Content Catnip

10 Cool Things I Found on the Internet This Week #22

Toshi Yoshida ( Japanese, 1911 - 1995 ) - Autumn In Hakone (1954)

I hope these things cheer you up or make you smile. They certainly made my day better when I found them.

Bulgaria’s Kooky Kukeri Festival

Each year, people across Bulgaria gather in Blagoevgrad to partake in the annual Kukeri Festival. Draped in elaborate costumes made from long goat hair, participants dance away the evil through a procession involving the ringing of bells. Dancers wear carved wooden masks that depict the faces of beasts and jump in a centuries-old ritual intended to drive away evil spirits. Desislava Ilieva started attending festivals as a child and now continues to uphold her family’s tradition by wearing costumes handmade by her father.

The Pudu – the world’s smallest deer

They weigh about 11 kilos and are found in Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Read more

Yutaka Hirose ‎- Soundscape 2: Nova (1986) FULL ALBUM

A beautiful slice of an Amethyst stalactite known as a ”flower” from Uruguay!

An electrifying sky in Tokyo before a typhoon

Imagine seeing this as you exit out of the Tokyo subway…

The electrifying sky in Tokyo before a typhoon

A guided meditation to try while eating a piece of fruit

Courtesy of the always amazing Plum Village

Jeremy Soule’s majestic and calming ambient music for reflecting on the harvest

A CT Scan reveals that an ancient mummified monk is forever at rest inside of a buddha statue

A CT Scan reveals an ancient mummified monk forever inside of a buddha statue — **Read more on History.com**

These dogs being pulled along in some tyres in the snow

If this exists in the world. Everything is going to be OK.

Beautiful Delft tiles featuring the names of animals in Norfolk dialect by Paul Bommer

Toshi Yoshida ( Japanese, 1911 – 1995 ) – Autumn In Hakone (1954)

What do you think of this week’s offerings? I hope you enjoyed them.

16 Self-Promotion Tips for Artists and Musicians on Twitter

Olivia Laing, The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone

This post was inspired by a music producer whom I greatly admire. On Twitter he was asking how to get more engagement with people. I thought it a good moment to give out my tips and ideas, based on my own experience in what works.

1. Find your audience across multiple disciplines

Your audience is other creative people like you. Not just other artists in your genre (of art, music or writing) but broadly all people who are creative and who are into the aesthetic that you produce. Potentially you could extend this into other fields such as science, research, IT or engineering. These kinds of people are also very creative in their own unique ways. It’s just a different form of creativity to the arts. These people also look to music and art to be inspired.

2. Always follow other people back

Aside from bots you should always follow real people back on Twitter. To not do this is a bit elitist and snobby in my opinion. It says that you think you are king dick and are a bit arrogant to have a lot of people following you, but you refuse to follow back.

When you are followed by someone, you should then check out their feed and comment or like their stuff. This is an act of recognition of them as a person.

3. There is enough love and attention to go around

Thank, congratulate, promote and celebrate other people’s successes on Twitter with genuine goodwill, if someone you know gets a commission, sell some art, go on a tour or get an exhibition. This is the basis of building a rea; friendship with the person and also creating a community of likeminded people.

You can also show someone you appreciate them by retweeting their art or music to your own followers, with a comment telling people how much you love it.

By doing this you’re not negating your own work, but adding to the richness of your own reputation for integrity and friendship. People will be more likely to promote your stuff, if you also promote them. But you need to do this in a genuine way, if you actually like things. If you don’t like something – there is no point to give it further attention.

4. Take the time to respond to people’s comments and RT’s on Twitter

It is polite, expected and just a courtesy to respond to people’s comments on Twitter. Don’t forget to do this, even if you’re busy. It shows that you care and appreciate your followers and love that they enjoy your work.

5. Create short videos

Make some short videos of you doing a timelapse of painting, drawing or (if you are not shy) talking to the camera. If you are making music then perhaps a live or recorded set. Doing this regularly will mean people feel more involved in your creative process.

