hear’s the news
Is it time to compartmentalise my output?
alucidnation | bruce bickerton
I’ve been pretty prolific in the recording studio during 2023. I now have a large amount of project work that needs to be released – I talk about some of it if you scroll down after reading this.
The main issue is that some of what I’m writing these days isn’t what I’d describe as ‘alucidnation material’.. for instance, the solo piano project, some interesting cover versions, the more vocal and singer-songwriter stuff that I do.. I’m thinking – “do I need to differentiate…?”
I’ve been toying with the idea of releasing some of this material under my own name. And why not? Bruce Bickerton has got a certain ring to it, don’t you reckon? It would mean that in future, listeners can decide whether they want to bathe exclusively in the tripped out, analogue-drenched sound-scaping that I’m renowned for as alucidnation, or alternatively dial into my more song-based acoustic stuff by visiting Bruce Bickerton
Postscript 2 weeks later… having written all of the above, I’m still umming and arring about this. Perhaps I should just stick with the tried and trusted alucidnation moniker. After posting a link to this article on the socials, it appears that most people would prefer it if I stuck to just the one artist name. Or maybe I should just put a sock in it and stop taking all of this so bloody seriously. 😉
latest album
Orkney Piano Album | Writing, Recording & Mixing
October 2023
Back in March of this year, I recorded a lot of piano music on Westray, one of the most northerly islands in the Orkneys. Nina and I visited Westray for the first time back in 2021, and were entranced by the peace and quiet, the scenery and the general vibe of the island. The place we stayed in was furnished with a Bluthner grand piano and so I spent most mornings recording my improvisations with a pro-recorder and a couple of mics. We really had the best time.
Upon our return and listening back to the recordings I’d made, I was quite honestly surprised – everything was pretty cohesive and well recorded. I started selecting and editing what I considered to be the best material, ending up with a compilation of around 50 minutes of piano music. I’d also recorded a stack of field recordings, which alongside the loose and ramshackle nature of the way I’d hung the music together, seemed to work well segued between each ‘piece’.
Some of the pieces suggested a little embellishment, so I spent about four weeks adding ambient treatments, guitars and electronics to a few tracks, roping in Nina to do some singing and a couple of friends to add other sparse instrumentation.
Various people have been asking me when I’ll release a ‘piano’ album proper; this is it. As of now mid-October] it’s all ready for mastering. I’m not 100% sure whether this will be an alucidnation album, or whether it’s possibly more fitting that this should be the debut release as bruce bickerton…
Remixes etc.
April 2023
Sorry, I’ve been slack as fuck and not posted anything anywhere for quite some time now. I don’t know about you, but I’m of the mind that there are now way too many channels of communication, and this surfeit of social media seems to have made landfall pretty quickly – almost akin to a technological tsunami.
I can’t keep up, so I’m not bothering.
So yeah. You could quite easily spend all of your precious time posting on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter about the stuff you could be doing, rather than just getting on with it. It’s the modern disease.
I’m listening to a podcast at the moment which is well worth a listen – it’s all about how the internet has gifted us all self-proclaimed gurus as we sail blindly through a period where our traditional beliefs are being questioned. Check it out here.
Meanwhile, in other news I’ve got a few bits of new music out there:
AtSwim Remix
Back in 2021, AtSwim, the audio project of Paul Gathercole and Ben Ackland, sent me a rather beautiful ambient version of Ocean Floor from Meditations. I was so taken with it, it led the trio of remixes on the subsequent Medications album. It seemed only right that I should return the favour and rework something of theirs, so that’s exactly what happened.
‘Dior in SE18‘, a track from their last album got the alucidnation treatment and you can listen to it in a variety of wonderous ways right here.
Artec ride again. On grey vinyl.
Artec, the project of Stuart Nisbet & Bruce have had a track released on 12″ vinyl. Fourier Transform have just put out a 4 track limited edition slab of wax on grey/silver vinyl. There’s no information on the label, and it’s released in a generic bag, so there’s not really any way of knowing which of the four artists have done what, an idea I appreciate. More information here.
The content? It’s primarily smooth, old school techno.. and our track hails from way back in 2001, which if my maths serves me correctly, is 22 years ago. Christ alive, I work with people who are that old. 🙂
Lisa Coleman
Lisa‘s a very talented person. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind me saying that.
She’s an actress, writer, voice-over artist, musician, poet and singer and I’ve been working with her on various bits and bobs over the past three years or so – but only when we both feel like doing so.
Lisa has just put together her very own BandCamp page with some of her lovely music on there; one of which is a vague dub version of ‘The Sun in Shining’ that I worked on, adding bass, keyboards, treatments and suchlike to create an alucidnation version of the track. Listen to it here.
2022 | 'Mellifluous'
November 4th 2022
Today, the album drops on all other digital and streaming platforms, so we’re talkin’ Spotify, the platform that the majority of folks use to listen to and audition music, Apple platforms, Deezer, Amazon, Tidal – the list is pretty exhausting to be honest. As an artist, I’m not a huge fan of giving away one’s work for essentially fuck all, but hey, you’ve got to be in it to win it, and I’d be a bloody hypocrite if I said anything different, as I subscribe to Spotify myself!
If, like me, you’re still a diehard vinyl or a CD collector, I have a few copies of the record available for sale on my BandCamp.
