Broken Bone

Broken Bone is a duo from Yorkshire, consisting of Daz Quayle and Tony “Bone” Snowden. They are part of the small and select group of artists under Andrea Parker’s Aperture record label together with cliffordandcalix (Mark Clifford (Seefeel) and Mira Calix), T.e.s.o. and others. For their part, in 2014 Broken Bone gave us Willowbrook, one of the most inspiring heavily industrialized records of that year. This release is quite a bit more than a mere compilation of tracks. It offers a journey into the very dark depths of humankind that is both terrific and terrifying. The sonic combination of noise, IDM, post-industrial music, drone, and techno takes us to the notorious Willowbrook State School for the mentally disabled. This was a soundtrack for an institution, whose walls witnessed the inhabitants’ punishment and marginalization at the hands of a state and society that does not need unproductive members. Listening to this masterpiece is just like stepping into the now-abandoned Willowbrook complex, like a trip straight to hell. The album is a must for any heavy and intense music lover, specifically for those fond of Autechre, Pan Sonic, Emptyset, early Speedy J or even Whitehouse.

Records and connections

STM 181 is a musical gem compiled and mixed by Broken Bone. Although experiencing them perform live is very rare (in fact, their show at Manchester’s Gesamtkunstwerk was one of the last chances to see all their potential and corrosion displayed on-stage), for those interested in digging into their inspirations and motivations, this complex 3-hour-and-then-some mix represents a unique opportunity. Not only do they share a substantial number of tracks, but the overall result is a true mixing masterclass that pushes all genre boundaries and alters the listeners’ state of mind. As they themselves state, “To hear is the most underrated of the senses. Music is the most powerful mood changing experience.” Indeed they manage to turn those three hours into a canvas, into an ongoing and eloquent battle of light and shadow. With this mix, Broken Bone have drawn a profound and uncanny modern picture, with perspective, still life and chiaroscuro. “You must show light and dark within a mix. If you are always hyper, hyper becomes normality. You can lose the appreciation for the dynamics of a track if there is no contrast.”

A painting, a tale, a sculpture… Many epithets could fit this mix but words might be meaningless here. The only undeniable thing is that this is a physical and psychoacoustic work of art. Autechre, I-f, Leo Anibaldi, Mira Calix, Pharmakon, Ekoplekz, AnD and Sendai are just some of the artists listeners should expect to hear throughout this broad sonic journey. Just follow their advice: “Have it on fucking loud. We hope you are gripped by the music. Why do we feel physically & mentally different when a well-executed swelled-up EQ sweep falls from the speakers? There is a part of your brain which continually crunches sounds… track into track, noise into noise. Let your doors of perception be swung open. So yeah… check it out, it’s a 3-hour bone wormhole.”