Richard Skelton

I have just ordered the latest work by Richard Skelton. Richard lives in Cumbria and runs a press with his partner Autumn Richardson called Corbel Stone Press. They produce finely printed collections of poetry and prose as well as CDs and downloads of Richard’s music.

The music is ambient, gentle washes of sound that build to sometimes staggering oceans of energy. The music is created using electronic treatments of Richard playing instruments including guitar and violin to create drones. I love working to it. I have bought a few of his collections so far. I also really like his writing, which is focused on landscape. His pieces are usually produced in limited editions with great attention paid to the presentation.

One thing I really like is the fact that Richard will often drop in a handwritten note when he sends work out. There’s a very real feeling that he is a cottage industry sending material out by hand.

I first came across his work on Stuart Maconie’s show and in The Wire magazine. If you haven’t come across him before do go and look at his websites here and here where you can listen to samples of his music.