6. Use hashtags

There are many hashtags that are relevant to art, writing and music on Twitter. So learn to use these but only selectively, occasionally and with purpose – otherwise your posts will look like spam.

7. Actively follow people and engage them in conversation about their own creative work

You can find people who may have similar interests, values and ideals to you by using the search function and typing in random words there. You shouldn’t just follow people and not chat to them. You should also make genuine attempts at conversation with them about stuff on their own feed.

Creative people love the opportunity to talk about their own work. They will also be on the look out for your work and may become interested in it as well.

Remember – interesting people won’t come to you, often you will need to pursue them...it is a little like flirting in a bar with someone, but not in a creepy way.

8. Tease before launch

If you are planning an exhibition, book launch, tour or whatever then you should provide loads of notice and also some teasers about it in the weeks leading up to it.

9. A website on WordPress

If you want people to take the next step and purchase something or to find out more about something, then a good website is always a good idea for promoting projects and for more info. Twitter alone just won’t cut it. WordPress is a good idea as you can scale it up and actually sell things on it. WordPress is better than other CMS’s because you can build a community of people who like and follow your posts, rather than just blogging into thin air.

10. Twitch and Twitter

You can experiment with live streaming some of your music or art creation on Twitch and then feeding this onto Twitter. Twitch was originally created as a gaming platform for people to stream their gaming sessions to viewers. However, now people now stream a vast multitude of different activities from furniture making, creating art, sculpting, throwing pottery, playing music and much more.

11. Youtube and Twitter

If you are not comfortable to give Twitch a go, then you can also try a live stream on Youtube which is similar to this.

12. Special VIP offers to followers and fans

You can create a series of special limited edition illustrations or a music downloads or album giveaway to followers. Link back to your Kofi and Stripe to handle the payment part of the transaction. Only don’t do this one too often, infact very rarely otherwise people will get sick of seeing spam from you.

13. Avoid getting bogged down in politics on Twitter

It’s depressing and a total downer to see in your feed. People may unfollow you if you get in too deep with this. A good idea is to just avoid clicking on the trending hashtags all together because it’s the worst kind of crap on the internet and attracts all of the most vile people and most vicious conversations anyway.

14. Cultivate groups on Twitter

Groups are great if you have many thousands of followers. This way you can group people into ‘friends’ or people you tweet with regularly. You could have a group for ‘artists’, one for ‘journalists and reviewers’, one for ‘interesting people’ etc.

15. Remember that sometimes Twitter is full of shit

Just remember sometimes Twitter brings out the worst in humankind and it’s not really a very nice place. When it gets this way, switch off from it and do something else for at least 24 hours.

16. Abandon all rules, have fun, have a laugh and make friends.

It shouldn’t be a chore being on Twitter, if it is then you shouldn’t be there. Instead of blatantly promoting yourself on there, just have fun and post funny, silly things. Ask people questions, make wry comments about the state of the world. Have a laugh at the absurdity of life and don’t take yourself or your art too seriously.

Anyway here i am on Twitter if you want to find me: @contentcatnip

I hope you found that helpful. Let me know.

Ancient Word of the Day: Hell Kettle

Welcome to the rumbling belly of the shaky isles: Orakei Korako https://wp.me/p41CQf-JXQ

Hell Kettle: n. A deep abyss or bottomless pool

The deep pools in Darlington, Co. Durham in England are a part of fearsome local legend.

These mysterious pools are said to have inspired Lewis Carroll’s endless rabbithole, where Alice tumbles into another world – in his classic book Alice in Wonderland.

They are known as Hell Kettles, and have had this name since the 16th century. They exist due to huge deposits of gypsum that have eroded over time.

An illustration of a Hell Kettle in Co. Durham

Some hell kettles in New Zealand…

Exploring the Hell Kettle of the Mariana Trench

In the western Pacific in 1875, the HMS Challenger, under the guidance of Scottish Naturalist Charles Wylie Thomson set sail from Plymouth in English and over 4 years discovered more than 4,000 new species. In the western Pacific over the Mariana Trench the crew recorded a depth of 4,475 fathoms or over 10 km. A true hell kettle!

