All Is Quiet at the Ancient Theatre begins in cold droned echoes of Nico’s Frozen Warnings but Cotton laments vanishing English customs, performance and countryside. Viola, harmonium and recorders bring lost sounds – the deathly percussive march of ‘A Tragedy In The Tithe Barn’, ballad themes of departure in ‘The Bells of St. Agnes‘. Cotton’s music searches a past of stillness and desolation but where Nico’s is an icy tundra, Cotton’s viola and choral layers hold earthy, distinctly English experimental resonances with early music modalities. It’s mournful, yes, but with contemplative spaces of light & renewal.

Original cassette release on Bloxham Tapes and limited vinyl by Cardinal Fuzz sold out instantly with little press. This may be the last window on Cotton’s wonderful solo debut. Coloured vinyl and altered artwork by Luke Drozd. For fans of John Cale and Nico, Tony Conrad, Laura Cannell, Linda Perhacs.