Ail-mordaith Dylan Ail-Don

NEW SONGS NOW UNDERWAY! (soon as I can manage-ish)

Formed in 1980, 'FoH' (pronounced as initials "F.O.H.") or Fear of Humans initially comprised four people (Danny Hopcroft - drums, Rik Player - bass, Mark Wernham - lead guitar / synths / songwriting / backing vocal, and me (Mark Saunders) - synths / songwriting / lead vocal). We recorded two "albums": Prayers For the Human Race (1980) and Reality (1981). When we "broke up" in 1981 (we left school and moved apart), I went on to record on my own in 1982 under the FoH name (The name comes from one of the first songs I ever wrote back in 1980, which seemed to fit the band's musical style, and has a double meaning that appeals to me of either "being afraid of humans" or "what humans fear", both of which is represented in my songs). Mark Wernham and I had one reunion recording session in 1987 which gleaned a few more songs, but with living in different parts of the country that was it for the original band. Since then, I've continued to record - the epitome of the "bedroom musician"! - writing dozens of songs, all recorded very poorly onto what I'm sure people would now regard as ancient technology! I.e multiple cassette deck overplay for my very early solo stuff back in 1980 (so hissy you can barely hear the music!), and later a four-track cassette deck - which is what most of these songs were recorded on (a Tascam Porta-One, which you can still find for sale on ebay!). I tended to record songs usually in one evening, having already got the lyrics sorted out, working out the various "layers" and building them up one at a time, so these songs and instrumentals are mostly effectively only of "demo" quality. 

I was inspired to write songs after hearing "Are 'Friends' Electric?" by Gary Numan/Tubeway Army back in 1979. It was so unlike anything I'd ever heard before (using synthesisers in a rock form and being so dark and downbeat lyrically), and resonated with me massively as it summed up my teenage angst perfectly. I couldn't get enough Numan, so I decided to try to do something electronic and eclectic myself.

I hadn't recorded any new songs since about 1996, but I started again in 2017 with some better recording equipment. After 1996 all I'd really done music wise was record some of the old cassette recordings on to CD and convert them into MP3, which makes quite a difference in terms of reducing hiss etc! I did add a few new parts to Forbin in 2011 to create a hybrid version recorded over a period of 25 years! Most tracks currently here are a selection of my recordings mostly between about 1982 and 1996 (the production side of things varies a lot as I was sometimes too impatient to correct errors that crept in, so I apologise for the differences in performance and recording quality!  Most notably, the balance is wrong. The way I recorded the songs - vocal quite early on amongst several layers of instruments - tended to mean that my voice was pushed back too far in the mix, so sometimes you can barely hear what I'm singing! (which is why I include the lyrics on each song write-up - if you can't hear them, you can at least see them!). Most tracks sound better under headphones).

Selector & Operator of Small Chop Soundsystem 
owner of Small Chop Records 
Toronto Canada
REDNOTE SELECTOR & SMALL CHOP = REGGAE
T:LTH:GHSCORE for all other music

Thanks for your support!

Derw is a Daoist Druid [and former Padawan]. Betrayed by his mentor, spurned by his community and routinely ignored by almost everyone else, he is on a mission to protect this planet from further mindless destruction. Here is what one writer wrote:
'Derw stands as an oak; a steadfast bastion of inimitable authenticity, in a rising wave of automated simulacra. With a sound that rushes like a cool wind from the mountains, the misty-eyed gazers of dreampop won’t know what’s hit them. Unequivocally invested in promoting the beauty of nature, it’s unironic that such punchy jingles have a flair of “blink and you’ll miss it".
[J J Tailor]

Check out my new SAD! remix by XXXTENTACION on Youtube: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFNhneK0z8

Ail-mordaith Dylan Ail-Don

Derw ab Zulm