On this page you can view my musical journey from its first faltering steps in punk rock to my current misadventures in electronica. Some of my music is available as free downloads, but much more is wisely hidden away under lock and key!
AirStripOne (2016 -Present)
I had harboured a vague desire to make electronic music ever since hearing Being Boiled by The Human League in 1978, but it wasn’t until seeing the Tokyo electronic duo Second Apartment in 2016 that I was inspired to finally throw away my guitars and take the plunge! In addition to my solo albums, I have collaborated with an international collective of musicians on The AirStripOne Audio Collective album and released several albums with fellow Tokyo based musician Ted Nova. All releases are available as free downloads at: https://airstripone1.bandcamp.com/
Exclusive tracks by AirStripOne have featured on the following compilation albums:
日本のサウンドウェーヴ was released by the UK label Institue For Alien Research label in 2023. Available as a free download.
Tuza Noise 3 was released by the Puerto Rican label Tuza Records in 2022. Available as a free download.
A Tribute to Shintaro Kago was released by the Chilean label cian orbe in 2018. Available as a free download.
Interieur Exterrieur was released by the UK label Institue For Alien Research label in 2018. Available as a free download.
drop & recover was released by the UK label Institue For Alien Research label in 2017. Available as a free download.
behavioural modernity was released by the UK label Institue For Alien Research label in 2017. Available as a free download.
A Very Cherry Christmas Volume 11 was released by Cherryade Records in 2016. Available only as a physical CD.
Magic Marmalade (2019)
I was invited to play some synth on The Indigo Tribe, a track by my friends Magic Marmalade. They had this great video made for the song.
Squalid Rooms (2016)
A transglobal collaboration between myself in Japan and Keith Gale in the UK. Available to stream and free download.
Solo (2015-2016)
I played two solo acoustic gigs in Tokyo this year while wondering what to do next. Still toying with the idea of getting another band together, it was actually almost time to put away my guitars and dive into the world of electronic music.
The Strays (2014-2015)
The Strays began as a quickly thrown together live project while the band I was in at the time took a summer break. Featuring myself on vocals and guitar backed by the Japanese band Th-Leaf Vanes , after just one rehearsal we played two gigs at Live From The Kitchen Disco, a monthly event I organised in Tokyo. The first gig featured a guest appearance from US rapper Omen, while the second featured a guest appearance from mu son.
When my regular band imploded, I continued The Strays as a duo with British guitarist and vocalist Mark Draper. We demoed some songs and played one gig at the Live From The Kitchen Disco Christmas Special in Tokyo, with a guest appearance from my son. My attempts to recruit a new full band went nowhere, so I called it a day.
omen (2014)
I cowrote a song called Black Ribbons with American rapper omen which we performed at the first two of my Live From The Kitchen Disco events in Tokyo. The song featured on the Once Upon A Time In The West compilation album released on my Trash City Records label. We also worked together on filming promotional videos for his songs.
Black Ribbons is available as a free download on Once Upon a Time in the West.
The Correctors (2014)
Straydog (2012-2014)
Straydog was my first band in Japan and my first band since Dive, seventeen years earlier. The band featured Japanese musicians Nobuhiko “Nov” Okabe on lead guitar and Ayako Otsuji on bass and vocals, Scottish musician Paul Knowles on drums, and myself on vocals and guitar. Initially rock, our sound morphed into a more indie/punk direction.
Childe Roland (2008-2009)
Although never a band member, I had been closely involved with Childe Roland since the start of the project in 1988. I had released their debut album on my Trash City Tapes label, arranged radio sessions, designed their gig posters and cassette covers, played bass on recordings and collaborated on songwriting. In 2008 and 2009, Rainfall Records released two Childe Roland CDs. At the Mountains of Madness & Other Strange Songs was a compilation of songs recorde between 1990-2008. It featured Spaceships, a song I cowrote, and At the Mountains of Madness, a song we recorded as X-Machina in 1993. Underground was a collection of new recordings featuring Truly Wilde, a song I wrote about Oscar Wilde and his children.