In the meantime, I’ve also added in a Spotify LP link above.
Go on – enjoy it – for free!
October 5th 2022
I’m delighted to inform you, dear reader, that the finished vinyl and CD copies have now been delivered to Lucid Recordings headquarters!
Having been going through and testing random copies of the vinyls, I can confirm that this album is properly ‘up there’ in terms of audio fidelity and printing quality. I am so happy with the finished results and I’m damned sure that those of you who’ve come on board and ordered copies of this great album will join me in agreement.
The CD copies look and sound superb, too.
I’m very proud of this release.
In the meantime, I’ve curated a blog of sorts about the process of getting this project off the ground and through to fruition, so please do go here and have a look and a listen if you’ve any spare time.
Publishing Deal | Bucks Music Group
I’ll hold my hands up. Publishing is an area that I’ve been neglecting for a number of years. It’s an oft-misunderstood dark art, and I’m as guilty as the next musician when it comes to getting my head around PRS and MCPS related business.
For an ‘established’ artist with a large-ish canon of work, it’s important to have a company on side who will promote and shout about your catalogue from the proverbial rooftops. There’s a slew of music out there; but why shouldn’t it be my stuff incidentally used liberally under a few Channel 4 idents?
alucidnation was signed to Faber Music for the past 8 or 9 years. I was signed by the ‘legendary’ James Endeacott because they felt that electronic and ambient music would be another useful string to their bow. However, due to Faber moving back into exclusively classical music publishing at the start of 2022, I found myself bereft of a deal.
But… enter stage left; Bucks Music Group. As of August 2022, I have now joined their rather splendid roster of published artists. I’m excited to have their CEO, Simon Platz, representing my body of work.
You can go here to read more about Bucks, and my artist page is here.
scrapbook
The section of the site where I indulge my passion for writing. I try and cover a variety of subjects, but I suppose it’s primarily about the music.
Here are a few featured articles – dive in and find lots more witty and erudite writing in the scrapbook..
Steinberg CC121
Steinberg CC121 Hardware Controller My recording facility is pretty retro, containing predominantly old-school analogue gear and, well, stuff that requires hands-on operation. Always a plus point if you ask me; I've always struggled to understand how musicians and...
Mellifluous
2022 | MellifluousThis album represents what is, to me, anyway, my eighth 'proper' release, the other seven being released either on other third party labels, or my own imprint. This blog post is a culmination of posts taken from my home page and details the timeline...
Neutron Modular Synth
Behringer Neutron Semi Modular Synth After many years of every studio, synth and programming nerd [in some cases, quite rightly] wetting their pants whilst discovering numerous soft-synth emulations within the digital domain, the majority of these folk are now...
Medications
2021 | Medications [Meditations Remixes]This album represents what is, to me, anyway, my seventh 'proper' release, the other seven being released either on other third party labels, or my own imprint. June 2021 Whilst it might appear as though I’ve been...
Meditations
2020 | MeditationsThis album represents what is, to me, anyway, my sixth 'proper' release, the other seven being released either on other third party labels, or my own imprint. June 2022 In 2020, I had quite a serious pushbike accident, which rendered me...
Good Vibrations
Challenging Covers I’ve never really understood the rationale of some artists who rework a particular classic almost note for note. I mean, what’s the point in replicating something that’s been done perfectly well already? This was the feeling I had when I listened to...
apparel
t-shirts, hoodies & other goodies
I’ve partnered with old friends DizzyJam to bring you a range of t-shirts, hoodies and other stuff that you may or may not want to clutter your already cluttered dwelling with.
Rest assured; all items are made of the highest quality materials. I’ve attempted to price them as competitively as possible, bearing in mind the current state of commercial flux we all find ourselves mired in.
I’ll be adding other designs and products over time. For the while though, if you’re happy being a subtle walking billboard for my record imprint, then please – be my guest!
eclectronica
alucidnation on your radio.
My days of spinning records in clubs and DJing to large, mainly appreciative crowds appear to have vanished in the haze of middle age… thank christ. The bottom line is that it’s a young man’s game… and if I’m honest, I never really enjoyed playing in clubs much anyway.
But I’ve always loved radio; it’s the most intimate platform and the best thing is that as a broadcaster, you can do it all from the comfort of your home studio, indulge yourself and hopefully indulge your listeners at the same time.
My radio show, ‘Eclectronica’ has been running since 2008. For the first twelve years it aired as a two hour specialist show on Global’s legendary Chill DAB station with a 20K per week audience.
I now syndicate Eclectronica to a number of UK stations broadcasting on FM, DAB and online, worldwide.
discography
All audio commerce is now on my BandCamp.
My back catalogue is now available to stream & purchase here on the Discography page.
My latest album, ‘Mellifluous‘, released September 5th 2022, is now available. Please stream and purchase here.
It’s available as digital, limited edition coloured vinyl and CD.
As of November 4th, ‘Mellifluous’ is also available on all streaming and digital audio platforms.
alucidnation for your yoga
Some of the alucidnation catalogue is signed to YogiTunes.
YogiTunes is designed with the yoga instructor forefront of mind.
The app enables you to find inspiration and save time with playlists curated by world class selectors.
Search by yoga type, see whatʼs trending, or browse by genre and other activities. Create a continuous flow with playlists built to keep your students atuned to a deeper, medatitive state.