Interactive Website: The Deep Sea by Neal Fun

Amazing Website Alert: The Deep Sea — The Deep Sea by Neal Fun

10 Uplifting things I found on the internet this week #7 — **Jellyfish: A deep exploration of the Mariana Trench**

References

Hell Kettles: Wikipedia

Welcome to the rumbling belly of the shaky isles: Waiotapu

Challenger Deep

The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities : A Yearbook of Forgotten Words by Paul Anthony Jones

Challenger Expedition

Book Review: Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

*Contains no spoilers

Right from the start I was hooked on this novel by the celebrated author Michael Ondaatje who wrote the classic The English Patient which won the Booker Prize in 1992 and was turned into an equally successful film.

His follow up, Anil’s Ghost failed to hit the mark, at least for me. However, this book Warlight is Ondaatje at his best. Ondaatje is gifted in writing in a nostalgic, unconventional and exciting way about WWII. This novel is set in 1945 in London . Teenagers Nathaniel, aged 14 and Rachel aged 16 are abandoned by their mother who disappears suddenly to go and “work for the foreign office”. The pair are put into the care of a casual lodger in their home whom they nickname The Moth and also his friend, an ex Pimlico boxer known only by his nickname The Darter. From initial distrust, the two teenagers come to form strange bonds with their new guardians.

Slowly Nathaniel and Rachel are entangled into a shadowy underworld of London, filled with sinewy, gregarious, hard-living good-time companions. The two kids very quickly learn about the ways of the adult world.

Told through the eyes of 14 year old Nathaniel, this is a brilliant and outstanding bildungsroman about growing up and learning about girls, women and sex, unfolding during the tumult and constant bombing threat of the Luftwaffe.

This is a multilayered and beautiful historical novel. Without giving too much away it’s exhilarating to read of Nathaniel’s youthful and secretive adventures. The second half of the book is Nathaniel looking back as a grown adult on the craziness of that time. These parts have a slower and less exciting pace, but are still important for understanding the first part of the book.

Overall, this book is a masterpiece in the same way as The English Patient was a total masterpiece. I would say the two novels are at the same level. I rate it 5*/5

Ancient Word of the Day: Cuneiform

Cuneiform: n. The oldest known writing system that originated in Mesopotamia circa 3400BC. It was etched onto wet clay tablets using a wedge-shaped stylus.

Cuneiform is the original ancient written language that underpins all modern forms of written communication. Many languages throughout a vast geographical span over thousands of years were written in cuneiform, including Sumerian, Hittite, Hurrian and Akkadian. Among these, Akkadian (an early cognate of Hebrew and Arabic) became the lingua franca of the Near East, including Egypt, during the Late Bronze Age.

Tablet XI The Epic of Gilgamesh “You gods may I be mindful of these days & never forget them.”

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest surviving great works of literature from ancient Mesopotamia.

Cuneiform was used for everything – from official royal correspondences between leaders to simple records about the movements and transactions of farms and merchants.

Over time, cuneiform became a skill not only taught in temples and scholarly arenas but also moved into the hands of citizens, as well as into private homes.

Here a team cooks a Babylonian stew from a 4,000 year old recipe on a cuneiform tablet…

Irving Finkle, curator at the British Museum talks about translating Noah’s flood out of cuneiform

References

The recovery of cuneiform, the world’s oldest known writing

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The world’s oldest beer recipe

10 Interesting Things I found on the Internet #21

A cross-section of a Juarassic subterranean world by Gozz on Twitter

If the internet is making funny sounds and has crapped itself a few times in your house, well then perhaps it’s time for a reboot….

Mountains, Cass, 1936 by New Zealand painter Rita Angus

Dead Can Dance- ACT II The Invocation video filmed in Bulgaria

Dead Can Dance, one of the most primal and ancient sounding bands in the world, have created a very evocative video clip for ACT II The Invocation.

