Yello and a big sprout: the new Electronic Sound is here

In the new issue of Electronic Sound, I write about my Roland TR-08 drum machine, which is why I've illustrated it with Yello standing next to a giant sprout.

The new issue of the magazine is packed with its usual electronic excellence. There's bleepy pioneer Daphne Oram on the cover, as aqua blue as a posh swimming pool, and inside you'll find loads about the Oram Awards. which celebrates inspirational female and gender minority audio innovators. Proper treat.

My column this month arose from the drum machine I bought from a lovely chap called Martin who runs the Electronic Music Open Mic Night, which incidentally happens to be the only music gig I've been to throughout the coronavirus crisis. As usual, though, I got sidetracked so, er, this happened:

And yes, I just alt-texted that cartoon "Yello and a big sprout". You'll have to read the column to get the illustration's context, although in the words of my editors in the blurb for this month's column, "When Band Aid sang 'It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid', they clearly hadn't reckoned on this."

Every month, Electronic Sound runs a Time Machine piece which brings to life particular moments in the history of electronic music. I thought I'd have a go this month, so on pages 18 and 19 of this new edition I recall the time Cher became president of the USA and Timmy Mallett destroyed all known society.

I've also got a couple of album reviews in there too, which contain words like "fossilised", "mushroomy" and "beanbag".

I must say a massive thanks to Electronic Sound for allowing me, for another year, to wheelbarrow all my nonsense words into your finely-pruned magazine garden, raking my bad compost all over your journalistic begonias. And then letting me illustrate it all like an episode of Watercolour Challenge featuring only babies weened on absinthe. 

I'll leave you with Manchester's Vicky Clarke, one of the Oram Award winners, with a delightfully woozy track inspired by sleep walking and algorithmic control.

Further Fats: Another cartoonist – Back once again (2016)