A.S. Fanning

A.S. Fanning – Take Me Back To Nowhere

A.S. Fanning is an Irish songwriter whose music fuses the introspection of indie folk
with the expansive weight of alternative rock and psychedelic music. Marked by
layered textures, melancholic atmospheres, and his resonant baritone, his songs
confront themes of dread, mortality, and uncertainty. Drawing comparisons to
Leonard Cohen and Scott Walker, Fanning transforms unease into hauntingly
beautiful soundscapes, blending acoustic intimacy with subtle electronic flourishes
to create a voice that is both timeless and distinctly his own. A.S. Fanning’s latest
album Mushroom Cloud earned widespread acclaim in the UK, praised for its
sweeping atmospheres and unflinching lyricism. Hailed in the press as a career-
defining work, it secured him recognition as Songwriter of the Year 2023 in Far Out
Magazine and cemented his reputation as one of Ireland’s most compelling voices.
His upcoming album Take Me Back to Nowhere was shaped by disorientation,
fracture, and a fascination with the unstable nature of reality. Written while
housebound with a broken wrist, the album reflects both physical limitation and
creative paralysis, where endless words became overwhelming chaos. Inspired by
sci-fi authors like Ursula K. Le Guin and J.G. Ballard, the songs explore how
imagination bends reality, how anxiety reshapes the world into surreal, isolating
landscapes.
Alongside this inner turbulence came the constant noise of global conflict, viewed
through the prism of social media, and the sense of a collapsing moral center. The
surreal spectacle of war reduced to “content” deepened a feeling of unreality, of
civilization as mere facade. His vision of confusion as a valid form of entertainment
became a guiding force: instead of resisting disorder, the album embraces it.
The result is a work that oscillates between intimacy and disorientation, rooted in the
belief that there is no singular reality, only fractured personal perspectives. “Take me
back to nowhere” becomes both a plea for escape and an embrace of disorientation -
a return to the void that precedes and outlasts us. Conceptual, atmospheric, and
unsettling, the album invites listeners into the depths of confusion.

 

TV For Cats

London based TV For Cats bring playful alternative sounds and nestle them within solid pop structures, inviting their audiences to experience both the bizarre and familiar without breaking a sweat. Vocal harmonies cluster together with fuzzy guitars and dancefloor worthy beats to form a signature sound that could only be TV For Cats. Expect lo-fi recording techniques, synthy basslines and an obsession with plinky-plonky melodies.