Rob St. John

Rob St. John is an English writer, artist and musician.

Rob St. John
OriginLancashire
GenresExperimental, Sound Art, Indie folk
Years activeEarly-2000s–present
LabelsSong, by Toad Records
Associated actsEagleowl, Meursault, Woodpigeon
Websitewww.robstjohn.co.uk

Early life

Rob St. John was born in Lancashire, and spent his childhood living on Pendle Hill.

Career

Music

St. John's debut album, Weald, was released in November 2011, and received a positive reception from critics.[1][2][3][4] This Is Fake DIY described it as "special, surprising and utterly magnificent".[3] Andrew Collins of BBC 6 Music named it his album of the year.[5] St. John wrote the original music for the Jeremy Deller and Nick Abrahams film The Bruce Lacey Experience,[6] and in 2012 produced the Folklore Tapes "Pendle, 1612" compilation album with David Chatton Barker, commemorating the anniversary of the Pendle Witch Trials.[7] St. John has contributed to Modern Studies, Eagleowl, Meursault, Woodpigeon and Withered Hand.

Environmental Art

St. John has produced a number of varied artworks, with landscape, sound and the environment as common themes. Water of Life (2013), with Tommy Perman, explored water in the city of Edinburgh through visual art, writing and sound;[8] the solo project Surface Tension (2015) used sound art and photography to document pollution in the River Lea in London and was shown at Stour Space, London and The Lighthouse, Glasgow;[9] and a sound installation Concrete Antenna (2015), with Tommy Perman and Simon Kirby, exhibited at the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop through 2015-16.[10] Emergent Landscapes (2016) was a participatory installation at Switch House, Tate Modern, involving collaborative cairn sculpture, soundscape creation and film work using manipulated Super 8.[11] Soundmarks is a collaboration launched in 2019 with archaeologist Rose Ferraby to use sound and visual art to explore sub-surface landscapes at the Roman town of Aldborough.[12] The project uses field recordings[13] to create an imagined sonic trail around the Roman village, which can be listened to on site or online.[14]

Writing

St. John writes on music, art and the environment, and is a cultural geography researcher at the University of Glasgow.[15]

Discography

Albums
  • Weald (2011), Song, by Toad
  • Farewell, Bastard Mountain (2014), Song, by Toad (as part of Bastard Mountain)
  • Surface Tension (2015) Pattern + Process
  • Concrete Antenna (2016) Random Spectacular
  • Swell to Great (2017) Fire Records (as part of Modern Studies)
  • Welcome Strangers (2018) Fire Records (as part of Modern Studies)

EPs
  • Tipping In (2007), Fife Kills: records
  • Like Alchemy (2008), Fife Kills: records
  • Young Sun | Trouble Comes (2015), Song, by Toad (split 10-inch EP with Woodpigeon)

Singles
  • Your Phantom Limb (2011), Song, by Toad (split 7-inch single with Ian Humberstone)
  • The Charcoal Black and the Bonny Grey (2013), Song, by Toad (7-inch single)
  • Water of Life (2013), Imagining Natural Scotland (7-inch single)[16][17]

References
  1. Carle, Darren (2011) "Rob St. John – Weald", The Skinny, 1 November 2011, retrieved 2012-04-09
  2. "Rob St John: Weald Track by track guide", Clash, 21 November 2011, retrieved 2012-04-09
  3. Skrebels, Joe (2011) "Rob St. John – Weald", This Is Fake DIY, 21 November 2011, retrieved 2012-04-09
  4. Hamilton, Billy (2011) "Rob St. John Weald", Drowned in Sound, 22 November 2011, retrieved 2012-04-09
  5. Collins, Andrew (2011) "St John's Ambience", Where Did It All Go Right, 24 November 2011, retrieved 2015-05-19
  6. IMDB "The Bruce Lacey Experience", retrieved 2015-05-19
  7. Devine, Rachel (2013) "Folklore Tapes - Setting to song a dark period of English history, The List, 22 April 2013, retrieved 2015-05-19
  8. Meighan, Nicola (2013) "Water Of Life: A Liquid Cartography Of Edinburgh In Sound, Words & Images ", The Quietus, 15 December 2013, retrieved 2015-05-19
  9. Mulvey, John (2015) "London Music and the River Lea" UNCUT, 31 March 2015, retrieved 2015-05-19
  10. Concrete Antenna, retrieved 2015-05-19
  11. "Emergent Landscapes". Emergent Landscapes. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  12. "Soundmarks". Museum of Walking. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  13. St John, Rob. "Soundmarks Beginnins=gs". Caught By the River. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  14. "Sounding Aldborough". Soundcloud. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  15. "about – Rob St John". www.robstjohn.co.uk. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  16. "Song, by Toad Records". Song, by Toad Records. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  17. "Rob St John". robstjohn.co.uk. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
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