I come bearing good news that a short story I wrote for ‘The Book of Cardiff’ has recently been published by Comma Press.
It’s my first time being published (as opposed to self-published), which means my writing is officially slightly more important than it was (and one step closer to curing all ills).
But in all seriousness, I’m particularly grateful to those of you who kept up with my year & a half of weekly short stories in 2024 & 2025. This new story was inadvertently the culmination of that period of writing, and one that I submitted to Comma Press’s open call for fiction that captures something of the essence of living in Cardiff.
In truth, I’m over the moon that it was selected for publication and my teenage self would be especially delighted too. Long before going down the rabbit hole of being a musician, I mainly played football, Sim City, and wrote short stories. Football didn’t work out, my cities tended to descend into chaos, but perhaps the stories are looking promising…
I want to say thank you to the editors and team at Comma Press for being the first publishing house to take a punt on my work, and for placing my story in an anthology alongside some of Wales’ best and most iconic writers. My vested interests aside, I’d highly recommend picking up the book for the other stories in their own right.
My offering, ‘Bring Me the Head of the Llanishen Bear’, is loosely based on a bizarre yet very real rumour that circulated in Cardiff’s most complex northern suburb back in 2010…
If you wish to read it, it’s available now from all good book stores as well as online.
Here’s a link, and thanks again for supporting my work by granting it some of your attention in a very noisy world. I don’t take it for granted.
Welcome through the gates of ‘Portrait of an Artist’. I’m setting out in the hope of documenting and shedding light on independent artists I admire for being torch-bearers of the creative spirit.
Being an independent artist in the modern age comes with its own unique horde of challenges that extend far beyond the craft itself, so I’m in awe of anyone who goes at it with unflinching gusto – especially those who raise the bar while doing so.
The format will be uncomplicated: a collection of portraits shot on film, and a quickfire round of questions related to the creative life.
For ISSUE #1 (the maiden voyage), I’m grateful to be able to introduce a collaborator and good friend, Luke Robinson, who I’ve had the pleasure of working in close quarters with on a few projects over the past two years.
We blitzed through a photo shoot in the low-light of his natural habitat, Shift (a subterranean basement beneath Cardiff city centre, which has doubled up as an arts space in recent years), and I loved reading his answers to a handful of probing questions.
Luke is a professional drummer who approaches his craft as a vocation like few others I’ve met in music. Watching him in action, chatting over coffees, and seeing how hard he works to further his abilities, it would be hard to deny that he’s a fully-fledged working artist who’s driving down the path towards mastery. He also takes an intentional and holistic approach to creativity; a true explorer of new music, books, and paintings. In my eyes, an exceptional drummer and a beacon of good taste.
Hailing from Cornwall and currently working out of Cardiff, he’s performed with artists such as Iona Luke, Gwen, Red Telephone, Tendertwin, Muriel, and Gene Madoc. He’s also a solo recording artist and songwriter, having released two enticing experimental EPs under the moniker Bulkier Noons.
THE INTERVIEW
• What do you love that no one else seems to get?
Spreadsheets. Spreadsheets can just make your life easier. Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just simple, easy read lines. I make wishlists and shopping lists, albums I’ve listened to in a year as well as the boring numbers stuff for the wedding band I run.
• Name a film you keep returning to:
True Romance. Stunning, intensely vibrant film. I think about it all the time.
• Name a book that altered your world-view:
Going to be cheeky here and say “A Year with Swollen Appendices: Brian Eno’s Diary”. He kept a diary for all of 1995, and it inspired me last year to do the same.
Diary keeping is immensely rewarding and a genuinely positive step for one’s mental health. I don’t do enough of it.
• What characteristic connects your creative heroes?
Easy answer for me is risk taking. All of my favourite musicians and painters etc. strive to just be themselves and take risks when doing so to further the art-form.
Some examples: Stewart Copeland (any Police live gig, just listen to the effortless, reckless abandon with which he performs), Tony Williams (pure ferocity and completely unique phrasing, freakish level of chops freakishly early), Vinnie Colaiuta (watch the Blue Note Tokyo 1992 live gig with Chick Corea, enough said).
• Share one creative habit or routine that serves you well:
Really trying (where time permits) to seek out new stuff from all corners of the globe. It will help your playing, your songwriting, your knowledge of cultures.
• Share one principle for living well:
As the great Jim Keltner once said “when you’re working, work. When you’re not working, don’t work”.
• I know you love artists and paintings, so the big question here has to be, who drums like Basquiat paints?
I may get harangued for saying this but I’m actually going to go for Dave King from the band The Bad Plus.
Playful, unique, bright, intensely creative, punk fuck you attitude.
Try their cover of Blondie’s “Heart Of Glass” from the 2003 album “These Are The Vistas”.
• If you could only use one snare drum for the rest of your drumming life, across all genres, which one would it be?
Haha, I loved this snare related question. Kind of thing I lie awake thinking about at 3am.
I am going to go with my diamond in the rough, my dear old friend. My 1970s Pearl chrome over steel 14 x 5.5.
Loads of the original lugs have gone and been replaced. There’s rust on the bottom bearing edge. But it sounds fantastic and I just feel good when I play it. A real workhorse!
• What’s a project you’ve released or worked on that you want more people to know about?
I must say although it is hard to blow ones own trumpet I am proud of the 2 EPs I released in 2024 “I Can’t Turn It Off” and “Born In January” in 2025. They are meant as companion pieces to each other and the subject matter of them deals with me processing grief and coming to terms of personality traits about myself I find less favourable.
That being said of course I would encourage everyone to check out the Red Telephone album “Delay the New Day” myself and Dec worked on. Dec wrote almost all the songs and we pieced them together as a band, mostly in my mum’s painting studio in Cornwall. I am very proud of it and I know Dec is too.
• Share an aphorism or quote that you rely on to guide you through the chaos of life (can be your own, or attributed):
You are not the voice in your head, you are what listens.
Listen to Luke’s music, tracks he’s drummed on, and explore more of his work here: https://linktr.ee/rluke4479
Photos shot on Fomapan 400 & developed by Express Imaging, Cardiff.
Art isn’t just about nice moments, drama, and dopamine hits; that’s the entertainment industry.
An artist’s job, really, is to help us see. To become conscious of what we’re rushing past, and that which is getting lost in the tide of mindless living.
To be an antidote to autopilot.
The Thoughts of Others
“It’s always time to question what has become standard and established.” – David Bowie
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