Music has always been my first love, and it remains one of the main creative outlets in my life. I trained as a classical musician, studying the French horn for my BMus, before spending much of my twenties making and performing experimental electronic music. Those two practices still shape how I listen, think and work.
The French horn and classical repertoire
I play the horn every day. Returning to the instrument keeps me close to breath, phrasing and the physical discipline of making a line speak clearly. It is also a way of entering the patterns held within music written by Haydn, Mozart, Strauss, Brahms, Mahler and Beethoven.
Each composer asks something different of the player. The horn can sit inside the orchestra, bind its colours together, or suddenly carry a voice across the whole texture. Daily practice lets me stay in contact with that range and with a tradition that continues to reveal more over time.
Electronic music and software
My electronic work grew from the same attention to pattern, colour and structure. Under the name Jasper I wrote and produced the five-track Mixed Messages EP, and I played synths and programmed for the Bristol trio Million Way. That work moved between electro, house, techno, funk and live performance, with a close focus on synthesis and programming.
The experiments now feed into the homeopathy software I develop. Building an electronic instrument and building a useful piece of software both involve shaping complex relationships into something responsive and coherent. Music remains the place where I can test ideas by ear, follow unexpected connections and keep the technical work tied to creative practice.