A cross-section of a Jurassic subterranean world by Gozz on Twitter

An illustration great enough to summon back the dinosaurs from their dusty graves…

The surprising etymology of animal names

Who knew that hog and hyena have the same etymological origin!

Creepy old potatoes and grinning pumpkins that will keep you up at night

Creepy old potatoes and pumpkins that will keep you up at night

via Twitter

A beautiful Beluga Whale is mesmerised by a violin

His smily, gentle grin is enough to calm and soothe your nerves completely.

Tracing the origin of the word ‘Fox’ across the murky shadows of time, the Eurasian steppes and Proto-IndoEuropean language

Read more on Twitter

The story and the legend of Kate Bush

Letting Go With Lemurs

Who knew that watching Lemurs could be such a meditative experience! Love their little inquisitive faces.

Why art is important by James Baldwin

If you can examine and face your life, you can discover the terms with which you are connected to other lives, and they can discover them too – the terms with which they are connected to other people. This has happened to every one of us, I’m sure. You read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discovered that it happened 100 years ago to Dostoyevski. This is a very great liberation for the suffering person, who always thinks that they are alone. This is why art is important.
~ James Baldwin

Fairy Tale Encounter by Robin Tran

See more on her website

How my priorities have changed…

From Reddit

Did you like this week’s selections? please let me know what you think.

Artists and Writers in Their Own Words: Googie McCabe

Talented Polish/British artist Googie McCabe creates lush vintage inspired illustrations steeped in Polish folklore. Her art is brimming with timeless wisdom and she harnesses the pleasures and pains of being a mum to create beautiful and often hilarious paintings, illustrations and books.

I have always drawn, painted and doodled. My first pregnancy somehow unlocked it…

All the notebooks from school would be often completely full of drawings. I would sometimes get into trouble for doing this with my teachers.

When I was pregnant, I started to doodle and write week-by-week diaries as a future gift for my baby. At first I never thought of publishing. Yet the need to create started to slowly grew in me and I haven’t stopped since. It fulfils a deeper need to do something meaningful in life. I am quite pleased it has worked out like that.

Wanda by Googie McCabe

I don’t remember ever wanting to be an artist…I studied Museology and frankly this was the path I thought was mapped out for me

I worked in heritage conservation for over 8 years. I was commuting daily to Central London; but after the birth of my first daughter, the childcare and commuting costs became unsustainable. So that was the end of that dream. I found a job nearer to home. I don’t take work home with me, the mortgage and bills get paid and I’ve got nice colleagues. What’s not to like about it.

My advice to young artists – find yourself a steady job and pursue art in your spare time

Perhaps try to get into printing, where you can still be creative and learn a lot. Importantly though – do it for yourself. If it works out, great! You can still afford to pay bills and to be creative, without having pressure to produce like a factory in order to support yourself. Anyway, who needs to sleep?

Pan Twardowski by Googie McCabe

I created my book ‘Two Sisters’ during the worst depression I have ever experienced

The whole creation process of my book: ‘Two Sisters: Unsolicited Advice for my Daughters‘ helped me to get through this depression and stay afloat. Thanks to this book I survived, but sertraline has been helping too. The book worked out well as far as workmanship is concerned, plus it does have a poetic vision to it.

Two Sisters resonates with plenty of people. That makes me feel proud that my work and artistic vision can touch many people.

My favourite creation would be ‘Goodbye’ from my upcoming book Two Sisters

Goodbye by Googie McCabe from Two Sisters: Unsolicited Advice for my Daughters

I could do a PhD in how to forge pain into art

My second favourite piece would be my cartoon work of the time when my (then) two year old broke my nose. This drawing still makes me laugh, although at the time I could see nothing through the dark mist of agony… hahahaha

The School of Assassins by Googie McCabe from The Pregnancy Diaries Vol. 1
Broken nose by Googie McCabe from The Pregnancy Diaries Vol. 1
Mug Shot A by Googie McCabe from The Pregnancy Diaries Vol. 1

If I could give advice to my younger self I would tell her: ‘Don’t be so harsh on yourself’

No one is interested in you. Everyone has their own insecurities. It’s just that some are better at hiding it. Also, don’t be intimidated by so-called authority figures (usually white men over 50). A lot of times the aura they project is just bullshit. So don’t waste your time on that, just do what you need to do.

