HUW - Music from the Multiverse (2017/2019)

HUW is multi-instrumentalist and producer Aaron Dolton. His brother, Mike, is the principal collaborator on the project. Both brothers compose and perform, with Mike holding down the rhythm while Aaron provides the production skills that realize their sound. Their music is a downtempo blend of electronica, jazz and soul.

Raised in the Peak District, UK, the brothers have always shared their passions for music, technology, gaming, cinema, cult TV and alternative culture. Musically, Aaron cites influences from the worlds of jazz and electronic music, while Mike’s passion is for classic and contemporary rock and blues. These influences run deep, informing their production style, resulting in an immersive exploration of future jazz. Expect intricate compositions, psychedelic overtones and visually evocative scores that blend homegrown samples, synths, saxophones and guitars glued together with combinations of live and electronic rhythms.

Their early musical activities laid the ground for this experimental collaboration. Compositions were created on their Amiga home computer, samples and sequences played out through homemade amps and effects, with beaten up outboard bought from the classified pages of sound production magazines. An obsessive interest in synthesis and sequencing remains, and is a key feature of their sound. The addition of live instrumentation brings a human dynamic, adding imperfection and complexity, creating depth and an organic feel to their music.

Both were students at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, where they gained further skills and experience to explore their artistic vision. Aaron moved on to a community studio where he studied audio engineering. At the same time, he continued as a session musician. His first residency as a sax player saw him supporting the biggest names in UK Hip Hop. Meanwhile, Mike kept the groove for blues and jazz artists in studios and venues across the UK and further afield in Japan.

Their first release for Ropeadope in 2010, Amplexus, was an eclectic mash-up of live and electronic material, heavily inspired by the sounds heard in the UK Nu Jazz scene. Their follow up LP, Anamorphic, found the duo working a soulful blend of programmed sound, detailed rhythms and instrumental breaks inspired by the world of cinema, composed as the soundtrack to an imagined movie. The next release, Audiography, was a love letter to geek culture, with sound design influenced by TV and film soundtracks, and track titles containing coded references to cult media.

Music from the Multiverse is a step beyond, a collaboration with vocal artists and musicians that adds a new dimension to the project. This is audio alchemy designed to light up your senses; we invite you to take a trip with HUW.