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Inspector Horse and Other Communications 

I was fully intending to make some equus puns, but it's even too hot for horse jokes. Instead, I will just share this new horse-themed album from Glass Grave, which I recently contributed to (Neighbourhood folks, check your emails/Bandcamp for a download code). 



Also, for anyone that owns a BLACK ARROW record, you might recognise the release imprint BLACK ARROW COMMUNICATIONS and the "BAC" logo, which is part-broadcasting icon and part retro airline graphic. What started as just a riff on the rocket and…

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Shortwave Transmissions 

Broadcasts and radio seem to be a bit of a theme recently. First off, BLACK ARROW & ETHER/ORBIT were released together on cassette via The Dark Outside (normally broadcasting from the Galloway Forest) and now Cities and Memory has released a new project called Shortwave Transmissions (broadcasts from around the world), featuring my contribution, Ottawa Shortwave

You can listen to the entire release on Bandcamp and hear a special radio programme from its curator on Resonance FM (broadcasts from London). 

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Thank You! 

Just a quick post to say thanks to everybody who picked up a copy of the recent cassette release of BLACK ARROW and ETHER/ORBIT from The Dark Outside. It was amazing to see 100 tapes sell out in under 24 hours and even more incredible that the obi edition was sold out by 18:01 (having gone up at 18:00)!


Appreciate all the folks who enthusiastically shared updates about it too and look forward to seeing those tapes in their new homes! If you do fancy sharing a pic, tag both @DarkOutside and @RobertaFidora

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Space Spools 

What's that, you say? The splendid Dark Outside label is releasing BLACK ARROW and ETHER/ORBIT together on a special dual colour cassette?


That's right! Tapes will be limited to 100 copies, so make sure you set your alarm for launch and bookmark on Bandcamp ready for blast off tomorrow, Friday 14th January, at 6pm (Greenwich/Galloway Mean Time). You can also get an additional nudge via the mailing list, which is a good idea, as they often sell out quickly.

I've been sending demos and oddities to The Dark

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A Seance for a Satellite 

A transmission within a transmission. Thanks to Simon Heartfield for playing some of ETHER/ORBIT on his Secret Self Seance Radio show, along with Pye Corner Audio, Halina Rice, Rupert Lally and many more. You can listen below or view the whole archive of shows over at Mixcloud.

Patch Bay 

As it turns out, I’ve accumulated quite a lot of my own space junk (some of which you can see in the video for The Stars, Like Dust) and whilst you can find Apollo moon landing commemorative plates, NASA mission patches and everything from Sputnik t-shirts to Cosmonaut Christmas decorations, there really isn’t much beyond a first day cover for BLACK ARROW or Prospero (and I only know that because Marlene, who I interviewed for BLACK ARROW, told me about having this lone souvenir at home - with a copy…

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ETHER/ORBIT 

Lost to the atmosphere or coming down to Earth? That's the question often asked in relation to the Prospero satellite, which is still floating around in low orbit, since being successfully launched by the BLACK ARROW rocket on the 28th October, 1971. 

To mark this anniversary, I will be releasing a companion piece to BLACK ARROW called ETHER/ORBIT and it will be available as a digital download from Thursday here on the website and via Bandcamp.

For those who prefer their satellite sounds with a side of…

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Back to BLACK ARROW 

Today marks a year since BLACK ARROW was released. This article from Mark Brown was something I read early on when researching more about it, which gives a good overview of the kinds of topics covered in the conversation with Marlene and probably best describes many of the ideas I wanted to explore further around this small chapter in the history of space and satellites. It talks about unrealised futures, the relief from several people who worked on it at pivoting to space-focused projects from missiles and…

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Further Into Luna 

Continuing the cosmos theme from BLACK ARROW (and the eagle-eyed may have already spotted it here, hence the post title), you can find my remix of Luna Still, a song from the forthcoming isvisible isinvisible album Moon-White Water. The remix combines the original synth textures and bloops with a vocal sample from something I haven't released yet, just to be incredibly mysterious. You can listen to all of the album remixes and bag yourself a very nice-looking cassette below.

Retrophonica Out Now! 

This week I've been getting on my soap box Derbyshire because 'Retrophonica' is now bleeping and blooping out in the world - you can listen to the full release below.

Enjoy a review of my "swirling synths" and "strong architecture" via ANTI Music here, in addition to a track-by-track listen on Yeah I Know It Sucks, where I may well have been betrayed by my gothic past. Additionally, here's an article about Wendy Carlos I found really interesting prior to contributing, which beautifully articulates some…

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Rocketronica and Retrophonica 

 

I hope you've been enjoying hearing a little piece of space history this last week (don't forget you can download it free here or via Bandcamp here). I've been compiling footage and photos the last few days of the original testing site here on the Isle of Wight from a few trips there last year and it's been nice to visit it again via my computer whilst the real thing is currently out of bounds. If you'd like to visit the digital outdoors too, there's a couple of videos below.

Short trailer:

Longer…

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Rocket Fuels On Rocket Fuels 

Last year (or what feels like another 50 years ago), we celebrated the moon landing anniversary, an event that has inspired countless retellings and re-imaginings through television, film, design and song. A historic occasion that gave people the opportunity to imagine little pieces of the universe for themselves, to ponder what else might exist beyond our planet and where we imagined belonging to another, better future than the one we have now. 

So imagine my surprise when, in 2018, I stumbled across a…

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Lurkin' 9 To 5 

Drooping fingers have assumed new forms and you'd better beware, because twisted techno terror is coming to get you. 

Have a listen below to the most recent tale from the crypt/soundtrack from the void, which includes my remix of Drooping Finger's 'Lurk'. All you have to do is say "SoundCloud" in the mirror five times. 

If you want to take the doom dancing a step further, you can also blast out some 'Beast Moves' via the monster mix below from DJ and producer Simon Heartfield.



Failing that, you can…

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Ready, Cassette, Go! 

The hawk-eyed among you might've noticed the recent appearance of a dual-colour, gem-encrusted cassette in various places. This is the first physical release of debut album 'Verxes', which is available exclusively to Bandcamp subscribers in the Neighbourhood. It's backed up on the B-side with demos, rarities and remixes, only 50 have been produced and once they're gone, there likely won't be another run, so if you'd like to get your hands on one (and also to see what else I'm generally up to), you can head…

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Moonkind 

Exciting to see the Cities & Memory #SpaceIsThePlace project receiving support from The Guardian, The Quietus, Bluedot Festival and even the European Space Agency. The long-running field recording project brought together artists from all over the world to rework sounds from space in celebration of the anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and I contributed a track called ‘Huygens’ which uses an alien weather signal as its foundation.

The picture above is a small disc that was left behind from the Apollo 11…

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