Fwonk* Monday

I don't know what it's like where you are, but where I am a pitch-black sky is pissing incessant rain onto the cold dark earth.

Yes, it's Monday morning and suddenly we can all sympathise with Brenda Ann Spencer.

But wait, Mondays don't have to be bleak exercises in endurance. Before you go on an insane shooting spree, see if we can liven up your day.



This week, Fwonk* Monday is showcasing the work of Heskin Radiophonic, without whom the Fwonk* netlabel would not exist.

In between running the Fwonk* community boards, designing websites, holding down a dayjob and raising a family, Heskin also finds time to run the label, often even designing the artists' album covers.

Oh, and somehow he also has time to make music. Perhaps he's using a Time Turner?

Mr Radiophonic currently has two albums available for download: Wait For No Man and 雪月花時最憶君.

Epic, drone-based ambient electronica, occasionally straying into glitchy territory - these could be the perfect albums to cosy up to on a miserable rainy morning.

We caught up with the man who made Fwonk* happen and asked him a few questions.

How would you describe the your music?
Breathing. Organic. Artificial.

Which of your Fwonk releases are you happiest with and why?
FW025: Wait For No Man - I attempted to make an "album", by which I mean a single artistic entity that flowed from track to track and of which every track formed part of the whole. And not just a bunch of songs I'd made stuck together (as was the case with my previous release!)

When and where do you make music?
I make music on my PC which is stuck in our utility room next to the washing machine. I make music when everyone else is in bed!

What inspires you?
My family, the raw power of the sea, and the sensation of bare feet on warm sand.

How does your creative process work?
I think about my tunes all day. I used to formulate drum patterns on pieces of paper and start with them. Now I start with the melodic content - a couple of chords (usually with a lot of shared notes) or a guitar riff that is transposed into a keyboard part and totally changes in the process!

What hardware / software / instruments do you use to make music?
CMI Telecaster Deluxe, a far-Eastern Thru-Neck guitar, my trusty Yamaha bass into a PC running Ableton Live, GuitarRig3, Abysnth3, CamelSpace, CamelPhat and lots of freebie VSTs, especially the lovely ones from Antress, Odo and of course De La Mancha.

Who are your favourite bands / producers / DJs?
Pink Floyd are my all time favourites, but I like anybody who can create interesting, original music that is one step removed from normality.

Whereabouts in the world do you come from? And is that where you live now?
Lancashire. Aye.

What's your favourite noise?
The laughter of my children.

What's your least favourite noise?
I have lots. Over-compressed music. Anything played on Radio 1. Witless chatter. I could go on...