A vital, discombobulating set from London-based, Scottish artist, Jackson Burton, who works with scores, text pieces and action-based performances that address class amongst other things.

In this performance - recorded as part of a phenomenal bill alongside Charmaine Lee and the duo of Ute Wassermann & Joke Lanz in May 2025 - Jackson conjures a heady, compellingly disorientating mix of live-performance, pre-recorded elements and spoken word to create a potent atmosphere all its own.

Weaving together strands of folklore, witchcraft, religion, plus an extended monologue on early 2000's Scottish "alternative" teen life that elicits the kind of knowing jolts of recognition that only something so seemingly specific can do, the piece feels both uncanny and starkly personal at the same time; a curious shape where each angle casts new light on the rest. Through it all, Jackson leads the audience from one facet to the next, incorporating repeated actions and movements that feel more like rituals, provoking reactions that range from intense reverie to nervous laughter.

Though clocking in at a little over a quarter of an hour, the performance feels so densely layered that each listen seems to reveal new insights that may take a long time to unpack. Truly one of a kind.

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Recorded by Rory Salter
Mixed and mastered by Oli Barrett
Cover photo by Thea Sands

Discrimination was what it was, mid 00’s, me and my kind full of vim n broken away fae our wee toons, finished school without too many kickings, the old rockporters def helped steer some of the bams away n that, n to be fair most of us had a wee side in putin cd’s of bonkers cause we were aw wee nerdy sorts who got to the downloadin first n worked it aw oot so could stay on the good side. Life was looking fuckin tops, ye had record fair, cathoose, royal exchange, we were fully integrated n people just got on wae it for the most part, you know headin back to ek or airdre or the like your gona get the odd slap round the under cut or a tug on yr long long barnett or a crack at yr bernies but that was easy streets for what was to come. When that fucking luke whats his chops mitchell killed jodi jones at the end of 03 our whole life was fucked. Slipknot hoodies banned fae schools, no piercings, no make up. This was basically the scottish columbine, they blamed the whole thing on satanism and marlyn manson when in actual fact that lukes dad was a fucking nut job n regardless of his proclivities for the nu metal this kinda thing could of played out, n am not taking it away from bams n that aw them bonkers raves n people that died was also not good but tbh they were the majority. When we all jumped from school n tried to get jobs, n bear n mind west of scotland was thrivin all the new shops, centre west n aw that. But you look at the job centre line n it was basically like the cat house on a saturday night, fucking nine inch nails, marlyn manson hoodies blended with the smell of soap bar n fucking wella wax but nobody had a chance, n bear n mind a lot of these kiddos were actually smart as a dial, well at one point prolly before the hash n that ut like all could hack computers probably got a drop out. But even those who ended up getting jobs had to tone it back, still wearing vans n trouser a wee bit baggy n chain belts but for those who full committed n wouldnt fucking back down there was no jobs, just endless signing oan, signing off, college courses, a few people doing graphics or art but never coming to much, usually peoples maws had enough, a few squared up n the ones that didnt, big mo n all that really went too far the other side, with all the skin heads junkies, stints in lindsay house. It felt like we were heading towards an integration of communities, red hot chillies n limp bizkit making the charts not too much of a threat, your weird pals. But after that muck with luke n jodi there was no going back, fucked it for the lot of us. Was a kind of edge having the cds with the warning about lyrics but this crossed into stupid witch craftery n all that n it was mostly just people from new towns trying to just separate from the huns n the tims. Saw a guy doing the social dance dj’n he was once a top goth boy, full stilettos n coloured contact lenses but last time he saw me he asked if i was a slosh man n well truth be told im more of a dashing white sergeant.

– Jackson Burton