The shuffle button. Two interlocking lines on a scuffed iPod, two single headphones shared
between 5 mates. Growing up in a house full of instruments and vinyl kicked off my love for
music, but hitting the shuffle button with mates in my teen years was what made me want to
make it myself.
I was lucky enough to take guitar and piano lessons growing up and spent my spare time
recording songs on my computer.
Growing up, I was exposed to my dad’s vast vinyl collection so got inspired by an eclectic mix of
artists and styles including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Post Punk Joy Division, the Foo Fighters, Frank
Zappa, Thin Lizzy and Steely Dan to name a few.
I found my own identity and style through exploring J Rock, Drum and Bass artists such as High
Contrast, Logistics and Goldie, this gave birth to some of my very first compositions and ignited by
passion for creating; I only made 120bpm tracks and in 4/4 timing because I had little knowledge
of digital audio work stations, thankfully as my knowledge increased so did my range of
production!
The work of Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams and their talent for creating music for
movies and gaming fascinated me and sent me back to my roots, back to my guitar and
keyboards.
Working with Logic Pro has enabled me to create music beyond the limitations of my practical
expertise. Expanding my musical horizons by using midi control devices that allows me to work
and re-work them until I have created a piece of happiness.
Determined to have my own mixing equipment, I worked part time jobs along side my studies and
started to buy my kit. Soon I had the beginnings of my own studio and I was obsessively creating

music in every spare minute I had.
Upon finishing school, I studied Music at West Cheshire College and massively enjoyed learning
the theory and technique in music production, I was awarded Triple Grade Distinction, Merit,
Merit. Whilst in college I was part of a blues band ‘The This, The That and The Other,’ where I
played bass and electric guitar, getting experience performing at live venues.
During my time at college, I played bass, guitar and keyboards providing music for a live
production at The Gateway Theatre in Chester. This gave me more performance experience and a
really great insight into a different area of music production.
I performed at Music Box in Manchester run by renowned DJ Mr Scruff, I used Ableton, CDJs and
vinyl, in my performance, it was a brilliant experience.
I went on to study Sound and Video Production at Salford University, but unfortunately personal
circumstances and my health issues made studying difficult. Around the same time my Dad was
diagnosed with cancer and my mental health started to suffer; living with Autism made life
challenging enough, but additional mental health struggled made things even worse.
Although I was sad to leave my studies at Salford, I had to put my mental health first and I went
home to be with my family. Following the death of my father in 2014, I spent the next 7 years in
and out of different hospitals up and down the country struggling with a diagnosis of
schizoaffective disorder.
Listening to music was not just a passion anymore, it was a lifeline that kept me going. The shuffle
button was looking worn out as I flicked through tunes trying to figure things out.
Being labelled with these things, ‘Autism’ ‘schizoaffective’ is not easy, I prefer the label ‘resilient’.
I fought hard for my mental health and was discharged in 2017 into independent living. Now, I
spend my time volunteering with a local bike business and, of course, listening and making music
in my self -made studio. To gain an opportunity to pick up where I left off, when life went badly
wrong, would mean the world to me, a focus, new goals and a sense of achievement.

A independent music and culture webzine. Upload your tracks and we'll check em out and get back to you!

Followers of Christopher Eric done