{"title":"Richard Youngs","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRichard Youngs is a British musician known for his prolific and diverse output. Based in Glasgow, he has been actively creating music since the early 1990s. Youngs is skilled in playing various instruments, with the guitar being his most common choice. However, he also experiments with other instruments such as the shakuhachi, accordion, theremin, dulcimer, and even a motorway bridge. He has released numerous solo albums and collaborated with many artists throughout his career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor many years, Youngs rarely performed live due to extreme stage fright. However, in recent years he has overcome this fear and started performing more regularly. His recent shows have predominantly featured his vocals after attending a laptop concert that inspired him to sing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYoungs' musical style falls within the realm of experimental music. His unique sound can be compared to artists like *Loren Connors*, *Sir Richard Bishop*, *Six Organs Of Admittance*, and *Jackie O Motherfucker*. With an extensive discography and a reputation for pushing boundaries, Richard Youngs continues to captivate audiences with his innovative approach to music.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-naive-shaman","title":"The Naive Shaman","description":"\u003cp\u003erichard youngs has been making music for over two decades. 'the naive shaman' is his seventh album for jagjaguwar, and is a deeply personal work. created on a computer at home, it offers a high density digital song cycle driven by heavy, heavy electric bass guitar. the opening 'life on a beam' combines a modal vocal line with throbbing sonics and non-linear percussion. elsewhere a plaintive voice threads itself through frosted atmospherics and we hear richards first recorded kazoo work since 1992s 'new angloid sound'. at the core of the album is 'sonar in my soul', a bass loop onto which are collaged strangulated guitar, singing and more singing. the track climaxes in a hollered plea for unity. the second half of the set contrasts 'once it was autumn', a succinctly crafted dub chant, with the epic 'summers edge 2', whose sprawling 16 plus minutes anchor a floating vocal melody and free-flowing drums with fuzzed bass octaves. at a time when he has increased his commitment to live performance, richard youngs has paradoxically produced an album that explores recording technology as an instrument - a work where song is modulated by sound.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jagjaguwar","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50409930457419,"sku":"348534","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/509731d6-4165-4d9f-aeae-54913877ff33_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726632481"},{"product_id":"autumn-response","title":"Autumn Response","description":"\u003cp\u003e'autumn response' is a spartan folk-pop record filled with tinder-box intimacies, composed of some of the shortest songs ever recorded by richard youngs. the simplest form of trickery comes from richard youngs' restrained use of an acoustic guitar, bringing it back to youngs basics. twenty-six seconds into 'i need the light', the first track off the album, the listener is confronted with the pivotal element of the record, the drawing line between the hardcore youngs purists and fairweather fans: the track, like others on the record, features youngs' double-tracked voice splitting in two - as one overlaid performance veers away from the other. while he has never personally been comfortable with the moniker 'king of the progressive minimalists' - which is often used beside his name by critics - this gesture warrants such a title as the confident inclusion of such an effect grants it legitimacy. youngs' voices slipping away from one another is on par with other intense representations of singularity such as donald judd and malevich's suprematist composition: 'white on white'. pop is a gesture, a stance, a pose. 'autumn response' is a singer-songwriter album, as youngs' fingers slip over the steel strings with little feet and whispery toes, his gently prophetic songs evoke roger waters and the folk phase play is sure to appeal to fans of animal collective's 'sung tongs'. on jag jaguwar.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50410551345483,"sku":"292583","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"the-naive-shaman-1","title":"The Naive Shaman","description":"\u003cp\u003erichard youngs has been making music for over two decades. 'the naive shaman' is his seventh album for jagjaguwar, and is a deeply personal work. created on a computer at home, it offers a high density digital song cycle driven by heavy, heavy electric bass guitar. the opening 'life on a beam' combines a modal vocal line with throbbing sonics and non-linear percussion. elsewhere a plaintive voice threads itself through frosted atmospherics and we hear richards first recorded kazoo work since 1992s 'new angloid sound'. at the core of the album is 'sonar in my soul', a bass loop onto which are collaged strangulated guitar, singing and more singing. the track climaxes in a hollered plea for unity. the second half of the set contrasts 'once it was autumn', a succinctly crafted dub chant, with the epic 'summers edge 2', whose sprawling 16 plus minutes anchor a floating vocal melody and free-flowing drums with fuzzed bass octaves. at a time when he has increased his commitment to live performance, richard youngs has paradoxically produced an album that explores recording technology as an instrument - a work where song is modulated by sound.