Past Projects

Trans and non-binary compilation album for National Theatre of Scotland. As part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Adam World Choir, I had the opportunity to curate and produce a compilation album of music submitted by choir members from around the world.  I got to work with some fantastic transgender and non-binary artists, each with their own … Read moreSongs Of A New Gendernation

Cross-gender vocal jazz and faux big band. Jenni Bluish was an experimental project to develop a convincing and expressive feminine jazz voice, inspired by performers like Joey Arias.   I coupled this with original big band arrangements realised by midi instruments (Jenni’s “Fauxchestra”).  I released an EP on Bandcamp as Jenni Bluish, along with some standards … Read moreJenni Bluish And Her Fauxchestra

Symphonic industrial metal. Started in late 2013, I found myself wanting to write some darker, heavier music again. Also, while at the time I was focused on teaching and had no intention of going back on the road to be an active musician again, I did want to go through the processes of making an … Read morePlayer Versus X?

Singing drag magician and escape artist. As part of our 2004 illusion act Devilish Deeds we created a number of different characters to perform as, but the one that ended up sticking was a drag escape artist by the name of Helen Held (The Girl No Man Can Hold). Helen was originally an anarchic punk … Read moreHelen Held, The Girl No Man Can Hold (2004-2009)

This is a collection of miscellaneous recordings I produced for various media and performance projects between 2002 and 2008. The Cloud Princess I composed this piece years ago and have used it as background music for various purposes since.  This particular version, realised entirely by midi using the Roland Juno D soundboard, was built around an anime-type … Read moreSoundtracks and One-offs

Industrial goth ambassadors When I joined, Teresa Dead and Corin Zero, the nucleus of the band that would become Zeitgeist Zero (along with bassist Sarah Tonin), had already written the bulk of their first album, requiring me to add in additional keyboard, percussion and violin parts.  Sarah left shortly after I joined, leaving us to … Read moreZeitgeist Zero (2003-2009)

As The Darkness Hails The Witching Hour Felicia Devile was a gothic drag act and an (affectionate) parody of the esoteric witchy goth music I was listening to at the time.  The band Excretia consisted of Felicia, her partner Darrell Pthisis and drum machine Rabid Bats and was named after the detritus of the forest … Read moreExcretia/Felicia Devile (2002)

Anarchic singer-songwriter and proud misfit. 2001’s “Sick Parody Of Normality” was my first solo album as Quicksand Kerry, a name which I ended up sticking with for my heavier, more anarchic projects. For Sick Parody I made a conscious effort to strip back the jazz influences in favour of a rawer electro punk sound, though … Read moreQuicksand Kerry (2000–2009)

Dark gothic new wave Sometime  around 1999 I developed tendonitis and couldn’t play for a while, so I started to focus on singing and sequencing while I healed.  Possibly due to the stress of being out of action, my writing took a darker turn as I beg an exploring the more gothic end of music. Though … Read moreMiles From Anywhere (1999-2000)

Jamming with a Leeds legend. When I first went to Leeds in 1995, my Dad and I were sat in a pub on the Meanwood Road when a man approached us carrying a clutch of brown paper bags and a pencil. “Hi, I’m Mik Artistik”, he said.  “I draw people on paper bags”. I later … Read moreMik Artistik and the Jackson Pollocks

Paying my dues by playing the blues. After college I joined blues guitarist and singer James O’Hara, who was forming a new line-up for his band The Detonators, alongside Richard Ormrod and Gideon Marcus.  James gave me my first serious experience of life on the road; I became used to not sleeping a great deal … Read moreJames O’Hara’s Detonators (1997-2000)

Early works. For my first solo albums, “Playing With No Friends” and the follow up “Proud To Be A Failed Waiter”, I wanted to come up with a  new name, partly in an effort to reinvent myself but also because I’d heard there was someone else releasing music as Michael Jackson, though I’ve no idea … Read moreKerry Samson (1998-1999)

Anarchic big band jazz adventures. Formed in 1996 while I was doing the jazz degree at Leeds College of Music, the Great Escape Big Band was an 18-piece jazz orchestra made up of students on the course, many of whom went on to international careers.  I set myself the task of writing a new chart … Read moreThe Great Escape Big Band (1996-1998)