I love art in general and cannot live without feeding my eyes daily

The Viennese and Parisienne stages of the Fin de siècle are strongly embedded in my inner aesthetic. Also the world of mythology simply amazing.

The Hunt by Ivan Bilibin
Peasant Women Dancing by a Lake by Akseli Gallen Kallela
Alphonse Mucha, F. Champenois Imprimeur-Éditeur, lithograph, 1897.
King Hobgoblin Sleeping by Hugo Simberg
Andrew Wyeth with his grasses dancing with the wind, his ray of vanilla light sneaking through the opened window-just poetry on canvas. Winter Fields by Andrew Wyeth

I have my own tune list that almost immediately puts me into a creative flow

Tender, Lo Moon, Still Corners and Kovacs. The music has to flow. Otherwise I’m an old metal head…Anathema, Amorphis, Paradise Lost or Theatre of Tragedy feed my inner self.

I have always felt connected to Scandinavia, the British Isles and Ireland

I have had a life-long passion for everything Viking related (long before it became popular).

This is how I learned English, got to know the culture and history and it forever stays within me. My dream is to go to Iceland on my own for my 45th Birthday to reconnect with my younger self before entering downhill journey of my life hahaha.

Ireland with a kite

I also feel very connected with Kashubia in Poland. Gdansk, in particular its shipyard, dunes, the Baltic Sea and Bory Tucholskie with the pine forests, mushroom foraging and swimming in the lakes.

Gdansk
Swimming in a Polish lake

My new book is called Two sisters: Unsolicited Advice for my Daughters

It’s a compilation of my thoughts on this thing called life. Some are mine, a lot come from my mother, others have been overheard and resonated with me. In short, it’s a list of reflections paired with the images.

The general message is to try to have the best shot at this one life we all have. To not be an asshole. To be kind and also to just be yourself. Also to avoid the wrong kinds of people and to laugh as much as you can.

It’s a personal testament to the little girls I love the most in the world: my daughters

I created it while experiencing the worst, almost year long episode of depression I have ever had. I have had depression since the age of 15. The book helped me to re-evaluate many things in my life and to stay afloat (with the help of antidepressants too).

Also coming up is the 2nd volume of the pregnancy diaries

The first volume is available for sale now worldwide. The Pregnancy Diaries is the story of lost dignity, abandoned plans, exploded myths and the surprises that pregnancy throws at you with the strength of a wrecking ball crashing at 150 miles per hour. It’s a satirical and self-deprecating account of being pregnant that’s deeply relatable and funny. It’s the best pregnancy gift and also it could just be the best contraception! 😁

I have been approached by one author for illustrations, so watch this space. Clearly I am not going to sleep a lot this in the next year. But hey, sleep is for losers anyway. She says with dark circles under eyes and dribbling.

Please get in touch with me if you have a creative or collaborative opportunity

My website

Instagram

Facebook

Ancient Word of the Day: Hooly

Travel: Eileann Donan Castle, Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland. Copyright Content Catnip 2010

Hooly or Huly: Adv. ‘To proceed gently or softly, with steadiness or caution.’ Scottish/Irish

The word Hooly first appeared in English in the 14th Century. It was found in the Scottish expression Hooly and Fairly, meaning ‘to proceed slowly, carefully and cautiously.’

Over time, the word came to have negative connotations and hooliness or hulinesss was associated with someone with an overly cautious approach who was slow to do something. The word hooly/huly survives in the dialects of northern England and Scotland.

Fortunately, my thoughts are agreeable, cash difficulties are provided for as far as I can see. So that we can go on hooly and fairly. ~ Sir Walter Scott. The Journal of Sir Walter Scott. 1827

Travel: Walking through the ancient past in Edinburgh

Just to look that their tackle does not graze on the face o’ the crag, and to let the chair down and draw it up hooly and fairly. We will halloo when we are ready. ~ Sir Walter Scott, The Antiquary, 1816

In our restless society that always strives for faster, better, stronger – maybe hooly still as a word and a concept still has a place?