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50410564223307,"sku":"263106","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/bdc6b0ee-6d7a-4b35-90f1-119c58694b11_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726644672"},{"product_id":"under-stellar-stream","title":"Under Stellar Stream","description":"\u003cp\u003ethe inimitable richard youngs returns with a collection of minimalist, neo-druid hymns and chants for the minutiae of fatherhood and homelife on jag jaguwar. once again proving himself a master of minimalist composition, youngs also takes leaps forward as a lyricist on 'under stellar stream', reminiscent of the list incantations of allen ginsberg. with this comes a change in youngs' voice, now less pleading, deeper and more assured. in these atonal, spatial arrangements, each phrase is granted the room to work into the cerebral cortex. for more than 20 years, the uk's richard youngs has been at the forefront of progressive minimalism, through solo home recording projects, through collaborations with the likes of simon wickham-smith and makoto kawabata (of acid mothers temple), to special live performances playing bass with jandek.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50410578739531,"sku":"318604","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a4a5c0c9-35b3-4d15-bf0a-93828c359ea6_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726645084"},{"product_id":"inside-the-future","title":"Inside the Future","description":"\u003cp\u003eRichard Youngs is a British musician with a prolific and diverse output, including many collaborations. Based in Glasgow since the early 1990s, his extensive back catalogue of solo and collaborative work formally begins with Advent, first issued in 1990. He plays many instruments, most commonly choosing the guitar, but he has been known to use a wide variety of other instruments including the shakuhachi, accordion, theremin, dulcimer, a home-made synthesizer (common on early recordings) and even a motorway bridge. He also released an album which was entirely a cappella. For many years, live performances were very occasional and almost always in Glasgow; he has stated publicly that he finds live performance \"incredibly nerve-racking: stomach cramps, tension headaches...\". However, in recent years, he has performed more regularly (including a tour of New Zealand in 2010 and a UK tour in support of Damon and Naomi in 2011) and many of his recent shows have been predominantly vocal. 'Inside the Future' is a collection of ten, short acoustic songs heavy on overdubbed voice, and the textures of acoustic and classical guitars. Experimental, yet firmly rooted in traditional song form, it is both heartfelt and determined by chance, improvised and carefully structured.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Glass","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50493640212811,"sku":"397069","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/e83bc935-6712-4cc7-bae1-954bfc6fe3a9_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727699482"},{"product_id":"endless-futures","title":"Endless Futures","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis is a Record Store Day 2018 item. It will be available to purchase from our stores from 8am 21st April. Remaining stock will be available to purchase from this page at 00.01 28th April.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrand new album exclusively released for Record Store Day. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLP - White Coloured Heavyweight 180 Gram Vinyl.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Glass Records Redux","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50497506410827,"sku":"1030501","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/1a483d4e-a33a-40da-b955-6889c3cd27dc_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727728347"},{"product_id":"dissident-1","title":"Dissident","description":"\u003cp\u003eStrong follow up to 2018’s \u003ci\u003eBelief\u003c\/i\u003e (O’Genesis) and \u003ci\u003eEndless Futures\u003c\/i\u003e (Glass Redux RSD release) from Richard Youngs (Also a member of Amor). \u003ci\u003eDissident\u003c\/i\u003e is a hallucination of a legendary lost Samizdat-style recording of the legendary lost Richard Youngs Band. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Glass Modern","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50498267808075,"sku":"1053341","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/8e282f45-3173-483a-8508-cc2a241f1255_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727743123"},{"product_id":"new-emptiness","title":"New Emptiness","description":"\u003cp\u003eSimilar to 2021's Iker album on Fourth Dimension, this CD album idea sprang into life following our hearing some of Richard Youngs’ experiments with loops and tones online and, subsequently, a few discussions via email about such music, its shortcomings, its appeal and, indeed, how it can be pushed into new spaces. Which is exactly what the pieces on \u003ci\u003eNew Emptiness\u003c\/i\u003e do. Each one of the five compositions here may use tones or oscillating loops as something of a starting point, but true to form Richard Youngs teases each one into new shapes where different shading applies as well as an unexpected rhythm or, on final cut 'Annulus II', his manipulated voice enter the fray. