R.dyer

I am a Brighton-based experimental musician and sound artist. I have 14+ years’ experience of performing, including with anti-folk group The Bobby McGee’s (including at Glastonbury and in Hong Kong). For the last 5 years I have performed solo, supporting artists including Sarah Angliss, Porridge Radio, Ana da Silva, Richard Dawson, Alabaster dePlume and Haiku Salut. I use anything from found sounds, audience conversations, home-made instruments, folk harp, saxophone, coloured pencils and layered vocals to create looped performances that sit somewhere between songs, soundscapes and improvisation.

My work draws on diverse influences: from traditional folk to sample-based electronic music, avant-pop to contemporary classical, improvised jazz to legendary outsider artist The Space Lady. I have been described as ‘complex…skilful…astonishingly good’ Brighton & Hove News and ‘heartfelt magic..wrapped in an avant-pop soundscape’ Brighton Source.

Over lockdown I released 2 home-recorded singles via Bandcamp, alongside two accompanying videos. I split the proceeds from sales of my track “Lockdown 20” between the #SaveOurVenues campaign and local organisation Brighton & Hove Black History. The video has been viewed 3,500+ times on Facebook.

In 2021 I was awarded an “Emergent” commission by Drake Music: one of three early-career Disabled/Neurodivergent artists selected. I composed/recorded a piece on the theme of “Risk”, using binaural sounds of dice as a percussive background, and working alongside a professional sound engineer to mix it.

In 2022 I secured funding from Help Musicians UK to support the recording, release and promotion of my debut album, giving me access to professional PR expertise and industry business advice. The album received exposure on local radio in Brighton and across the UK, with Freq.org.uk describing the album as ‘genuinely devastating…an extraordinarily humane and nuanced piece’.

This year I have been focusing on creating new material for another album in early 2024, as well as organising gigs in the Midlands and North East later in the year. I secured another commission on the basis of my album, where I experimented with alternative home-recording and field-recording techniques (transducers, hydrophones, contact mics) to create music for an installation with the Canal Trust. I completed a residency for MW Residency on Resonance FM in June 2023, with another due for FREQ in the upcoming months. I was also shortlisted for the Chris Difford songwriting retreat 2023.

My creative practice is not exclusively musical, however. Additional achievements include: curating a tin-can phone sound art installation for Brighton Open Houses; exhibiting art work for Dragonfly Festival (Sweden). Creating 3 music videos for my debut album, and working with visual artist Kate Shields to reflect on autistic regulation using optical theremins and sensory toys at Brighton Digital Festival 2019.

My work is informed by both my lived experience of autism and my knowledge of traditional barriers to access, gained from my work in autistic education. I am passionate about amplifying neuro-divergent, disabled and trans+ voices in the creative sector and have run numerous creative workshops for both children and adults, exploring the possibilities of stimming as creative expression.