08. HASCOMBE

Downtempo music producer/composer. Managing Director of Record Label - Valley View Records. Signed to Sync Agency Better Way Records.

This is the home of Gagarin and other projects. Gagarin is the solo project of Graham “ Dids” Dowdall.  He makes instrumental electronica that doesn’t adhere to any particular scene or style and draws on influences ranging from contemporary classical to techno and every point in between and beyond. The music is atmospheric, melodic and sometimes beaty. 
 Graham also creates more sound art focused work with an emphasis on using field recordings and other source material to create installation based pieces  reflecting particular geographical or other environments. A particular obsession is birdsong and interfaces between rural and urban sound worlds. In 2014 he released a cassette Outside Broadcast through Touch’s Tapeworm imprint  based on sounds sourced from analogue radios - a eulogy to that dying format. In 2016 he was commissioned to create 5 sound pieces for 5 hills in Surrey for project Inspiring Views .
Currently a member of avant rock legends Pere Ubu and Welsh-Iranian folktronica duo Roshi ft. Pars Radio, Gagarin has a long history of left-field musical promiscuity. Including a long period of collaboration with Nico ( Velvet Underground) and many dalliances along the way include John Cale, Ludus, Eric Random, Suns of Arqa, Band of Holy Joy, Low Bias, Zor Gabor and many more.
As Gagarin he has released several albums and contributed to numerous compiIations and remix projects.

His last album Aoticp received widespread acclaim and was described by Boiler Room as " sparkingly new " and " magnificent genre hopping " in Impulse as well as great reviews in Wire, Quietus and airplay across Europe including repeated BBC Radio 3 plays.

His latest album Corvid was  released in late 2017and has been featured on BBC Radio 3 and BBC6music, Electronic Sound Magazine and lots of European and US outlets.
All Gagarin material including new album Corvid can be bought here - https://gagarin.bandcamp.com


Gagarin gigs regularly in UK and Europe with a hardware combination of drumpads, samplers, iPad and FX.