References

Hooly: Merriam Webster Dictionary

The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities : A Yearbook of Forgotten Words by Paul Anthony Jones

10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #20

These creepy cute doll twins who terrorised London

If the internet is leaving you with a funny taste in your mouth, prepare for a little palate cleaner…

Freddy Mercury really loved his cats

He worshipped them, which goes some way to explaining his feline prowling presence on stage.

He wrote the song Delilah for his cat 🙂

Robert Greene and Ryan Holiday in conversation

Ryan Holiday (Author of ‘The Obstacle is the Way’) and Robert Greene (Author of ‘Mastery’) have a conversation about important topics including: how we can find comfort in ancient history and philosophy for dealing with the world we live in now. How conspiratorial, black and white and magical thinking are clouding people’s judgement on Covid. And why reading books and cultivating humble skepticism of your own beliefs may just save your life. This was really amazing and an hour well spent!

In the Company of Trees with Diana Hacker-Reed

Blogger, friend and all round amazing person Diana Hacker-Reed talks about why she prefers the company of trees to the company of people. And why it’s OK if you do in this crazy world we are in right now.

The state of our country, the global pandemic, the loss of a legal icon, the death of our delusions, and our continued ignorance of climate change have left me with a desire to go back to the earth. To duck into the forest and be a small presence, to watch life unfold at life’s pace.
~ Diana Hacker-Reed

Fly Kin Mountain – Cloud Salvo

Swirling, echoey dub and ambient music for your listening pleasure.

A kaleidoscope of 50’s haute couture

Photo for Look by Erwin Blumenfeld, October, 1958

Whistling in the dark by James Baldwin

Art would not be important if life were not important. And life is important. Most of us, no matter what we say, are walking in the dark, whistling in the dark. Nobody knows what is going to happen to them from one moment to the next, or how one will bear it. This is irreducible. And it’s true for everybody. Now, it is true that the nature of society is to create, among its citizens, an illusion of safety; but it is also absolutely true that the safety is always necessarily an illusion. Artists here to disturb the peace. They have to disturb the peace. Otherwise, chaos!
~ James Baldwin

The magnificent Codex Zouche-Nuttall from Mexico c. 11th C A.D

Records the genealogies, alliances and conquests of several 11th- and 12th-century rulers of a small Mixtec city-state in highland Oaxaca the Tilantongo kingdom, especially under the leadership of the warrior Lord Eight Deer Jaguar Claw.
It’s made of deer skin and comprises 47 leaves. One side records the important centres in the Mixtec region, while the other side records the genealogy, marriages and political and military feats of the Mixtec ruler, Eight Deer Jaguar-Claw.

The Dreams of Dali: 4D Immersive VR Experience

Best to watch this on a desktop or laptop for full immersive experience

Remarkably life-like felted cats by Wakuneco

Intricate, exquisite 3D cat portraits that are handcrafted from felt to look exactly like photos. And yes, you can request to have your kitty rendered in this way, all she will need is a photo!

A Medieval rendition of Rasputin by Boney M

And for comparison, the inimitable original version

These creepy cute doll twins who terrorised London

Creepy doll twins freak people out in Central London

What do you think of this week’s selections? Hope you enjoyed them.

Artists and Writers In Their Own Words: Gareth Quinn Redmond

Immensely talented Irish composer and musician Gareth Quinn Redmond reinterprets and pays homage to Japanese Environmental Music or Kankyō Ongaku in his music. A genre inspired by the conceptual genius of Erik Satie’s Furniture music, which then found fertile growth in Japan in the 1970s and 80’s.

