Bleep

Press Release

Rob St John's Surface Tension LP was made over the course of a year spent walking, recording and photographing the Lea Valley in East London. An electric-pastoral shimmer of field recordings, analogue synths, fingerpicked guitars, tape loops, tube organs and submerged rhythms, the record was originally released as two limited book/CD editions (which both sold out swiftly), and is now reissued on vinyl for the first time. We'll be releasing Surface Tension on Friday 14th May 2021. Limited to 300 copies, each uniquely pressed on 12" eco-mix vinyl.

Rob is a musician, artist and writer based in rural Lancashire. In 2014 he was commissioned by Benjamin Fenton from the Thames21 Love the Lea charity to create a project documenting pollution, life and biodiversity through the Lea Valley's changing environment.

Rob – who plays in kosmiche folk-rock band Modern Studies, has a string of critically-acclaimed solo releases, has installed artworks at Tate Modern, The Barbican and The Victoria and Albert Museum and had his work profiled on BBC Radio 3, 4 and 6 Music – used a variety of innovative sound and visual art techniques drawing from the local environment to create Surface Tension.

Radio play from Lauren Laverne (BBC 6 Music), Gideon Coe (BBC 6 Music) and Stuart Maconie (BBC 6 Music)