Last day in the studio.
The recent closure of The Complex feels pretty devastating. It’s an incredible space- a beautiful gallery, unique and versatile performance spaces and, most importantly to me, our studio. In a city increasingly dominated by corporate interest it has been a stark reminder that culture is becoming further sidelined and with each studio closure it becomes harder and harder to see evidence that art matters to people. There was a strong show of support, 15,000 plus signatures on a petition to potentially save the space is not nothing, but it’s not enough.
A life lived online, head in the screen, horror after horror, interspersed with some light relief, the cognitive dissonance of existence has been foremost on my mind for the last five years or so. I struggle with the idea of meaning (if such a thing as meaning exists) at the best of times (if time exists), but the privilege of the existence that I lead cannot be denied. To have spent any part of my life with creativity as a primary focus is a gift denied the vast majority of people. In the grand scheme of things I feel as though art is both completely ridiculous and utterly essential, but being left without a workplace is scary to me. I mean, cry me a river bro, whatever, I’ll make something work, but I’m gonna miss the great community I found in there, and more broadly it feels like a grim portent of what’s ahead. So, like Britney, Bone Thugs, Bon Jovi and Bobby Johnson, I find myself at a crossroads. Might just sit at the intersection and see what hits.
Boring voyeurism, January 3rd, 2026
Sick. Can’t concentrate on anything and feel like I’m makin’ a hames of the year so far. Thinking about how horrible the expression ‘only the strong survive’ is.
@what_is_the_dream is a project that I’ve been working on with @richard__proffitt
We’ve jammed together a few times over the past ten years or so, nice to commit something to tape.
Temporal uncertainty, spectres of an unresolved past and an unimaginable future. Ghosts flicker to the surface in fragments, then recede, gestures incomplete.
To reach, if a reach exists, for the magic amongst us, is to wade through mud towards an unknowable light, haunting, fleeting; variable depths of reality bearing a tenuous hold. When will the sun stop rising?
#electronic #experimental #dreampop #postrock
Despite a “ceasefire” the fire has not ceased. ‘And still they kill’ is a track I made for ‘Disappearing Sounds’, a compilation organised by @lell_iott that I’m proud to be a part of. Link in bio.
Winter Echoes presents: Disappearing Sounds - A Fundraiser Compilation for The Sameer Project
In a moment when voices are silenced and communities are struggling to heal, music remains one of our most powerful tools for connection, remembrance, and solidarity. Disappearing Sounds brings together 56 independent artists from around the world, each contributing an original track in support of Palestinian well-being, resilience, and the ongoing pursuit of dignity and safety.
Spanning ambient soundscapes, experimental electronics, folk meditations, noise, post-rock, left-field pop, and everything in between, this compilation is a testament to the global creative community’s willingness to show up for one another. These artists have offered their work freely so that 100% of proceeds can be donated to The Sameer Project, an organization providing vital aid, mental-health support, and resources to Palestinian families affected by ongoing displacement and violence.
This release is more than a compilation, it’s a collective gesture of care.
A reminder that empathy crosses borders.
A space where grief, hope, and solidarity can coexist.
To the listeners, supporters, and artists: thank you for helping amplify a call for safety, humanity, and freedom. We encourage you to give generously, share widely, and spend time with the music and the people behind it.
All proceeds go directly to The Sameer Project.
NO IDEAS 5 - LAST OF THE YEAR
This month we're delighted to host another 2 great acts. TICKETS IN STORY
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Nick Roth - saxophone
Shane Latimer - guitar
Matthew Jacobson - drums/synth
Bryan Robson amd Cian Walker
Bryan Robson and Cian Walker play improvised electronics using samplers and modular synth.
Most music I’ve made over the past five or so years has evolved from hardware jams, usually modular patches that pique my interest, and I work these into a shape resembling a “song”. By the end of 2024 I’d felt pretty burnt out and really had no intention of making anything for a bit.
With January came the inevitable strange mix of potential and restlessness, a potent clash of slippery “motivation” and (at times) incapacitating depression. Aimless meanderings on an electric guitar and midi keyboard resulted in some unexpected thematic motifs. I then began to build things up in a way that brought me back to my early experiments with recording- I used almost every piece of gear I have, imagining each instrument as a player in a band.
Like many of us, the horrors of modern “civilisation” are weighing heavily on my mind. I found that I was imagining these songs as some sort of failure folk, opiated anthems of wasted opportunity, half-remembered and sloppily played, an evocation of the simultaneous progression and frightening regression of many facets of life in 2025.
Players slip in and out of time, distracted by hundreds of open tabs and pop-up ads, attempts at triumphant prog ambition falters at the first hurdle, devolving into mantras of paranoia cosplaying as “ambient”. Party music crumbles under the weight of expectation, and rituals are ruined by shattered attention spans. One day at a time, one foot in front of the other, haunted by spectres of the past, grief for the future, flags at half-mast, glory days gone that never existed to begin with.
This is not angry music, nor is it devoid of hope, but optimism is fleeting, a tentative nudging of the ineffable used as a comfort blanket, wondering how it’s all come to be this way. Link in bio for anyone who fancies checking it.
Diet Of Worms first came to my attention when they released Dennis McNulty’s wonderful ‘SP, 2004’ a couple of years ago. The label has released all kinds of stuff, and that curation style continued with ‘Hunger Is Violence’ last year, a compilation of covers, all interpretations of Richard Berry’s classic ‘Louie Louie’ by a formidable lineup of Irish or Ireland-based artists.
I was honoured when Diet Of Worms asked if I would contribute the artwork for the follow-up volume of ‘Louie Louie’ covers, ‘The Sky Was A Mouth Again’, featuring a mind-blowing list of contributors, some of whom I have loved for a long time. As always, excellently designed by Ed Kelly @_faultandfold_ Massive thanks to @_dietofworms_ for asking me to be involved. It will be released on limited edition cassette and download from the Diet Of Worms bandcamp on July 21st. Can’t wait to hear it!
All net proceeds will be donated to Medical Aid For Palestinians (MAP) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) @medicalaidpal@unrwa
