Netlabelism Best of 2013

Netlabelism Magazine kindly featured 'National Ignition' in their Best of 2013 feature. Very nice of them. Good to see the Planet Boelex EP in there too, as it's a beauty.

‘Touched’ Charity Compilation Out Now

https://touched.bandcamp.com/album/touched

Featuring 122 123 tracks of music (over 11 hours!) from a mix of electronica veterans and newcomers, 'Touched' is a massive charity compilation set up by Martin Boulton, whose mother was recently diagnosed with cancer.

All proceeds will go to Macmillan Cancer Support, which is a charity providing essential palliative care and support for cancer sufferers. After hearing friends describe just how valuable Macmillan were to them and their loved ones, it's clear to me just how important and worthy a cause this is. So, needless to say, I was more than happy to contribute a new track: 'Ark of Comfort'.

The album has already raised over £500 in its first day of release, and given it's offering so much music for as little as £6, I anticipate that it'll raise a whole lot more. Still, if electronic music's not your thing, but you'd still like to donate, you can do so directly via the 'Touched' Just Giving page instead.

A Few NI Prints Left, Forthcoming ‘Touched’ Charity Compilation

Firstly, a little notice. There are a handful of 'National Ignition' heavyweight prints remaining, so if you've been thinking about grabbing one, now's the time. Once they're gone, they're gone. Each print comes with an instant download, too.

Secondly, I'm pleased to announce that I'll be releasing a new track on a forthcoming charity compilation. Entitled 'Touched', the compilation is a huge bumper release featuring many familiar names within the electronica milieu, including many favourites of mine, such as The Future Sound of London, Plaid, Brothomstates, Arovane, Datassette, and dozens more (here's the full line-up). It's a staggering compilation, with the aim of raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support. It's a wonderful cause to be a part of, and I can't wait to announce its release.

Please help spread the word, like the Facebook page, follow on Twitter, and stay tuned!

Mutable Instruments’ Ambika

Been enjoying this little project, spending the past week building a Mutable Instruments Ambika for a friend. Digital wavetable oscillators with 4-pole analogue filters, like the basic Shruthi, but with 6-voice polyphony. Brimming with character, and serious bang for buck if you can handle a soldering iron. Just don't get hung up about about the aliasing, as it's all part of the charm. Shall endeavour to get some sound online soon.

Revere - I Won’t Blame You (Ochre remix)

A remix of the excellent London-based seven-piece, Revere.

‘National Ignition’ Out Now

All those who pre-ordered the album will already have a download link sitting in their inbox, but for everyone else, National Ignition is released today! It's available on Bandcamp for full streaming in its entirety, as well as offering a 24-bit lossless FLAC option for the download. Of course, if you'd prefer to download elsewhere, it's also online at iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Xbox Music etc.

‘National Ignition’ Available for Pre-Order

Three-odd years and one PhD later, I'm pleased to say that I have another Ochre album due for imminent release. National Ignition will be available for download on the 21st of January 2013, from all the usual download stores (I'll put up direct store links when I get them).

It's available to pre-order on Bandcamp now, which will allow you to download the first track immediately (the rest of the album being unlocked on release; you'll receive email notification as soon as it's available). The Bandcamp edition also features a 24-bit lossless FLAC option.

Like Early Learning before it, National Ignition received exquisite design treatment by nkurence. The album will remain download-only for the time being, but I'd like to release a vinyl version once funds permit, at the very least to do the artwork justice.

Collaborative project album coming up: Snow Palms - ‘Intervals’

At the start of the year I completed a project with composer David Sheppard, collaborating on his Snow Palms album, 'Intervals' (Village Green). David's a composer of beautiful minimal, idiophone-based music in a similar vein to Reich, Glass et al, so I couldn't resist the opportunity to add my own production flourishes to some of the tracks he'd laid down, working on six of the eleven album tracks in the end. I also got to score for a string quartet, which isn't something I regularly get to do, so that was quite the welcome challenge.

A review of the album surfaced today on Fluid Radio -- check it out to read a take on what we've done (though for whatever reason, I'm not mentioned there -- I'm involved, I promise!).

It's due for release on 19th of November. For more info/press copy and audio excerpts, please visit the release page on Village Green.

‘Centrefold’ Animation Now Online, Wins Award, Sparks Debate

The animated documentary I scored at the start of the year, Centrefold, has now been publicly released, so you can either watch the Vimeo embed below, or head over to www.thecentrefoldproject.org to watch and comment.

It's officially an award-winner too, winning 'Best Animation' at the 2012 SCINEMA Film Awards!

Centrefold has been busy sparking debate in the media, getting a mention on BBC Radio 4, a feature in The Huff Post, Rude Magazine, plus plenty of local media coverage around the North East. It's wonderful to see it making waves. If you're interested in following updates to the project, keep an eye on their Facebook page.

Oh, and I hope you like the music/sound design, too!