Whether drawing from field recordings, found sound, instrumental improvisations or synthetic processes, Kirk Barley’s compositions evoke unfolding sound worlds, as simple ideas or motifs are layered and developed into complex set-pieces that reveal themselves over time.  His 2023 album Marionette showcases the breadth and variety of the Yorkshire-born artist’s sound, weaving together familiar and uncanny moods of rural England and its Victorian architecture, as suggested by the gated garden print of the album’s cover. Unfurling between physical textures – the patina of vinyl crackle or gentle rain – and the hyper-real spaces that his music inhabits, Barley describes the compositions as “landscape or static scene paintings,” with many of the album’s tracks taking nature’s rhythms as their compositional cue.  Kirk has performed across the UK, Europe and Canada, And played shows with the likes of Andy Stott, Beatrice Dillon, MF DOOM,, Jan Jelinek & Pole among others His music has been released on labels such as Odda, 33-33, Accidental and his own Health imprint.

His Latest album Lux released March 21st via Odda, continues his explorations, blending found sounds, live instrumentation, and work with alternative tuning systems. Lux bridges organic and abstract elements. Inspired by surrealist cinema and northern landscapes, Lux presents sound worlds where the boundaries between reality and artifice blur.