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)

How you can help Electronic Sound magazine get even better in 2017

Here is a list of words I recently submitted for publication in Electronic Sound: trousers; hedge; steaming; molested; bile; gush.

Writing for Electronic Sound is a blast. Writing about music generally is a blast. But writing for Electronic Sound is a particularly blasty kind of blast.

You can now get involved in Electronic Sound and its creator Pam Communications by investing some cash. You can bung in a tenner. Or if you've had a string of hit singles and own a duplex in Ibiza, throw them ten grand.

The ES bunnies are top people who deserve support. The magazine is tastier than a sack of carrots, and they've worked their paws off (really going for the bunny thing here) to get it stocked in WH Smith and Sainsbury's.

The writing's excellent, their editorial control is as professional as heck, and the design is truly stunning. Blimey, it's one of the reasons why I've embraced yellow on this website. ES is rewiring the way independent magazines plug into a modern world, and they've got solid plans to expand and take over the universe. They've even got a sentient robot.

🎶 we are the robots 🎶

— Unit 18 (@Unit18_bleep) January 5, 2017

I'm biased, of course. They print my column. But that also means you're investing in me too, sort of.

New year's resolution. Support an amazing electronic music magazine. It's worth a tenner, right? Here's the Electronic Sound investment page - don't delay.

And now: here are two famous people holding the magazine that features the other one as cover star. They've both done songs with cars in.

Further Fats: This stint in Independent shall be (2013)

Further Fats: some words what I wrote for Electronic Sound (2015)