My new album Hyperphantasia is officially out NOW
Written, produced and mixed at home here in Nottingham between summer 2022 and early ‘25 this is undoubtedly the project I’ve spent the most time on since I’ve been making music.
It dawned on me that my process had shifted quite dramatically over the years - It had been a long time since I started a tune without any solid ideas before going in. It became a challenge to myself - how close to the images in my head could I make these songs? I became obsessed with this way of working. No more randomly jamming ideas and seeing where it would lead - it was time to lock my self away and see if I could pull this off, however long it would take. The more I thought about it, the more I realised I’d actually been imaging music, melodies and rhythms since I was a little kid and this was actually just a part of my everyday reality anyway.
Alongside all this I’d become obsessed with these online tests - do you have aphantasia or hyperphantasia: how vivid is your minds eye? No image at all? Clear and reasonably vivid? Perfectly clear and as vivid as normal vision? What colour is the apple? Which direction is the light coming from? This felt symbolic of my process. Hyperphantasia became a world I was building, a way of channeling my ideas.
The albums features incredible guest vocals from @juga -naut @louhayter ells_bells @merrylamblamb@biloko - to have spent so long isolated and at times lost down the rabbit hole it felt incredibly freeing to pass some of this stuff to these artists and have it fired back with their unique identities and skills all over the music. My crew, all of us characters existing in this world.
Thanks @sean_mwmgmt , greco_roman_music for being down since day one - to @nothingforced for the INCREDIBLE artwork and to @mitchwadecole for taking these ideas and running with them so far past what I could’ve possibly imagined here on socials - you have all well and truly smashed it. I want to thank each and everyone one of you who follow for showing support through the hiatus, closely following what I do after all these years. I hope you like the record. Love to you all
Hyperphantasia - the new album on @greco_roman_music 10. 04. 26
Listen to ‘Life Spark’ now
Album physical formats available for pre-order. Deluxe LP / LP / CD and Cassette.
Album art: @nothing.forced
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I wrote the riff that comes in at 1.33 in Manchester back in (I think) 2010 and had been trying to get it to work in a song for all these years. It finally clicked here on a baking hot summers day in 2024. The albums big end - the opposite to how I ended the last record. It was so exciting dropping this back in October as the official start to the campaign, felt bold. Rowdy. Here’s what I said about it back then while it was all still so fresh in my mind:
Extreme left turns seem to be a common occurrence in my work at the moment. I like the idea of running one idea off a cliff the second my mind comes up with another - while (hopefully) tying the whole thing together neatly. Ascension is about imagining yourself moving to the next level - the track represents the start OR end of an epic journey.
I had this dream about a year ago where I was floating on a small raft in the ocean, floating away from a tiny desert island. The whole dream was just me on this raft watching the island get smaller and smaller as I floated further away from it. It felt like my subconscious was trying to tell me something about the nature of time. The colours I see in my head when I hear this track are more or less exactly like the ones in that dream. The track has loads of amens in it as well.
Play it loud in the sun ! x
SCATTERGUN
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I started this tune on a Monday and had it all tied up by that Friday. Some of the tunes I love the most are the ones that have taken the least time to make. It’s cool to take your time and painstakingly chip away at something for months but there’s definitely something to be said for catching a vibe and having it all done before you get bored of the thing - You almost get to hear it as if it was made by someone else. I wanted to try and capture some of the daily chaos of my brain in this tune - it won’t sit still. I like the idea of starting in one place and ending up somewhere entirely different. I think this is about neurodivergence tbh.. I think the whole thing is actually, if I can be blatant about it for a second. I’ve played a version of this live once and I’m really excited to see it evolve at the upcoming shows
FRUIT ROTS, WATER FLOWS DOWNSTREAM
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The penultimate track on Hyperphantasia. One last breather / last chance to catch your breath before we reach the summit and it properly kicks off. Interludes like this are crucial to the way I put albums together. Creating the right atmosphere between how one piece ends and another begins gives me the biggest buzz and is one of my absolute favourite things about doing this thing I do. There’s a loose theme about time and music itself running through this album so I think I was trying to suggest something about that with the title (which I actually stole from a John carpenter film about satan)
1 WEEK OF HYPERPHANTASIA
Thanks to everyone supporting - it’s been so nice to hear from you all and the reaction has been amazing so far. I love you . To the people waiting on vinyl copies - after a short delay they are now all shipped (and looking insanely good) so will be with you very soon.
feels so crazy to have this thing out in the world after being locked away for so long putting it together. Time is a very weird thing isn’t it.
Favourite track(s) on the album? Let me know ! !
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LIFE SPARK
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It felt right to hit the ground running when it came to opening the album. This tune was designed to kick things off. Inspired by early (happy) hardcore from ‘93, obnoxious trance, early 90s Japanese cyber punk (seeing ‘964 Pinocchio’ way past my bed time.) it’s the mission statement for the whole project. Enter or forget forever (forever, forever, forever….)
just wanted to quickly say a few words about THE TAPE. Thank you BOC overlords - it was quite the surprise to see one of these chilling in my mail box yesterday… one of seven (at time of writing) received globally? Mad.
I first heard Boards of Canada in 1998 when John Peel played ‘Aquarius’ on his radio one show and have been hooked ever since. Hard to put into words how much their work has enhanced my life over the years but I’m certain many of you reading this will have had the same experiences and know exactly what I’m saying.
Who knows what’s in store at this point but judging by what’s on the tape I think it’s safe to say they haven’t mellowed one bit 🤯
Greatest band ever are…….. back. .
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HYPERPHANTASIA listening party on @bandcamp Wednesday April 8, 6pm UK time. First chance to hear the new album in full before release this Friday. I’ll be there to live chat and answer questions. Join ussss
Sign up / RSVP 🔗
Mind Apple Music on @nts_radio
A one hour selection of tunes that inspired my upcoming album ‘Hyperphantasia’ - I’d need 6 hours to even properly scratch the surface of music I was listening to while working on the record but this is a decent enough representation for now I think ! . Swipe for tracklist / Listen back via the 🔗
Hope you enjoy x