[Kankyō Ongaku] leads the listener into another world, it should drift like smoke and become part of the environment surrounding the listener’s activity.” This is how composer and minimalist Satoshi Ashikawa describes ‘kankyō ongaku’ – the umbrella term for a particularly deft form of Japanese music deemed ‘environmental’, or composed for specific environments.
~The Vinyl Factory

The first few years of my 20’s can really be broken down into before and after I discovered Satoshi Ashikawa and Japanese Environmental Music

As a teen I was playing rock music in Dublin. Then in my early 20s I discovered the album Still Way by Satoshi Ashikawa At the time I was recording short instrumental pieces at home. Yet I didn’t have any plans for these pieces until I discovered Still Way.

It felt as though I had been offered a whole new way of expressing myself musically and found the confidence in myself to take those short instrumental pieces and breathe further life ( and length ) into them. I’m intrigued to see what my late 20’s brings!

In my album Céim·eanna, I was trying to develop Environmental Music with modern listening habits in mind

I’m very proud of how that album turned out both musically and even in regards to how I mixed it. It was the final installment in a three part series. In many respects, I pushed the music beyond the conceptual framework of what Ashikawa had set. This is what I was trying to achieve from the offset. The hope is that the listener would be so engaged with their environment by the time the music gained dynamics that the bond between them and their surroundings would only be heightened further.

One of my pieces Tar Éis

Was turned into a short film by my friend Luke Brabazon

My first three albums hold a really special place in my heart

In hindsight it feels like I did a lot of growing up while writing and recording them. Funnily enough, I’m currently remixing the second album in that series Gluaiseacht. It’s gratifying to hear the growth in my mixing skills while I’ve been working on it.

The albums that I find myself constantly returning to are…

Bo Hansson’s Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings, Satoshi Ashikawa’s Still Way and Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Music for Nine Postcards. As well, I’m a huge fan of Claude Debussy, Erik Satie and Edward Elgar (specifically the third movement of his 1st Symphony).

Music inspires me to create

My latest release, An Fhuaim is Caoine, was inspired by an album by Hiroshi Yoshimura, Soft Wave for Automatic Music Box and Still Space by Satoshi Ashikawa. The hope was to try find a music that lay right bang in the middle of these two pallets of sound.

I would love to write music for Dublin’s Botanical Gardens

Can you imagine having subtle sounds infusing the surroundings with added hues of clarity and detail?

Having spent so much time writing Environmental Music, space has become a great source of inspiration for me. At the moment, I’m trying to convince the National Gallery of Ireland to let me write Environmental Music for the courtyard space, which acts almost like a heart for the entire building.

The courtyard of the National Gallery of Ireland

I am honoured to collaborate with many dear friends who are incredible artists

I’ve worked closely with Barry Gibbons, the artist behind the cover of Laistigh den Ghleo, Gluaiseacht and An Fhuaim is Caoine. He has always supported me over the years and his guidance and counsel is invaluable to me.

More recently, I’ve begun working with Conor Campbell with whom I released an E.P last year titled Monachopsis. I wrote four pieces inspired by four of his artworks, we are both planning to develop this idea further and write an album together with the same concept.

Recently, I had the pleasure of working with my friend Ronan who performs under the name, Junior Brother. What he has achieved on his latest album has inspired me to begin writing an album of Irish traditional ambient music.

If I could give some advice to my younger self- it would be to keep working hard. The harder you work the luckier you get

I’m currently working on my next album, which I believe will be called Torann na Seimhe. It is a collection of pieces comprising both solo piano and synth led tracks. I’ve already recorded it so the rest of the year will be spent mixing it to completion and then having my friend Ben Rawlins master it. I hope to have it released in the first half of 2021 but there really isn’t a rush to have it just yet.

You can buy my music on We Release Whatever the Fuck We Want Records on Bandcamp

WRWTFWW Records is very happy to announce the release of Irish ambient/minimalist producer Gareth Quinn Redmond’s Laistigh den Ghleo, a companion album to Satoshi Ashikawa’s Still Way (Wave Notation 2). The album, available on vinyl and digipack CD for the first time, comes with liner notes by Midori Takada and Gareth Quinn Redmond. Vinyl and CDs are still available but get in quick!