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnybody familiar with Richard Youngs' work, now spanning a few decades, will be aware that it can go all over the place, from avant-folk, 'noise' or hybrid forms of electronica and drone music. Fourth Dimension Records has long championed his work yet generally pushes the more uneasy listening ends of it. \u003ci\u003eNew Emptiness\u003c\/i\u003e might not sit quite so uneasily, but drawing from both the avant-garde of contemporary minimalist music and his own tendency not to settle for half-measures, it is still an album that requires a little sweat oozing from the ears of the listener.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fourth Dimension","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50509476364619,"sku":"1159410","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/954e5919-b968-4bfc-b3aa-392c28443b9c_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727865519"},{"product_id":"holograph","title":"Holograph","description":"\u003cp\u003eRichard Youngs is not shy of broaching new genres or approaches. Within each album he’s remarkably conceptually consistent. On Holograph, his first new songs LP for Glass in two years, he’s working with temporal constraints, composing to commission across a long weekend. The sleeve itself tells the story. It’s pop-not-pop with Youngs’ clarion call folksy voice soaring over the top.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Glass Modern","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50509531349323,"sku":"1115391","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a7f2707f-9815-41c0-9821-f4b485972854_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727865978"},{"product_id":"hidden-3","title":"Hidden","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe inimitable Richard Youngs returns to Black Truffle with this third full-length for the label, \u003cem\u003eHidden\u003c\/em\u003e. Like CXXI and Modern Sorrow, \u003cem\u003eHidden\u003c\/em\u003e unfolds across two side-long pieces at once eminently listenable and possessed of the ‘bloody-minded’ dedication to ‘having an idea and sticking with it’ that Youngs himself has identified as one of the key qualities of his work. At the core of both pieces are rapid, randomised arpeggios generated with a Moog Grandmother, hypnotic patterns that wouldn’t be out of place on a Berlin School classic. Alongside these arpeggios, across the seventeen minutes of the first side-long piece Youngs builds an airy structure of shakers, synthetic handclaps and a brief, repeated sample, impossible to identify but sounding like a glitched foghorn. Over the top we hear his unmistakable voice, repeating single syllables—Ha, Ho—with a slow delay, something like a lonely one-man-band take on Anthony Moore’s Pieces from the Cloudland Ballroom or a more musical elaboration of the hypnotically overlapping delayed phonemes of Anton Bruhin’s Rotomotor. Like much of Youngs' work, the arrangement of sounds is sparse, each layer punctuated by spaces that allow others to shine through, in a way that seems to have more to do with dub or early hip-hop than high-brow models of musical reductionism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the flipside, the arpeggios return, now accompanied by ringing, filtered guitar chords and long flute tones. The use of a similar ground layer across the two pieces with strikingly different overdubs calls up Youngs' first solo record, the classic Advent, reminding us of how consistent ‘theme and variations’ is as an approach in his enormous body of work. Joined by handclaps and a chiming sound, the piece almost feels like it is about to achieve dance-floor lift-off at times, only for the percussion to disappear and leave the listener once again floating among the guitar and flute, now joined by occasional cut-off vocal snippets, like a radio turned quickly on and off. The suspension of these disparate elements over the steady foundation of the Moog arpeggios might remind some listeners of the free-form studio explorations of Moebius \u0026amp; Plank and Holger Czukay or even give a nod to Youngs’ formative encounter with Cabaret Voltaire. Like some of Youngs’ much-loved work with Simon Wickham-Smith, \u003cem\u003eHidden\u003c\/em\u003e approaches relatively familiar sounds and instruments from skewed angles, delighting in loose structures of interaction that border on gleeful incoherence while remaining outwardly beautiful. Coming up to almost four decades of persistent activity, like little else in contemporary music Youngs’ work beams with the simple joys of exploration and experiment.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Black Truffle","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":55938713485643,"sku":"R2221-6424","price":33.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/unnamed_17_b9a706ae-7b0f-4a22-9459-508edabfb18b.jpg?v=1763548331"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/richard-youngs.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}