HomeCooking Share

HomeCookingShare: To begin, who are you?

Bloom's Taxonomy: I am William Fraser. I make music. I've been making music in some form since I was 17 years old. I'm almost 34 now so that's half my life. I started off making strange atmospheric prog rock songs on my Fender electric guitar and a free DAW called 'Cool Edit'. Then I made music in a couple of Indie bands, playing guitar with lots of FX and a bit of keyboards - all the while I've been making electronic/ambient music in the background since 2012 - finally plucking up the courage to release some as 'Bloom's Taxonomy' in 2017.

HCS: How would you define your music?

Bloom's Taxonomy: Sometimes strange, sometimes experimental, always atmospheric. Sometimes digital, sometimes acoustic, always human. I've always wanted to capture a sense of the strange, the empty and the desolate, while retaining a slight shimmer of light and hope.

HCS: What made you decide one day to embark on this musical adventure?

Bloom's Taxonomy: I've had an insatiable creative urge in some form my entire life - whether drawing strange imaginary creatures and buildings on scraps of paper as a child, or writing a novel (which I promise will never see the light of day!) when I was in my late teens. When my parents got me guitar lessons, one of the first things I did was make my own music. I've been writing and recording music in some form since I was probably 10 years old.

HCS: Your influences?

Bloom's Taxonomy: I'm influenced by the atmospheric nature of retro film and TV sci-fi soundtracks (particularly the genius experimental electronic noodlings of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop), 90s electronic pioneers such as Boards of Canada and Massive Attack, the psychedelic noodlings of early Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream.

HCS: If you had to leave on a desert island with 3 discs: which ones?

Bloom's Taxonomy: Pink Floyd - Meddle (Particularly Side B with 'Echoes' on it), Radiohead - Kid A, Gustav Holst - The Planets

HCS: The perfect track to cook?

Bloom's Taxonomy: Anything by Rival Consoles. It's all good.

HCS: Small technical point: with what material do you work?

Bloom's Taxonomy: Ableton Live Suite - and two Ableton launchpads - one to play like a keyboard, one to record samples, loop and play them. Any old instruments lying around I can sample: guitars, old out of tune pianos. Field recordings: bootlegged busker performances, nature sounds recorded on my phone.

HCS: Not easy to break into the musical jungle, even with talent ... what do you think about it?

Bloom's Taxonomy: Put music out there regularly - share it as much as you can in as many ways as you can. Use websites like Repost Exchange and Hypeddit. Have some good publicity photos. Don't be afraid to do a little bit of paid social media advertising if you know who your audience is! Your fans are out there, you just have to find them.

HCS: And finally, if you have something to add (pretty much what you want ...), here we go!

Bloom's Taxonomy: Cycle everywhere. It's good for the planet and you'll get a great arse in the process. Just make sure you wear a helmet.