Pye Corner Audio

Emerging from the mid- to late-2000s underground electronic music scene that was once coined "British Cosmic Music" by noted author Warren Ellis, the suspenseful sounds of Pye Corner Audio -- the musical alias of Martin Jenkins (also known as the Head Technician) -- were first heard through his self-released Black Mill Tapes in 2010. The minimal yet textural sounds of these tapes soon captured the attention of fans of similar acts such as Demdike Stare, Ekoplekz, Jon Brooks, and artists on the Ghost Box label. The two volumes of the Black Mill Tapes (Vol. 1: Avant Shards and Vol. 2: Do You Synthesise?) were later reissued by respected electronic label Type in 2012. Inspired by a kaleidoscopic cornucopia of influences ranging from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the soundtracks of John Carpenter, and Tangerine Dream to the clinical electro sounds of Drexciya and classic Detroit techno, Jenkins would soon harness these influences with the release of his debut album, Sleep Games, on Jim Jupp's Ghost Box label in 2012. A flurry of singles followed in 2013, highlights being the Dekorder label-released "Conical Space/Dusk Veiled" and the 7" Ghost Box Study Series collaboration with the Listening Center. He also started a new musical project, the House in the Woods, in 2013, with a more ambient and experimental sound compared to his other work; the self-titled EP was released via Exotic Pylon Records that same year. In 2014, Type issued the third and fourth volumes of Black Mill Tapes, as well as a triple-CD compiling all four volumes. A split LP between PCA and Not Waving also appeared on the Ecstatic label. Pye Corner Audio's Prowler was released by More Than Human in 2015, and he returned to Ghost Box for 2016's Stasis. The following year saw the release of a new EP, Spiral, via Death Waltz Originals. ~ Aneet Nijjar