of original music followed: A Matter of Life… in 2008, The Red Book in 2014 and The Imperfect Sea released on Erased Tapes in 2017. The same year Arthur paid tribute to his late father by performing PCO’s seminal record Union Cafe live to a sold out Union Chapel, coinciding with the album’s re-issue on Erased Tapes.

2018 saw the Penguins perform in Paris, Berlin and London with a special show to support Greenpeace at the new venue EartH in Hackney, and 2019 brought the release of the band’s latest album ‘Handfuls of Night’, in September on their label Erased Tapes. 2019 also saw Penguin Cafe tour extensively in the UK culminating in their sold out show at the Southbank’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Arthur has also been working with Greenpeace and Aardman Animations, composing the soundtrack for a special film ‘Turtles Journey’, released in Jan 2020 to high acclaim, promoting the campaign to ‘Protect the Ocean’. His work with Greenpeace continues.