TKB (2007)
My first musical activity after moving to Tokyo was to co-write several songs with my future Straydog bandmate Nobuhiko “Nov” Okabe for TKB, the in-house rock band of the company we worked for.
Strange Aeons (2001)
The Rainfall Records musical tribute to H. P. Lovecraft compilation album included At the Mountains of Madness, a track which I had demoed with the band X-Machina in 1991. The recording found its way on the album under the name of Childe Roland.
Aeon7 Virtual Music Orchestra (2001)
Rhapsody, a song which I wrote on the Greek island of Thassoss was adapted for inclusion on this one-off classical instrumental project.
Jane Allison (1999)
Released on cassette by Acid Tapes in 1999, this collection of early recordings by Jane Allison features recordings I did with Childe Roland in 1991 and X-Machina in 1993. It is available as a free download,
Dive (1994-1995)
When the guitarist of my previous band, Assassins of Youth, left Bath in 1995, I asked my old friend and bandmate Oliver St. John to take his place. He and I retired to the studio and quickly wrote and recorded the demos contained on this album. Unnable to find a stable lineup, the band folded within the year. Seventeen years would pass before I got another band together. Released by Trash City Records in 2014, the album is available as a free download.
Assassins of Youth (1992-1994)
I discovered the members of what would become Assassins of Youth playing metal covers of ABBA songs in the basement of a comic shop in Bath. I accepted their offer of joining as vocalist on condition that they stopped playing ABBA songs! I wrote a batch of new songs and we recorded a lot of demos, but our inability to find a drummer left us trapped in the basement until the guitarist left Bath.
Rocky Thunder & The Immaculate Conception (1990)
A one-off 4-track tape machine experiment, which foreshadowed my current AirStripOne project. Released by Acid Tapes in 1990, Rocky Thunder &The Immaculate Conception’s Thunderous Conception album combined samples and acid house beats. Available as a free download.
X-Machina (1989-1992)
After Klive Farhead left Smile on the Void, we recruited Oliver St. John of Childe Roland as a new guitarist/vocalist and renamed the band X-Machina. When Richard’s Hawkwind commitments meant he could nolonger play with us, X-Machina became a studio-bound band joined by Jane Allison on vocals.
Stoat Hall is a 1989 rehearsal recorded at Stoat Hall in Bath featuring Heidi Vincent, Oliver St. John, Richard Chadwick and Andi Brooks. Available as a free download.
Gods from the Sky features Andi Brooks and Oliver St. John. Originally released on cassette in 1990 by Acid Tapes, it was remastered and re-released by Trash City Records in 2015. Available as a free download.
The X-Machina song Lift-Off was featured on high Everybody, a 1991 cassette compilation released by Acid Tapes.
Smile on the Void (1987-1989)
Formed after Klive Farhead and I were introduce to each other by Richard Chadwick (then of Smartpils, now of Hawkwind) with the line, “Andi, this is Klive. He plays guitar. Klive, this is Andi. He plays bass. You guys should form a band!” Joined by Richard on drums and later Heidi Vincent on vocals and synth, Smile on the Void is my favourite of the bands I’ve played in. Listening to us for the first time in 2022, my son described our sound as underground sci-fi music.
Transmission No.1
Transmission No. 1 was a cassette EP culled from our third recording session, recorded and mixed by George Fletcher (Smartpils/SmytpigAmebix/Zygote) in August 1988.
Composed Bananas No. 3
No Names, a track from our second recording session, recorded in April 1988, was featured on the Composed Bananas No. 3 cassette album released in June 1988 by BBP Records on June 10th, 1988.
Condition of Muzak
The same version of No Names also featured on the Condition of Muzak compilation cassette released by Trash City Tapes in Agust 1988.
Condition of Muzak was digitally remastered and rereleased as Aquae Sulis Calling Volume Two on December 25, 2013. It is available as a free download.
Dead Indians (1985-1986)
After several false starts with various punk bands, Dead Indians was my first “real” band. Starting as a three-piece band featuring Wayne Kilburn on vocals, Merlin D’Eath on drums and myself on bass. We were later joined by Toby on guitar. We played our own unique blend of hardcore punk. It was great fun!
Andi Brooks 