Robin Richards is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and the bass guitarist of
the band Dutch Uncles. He has composed and arranged all the music across the band’s five studio
albums to date (Dutch Uncles -2008, Cadenza - 2011, Out of Touch in the Wild - 2013, O Shudder -
2015, Big Balloon - 2017).
He studied under esteemed composer and conductor Joe Duddell at the University of Salford and
graduated in 2011 with a first class honours degree in Music, specialising in composition.
Richards first solo project to be released was ‘Washington Trapeze’, an intricate chamber piece
based on the most technically demanding form of circus acts. The piece was premiered at Festival
Number 6, Portmeirion in September 2013.
In 2015, he was commissioned by HOME, Manchester to compose a new score for a silent film as part of
their Film and Music Project, in collaboration with the RNCM. He produced a new soundtrack to the
1928 film ‘Lonesome’. Two sold out screenings of the film with live performance by a chamber
ensemble took place at HOME as part of the cinema's opening weekend.
The following year he collaborated with visual artist Clara Casian on ‘Birdsong - Stories from
Pripyat’, a film and original live score project inspired by personal testimonies of those affected
by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The project was supported by Arts Council England and screenings
of the film with live score took place at HOME Manchester, Stockport Plaza and Birmingham Flatpack
Film Festival.
In 2017, he took up the role of artist in residence at the Gefail Yr Ynys forge in Caernarfon, North
Wales collaborating with sculptor and mixed-media artist Mike Murray. Three of the pieces he
produced during the residency are featured on his debut solo EP with PRAH Recordings.
In 2019, he was commissioned by Brighter Sound to be musical director and composer for From The
Crowd, an event commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre.
His work endeavours to achieve aesthetic and philosophical aims whilst taking inspiration from
mathematical and natural processes. His musical influences include the work of Steve Reich, Igor
Stravinsky and Kate Bush.
See Pictures of Lonesome at Home
03/07/22 - Timber Festival @ Feanedock, The National Forest
Previous concerts
26/01/22 - BC Radio 3 Northern Drift @ The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
10/09/21 - The Earth Asleep @ HOME, Manchester
21/05/21 - Then There Was Everything with live score @ Hinterlands Festival, Skipton
04/02/20 - Supporting Anna Meredith @ Gorilla, Manchester
03/02/20 - Supporting Anna Meredith @ Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds
20/02/20 - Band on the Wall, Manchester
16/08/19 - From the Crowd #Peterloo2019 @ Manchester Central (12:30pm, 5pm and 8pm)
15/06/18 - Birdsong - Stories from Pripyat @ Low Four Studios Mancherster
09/05/18 - Listenpony #16 premiere of new piece for La Vaghezza trio @ The Playground Theatre, London
08/05/18 - Listenpony event 'Rebellion' performed by La Vaghezza trio @ International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester
07/05/18 - Listenpony event 'Rebellion' performed by La Vaghezza trio @ Centrala, Birmingham
24/09/17 - Gefail Yr Ynys artist in residence exhibition @ Caernarfon Island Site
09/04/17 - Birdsong - Stories from Pripyat @ Flatpack Film Festival, Birmingham
07/10/16 - Birdsong - Stories from Pripyat @ Peel Hall, Salford
06/10/16 - Birdsong - Stories from Pripyat @ The Plaza, Stockport
30/09/16 - Birdsong - Stories from Pripyat @ HOME, Manchester SOLD OUT
04/09/15 - Lonesome Preludes @ Festival No. 6, Portmeirion
25/05/15 - Lonesome @ HOME, Manchester SOLD OUT
24/05/15 - Lonesome @ HOME, Manchester SOLD OUT
13/09/13 - Washington Trapeze @ Festival No. 6, Portmeirion