Music

Outside of formal work and study, I'm a big music fan. I've been playing drums in bands for years and it's come to form an important part of my identity. So, in a vain attempt to beat the maths nerd allegations (double meaning intentional!), I thought I'd chuck in a few links on my personal site so showcase what I've been getting up to.

Projects

Some Background (if you care!)

Influx of Insanity

It all started aged 14 with a noisy prog metal double-act called Influx of Insanity. We played a lot of gigs, wrote some hilarious, teenage angst-ridden lyrics and released some self-produced music out into the world. It was great fun! This video gives you a good idea of what we were all about...

My partner in crime Dom Howard went on to study jazz at RCM after we finished in 2021 and he's utterly brilliant, go check him out.

The Karma Violets

The Karma Violets came together thanks to complete chance! I met the lovely Wes Ayres whilst working as a waiter at Peterhouse College, Cambridge, we got chatting music and decided to form a band. With the addition of the crazy mutual connection Ambrose de Soissons-Page (Wes' family friend who also happened to played the same LMHR / REPEAT gigs as me back in the day!), we completed this indie-rock trio. Lockdown couldn't stop us pumping out two EPs - have a listen here.

Feed the Mammoth

I headed off to University in 2021 and threw myself straight into the smorgasbord of musical madness that is Warwick BandSoc. I played in a wacky variety of bands - shoutout to the angry garage punk of Domestic Love and my good friends in Sunny Side Down! Eventually, I decided to settle down and focus on Feed the Mammoth. We wrote some tunes I'm genuinely proud of and had a banging time doing it. If you want a flavour of what we got up to, check out our YouTube.

Community Building

In my 3rd year, I had the privilege of serving as president of BandSoc. It was busy, intense year and one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Alongside my fantastic exec team, I put on around 50 events during my term. Highlights included organising a week-long tour around the UK for 5 bands, instituting a free annual summer festival on campus and organising the massive annual Battle of the Bands competition. It was a blast!

But honestly? Seeing friendships form, those memories made? It was a deeply moving experience. University can be a lonely place, and in our world that so heavily incentivises the individual ('sort yourself out, increase your own following'), there are very few social structures that tie people together like that, forcing your to put your faith in others - in something bigger than yourself.

This time I spent building a genuine sense of place-based community in BandSoc will stay with me forever. Yes, it's obvious, and I don't want to be too 'let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya round the fire', but there is real power in building this sense of collective identify. It's something I want to keep chasing in everything I do. Thanks BandSoc ❤️