Spotlight On James McKeown: Hawksmoor’s kosimiche hauntology
Today, the Spotlight shines On James McKeown, the Bristol, UK-based artist who releases music under the name Hawksmoor.
James first created Hawksmoor five years ago, inspired by the six 18th-century churches in London designed by architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. Described as ‘English Baroque’ in style, these buildings are large, foreboding, and even Gothic in nature. Imagine the music inspired by such things, and you have Hawksmoor.
Each Hawksmoor album features unique themes and inspirations that have been composed using a sonic palate of analog Moog instruments and electronic rhythms complimented with live bass and subtle, textural guitar elements.
Hawksmoor’s latest, their debut on Soul Jazz Records, Telepathic Heights, combines a love of German electronic music of the 1970s alongside British retro-futurism and hauntology — an aesthetic that evokes cultural memory of times past.
Great record, great conversation. Enjoy.
(Note: All of the music segues heard in this episode are from Hawksmoor's Telepathic Heights album.)
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Dig Deeper
- Listen to Hawksmoor's Telepathic Heights on your streaming platform of choice or purchase a download directly from Soul Jazz Records
- Listen to earlier albums by Hawksmoor on Bandcamp
- Follow Hawksmoor on Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, Twitter (X), and YouTube
- An Occult Psychogeography of Hawksmoor’s London Churches
- Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany (the unnamed book mentioned in the conversation)
- Hawksmoor - "Abstract Machines" (video)
- Be sure to peruse this episode's extensive show notes at spotlightonpodcast.com
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