Sunday 25 January 2026, 7.30pm
Special launch show for the new LP from the duo of Daniel O’Sullivan and Richard Youngs, Persian Carpets, out on 23rd January on VHF Records.
Written for upright piano and zither, the work explores the harmonic clarity and resonance of perfect intervals. Structured as two side-long movements, the piece unfolds as a spacious, immersive form of acoustic minimalism, shifting between rhythmic surges, quiet overtones, and subtle variations in attack and texture.
O’Sullivan and Youngs first collaborated on Twelve of Hearts, released by Tim Burgess’ O Genesis imprint in 2020. While Twelve of Hearts was rooted in song-based forms, Persian Carpets moves toward a more distilled, minimalist vocabulary, deepening the duo’s collaborative language.
Daniel O’Sullivan is an English multi-instrumentalist and composer whose work spans an eclectic range of genres, from chamber music to psychedelic rock. Renowned for his collaborations with avant-garde luminaries and his own groundbreaking projects, O’Sullivan’s artistry is characterized by its lush arrangements and emotional depth.
Richard Youngs (b. 1966, Cambridge, England) is a musician based in Glasgow, Scotland. In a career spanning more than 40 years, his diverse and prolific output defies the existence of any definitive biography or discography. Primarily recognised as a solo artist and writer of extended song, he is also an active cross-genre collaborator. Recent work includes "deep wallpaper" music with Daniel O'Sullivan, and the potentially global site-specific Here Is A Big Place project with Raymond MacDonald. Initially a rare live performer, he has embraced the stage, playing throughout Europe in the past few years.
Charles Hayward is an English drummer/singer/composer and was a founding member of the experimental rock groups This Heat and Camberwell Now. He also played with early European improv group Mal Dean's Amazing Band and gigged and recorded with Phil Manzanera in Quiet Sun as well as a short stint with Gong. Since the late 80's he has concentrated on solo projects and collaborations including Massacre (with Bill Laswell and Fred Frith), Monkey Puzzle Trio, Albert Newton (with Pat Thomas and John Edwards) and This Is Not This Heat which toured the UK, Europe, USA and Japan between 2016-2019 performing expanded versions of This Heat’s oeuvre to unfaltering critical acclaim. Hayward’s latest group, Abstract Concrete, formed from London players from a diversity of European underground scenes, released its self-titled debut album in November 2023.
30 MINUTE SNARE DRUM ROLL takes a rudimental drum technique and extends this elemental sound out beyond itself into an undulating line that pirouettes and spirals through acoustic space, changing density, pressure and volume. The pencilled, monochromatic sound suggests more than itself; time is the frame.
