Hi! I’m a journalist, editor and copywriter based in South London. I’m an editor at VAN Magazine, where I report on the UK classical music scene. I’m also a regular contributor to the music section of The New York Times, and I’ve written for Bandcamp Daily, Dazed, The Face, The Guardian, Jazzwise, The New Yorker, Private Eye, and The Wire, among other publications.
For anything relating to journalism and copywriting commissions, I’m at [email protected]. For story tips, pitches, and anything VAN related, email [email protected]. For books I’m represented by Jack Fogg at DunnFogg.
Below is a selection of my writing—for a full portfolio, see the Archive tab above.
Writing on music
The Wartime Music of Debussy and Komitas, Still Resonating Today (The New York Times)
On the Armenian Genocide, music as remembrance, artistic solidarity, and the album “Music in Time of War” by Kirill Gerstein.
Holst’s “The Planets” was a hit, and a team effort (The New York Times)
A research project on the team of scribes behind one of the most popular orchestral pieces of the 20th century.
Clap clap! The infectious disco rhythm heard from Barbie to Kylie (The Guardian)
On the musical device that connects Barbie, Dua Lipa, Patrice Rushen, Lucy Tun, and Jamiroquai.
The Meticulous Curation of Another Timbre (Bandcamp)
A celebratory primer of one of this century’s most important contemporary music labels.
India’s Early Electronic Music From the ‘70s Is Finally Being Released (The New York Times)
A trove of tapes discovered in a cupboard at the country’s National Institute of Design showcases artists composing early synth recordings on their own terms.
Writing on musicians
Alexandre Kantorow Rises, With Piano Prizes and the Paris Olympics (The New York Times)
On the 27-year-old pianist’s artisanal approach to making music.
Victoria Canal Feels Seen (The New Yorker)
A rising star of sad-girl pop talks disability, public personae, and just going for it.
Oliver Leith’s Strange Sounds of Simultaneous Joy and Sadness (The New York Times)
On Last Days, feeling overwhelmed, anti-irony, and lore, with help from Caroline Polachek, Thomas Adès, and GBSR duo.
Grief, hallucinations and exhumed violins: the astonishing music of Richard Skelton (The Guardian)
On a drive through northern moorlands, the experimental composer Richard Skelton lets me in to his singular world.
Build on Sand: An interview with Sarah Connolly (VAN Magazine)
The mezzo-soprano discusses online activism and her decision to sing in a Saudi-backed opera.
Three Decades In, Matthew Shipp is Still Asking Questions (Bandcamp)
An introduction to the avant-guard New York pianist’s inimitable sound.
Reporting
Welcome to Shorworld (VAN Magazine)
A hedge fund multimillionaire turned composer. A businessman with apparent links to the Russian state. A cohort of superstar performers all too happy to look the other way. Inside classical music’s large, lucrative parallel world.
A London orchestra played music for 100 years. Then it vanished (The Londoner)
A longread report on the whereabouts of the London Chamber Orchestra.
Can the Northern Ballet Sinfonia Survive? (VAN Magazine)
A labor dispute encapsulates the pressures on the UK classical music scene.
A New Arts Venue, Aviva Studios, Tracks Manchester’s Changes (The New York Times)
Reporting on the new arts venue and what it meant for a changing city.
Silent, or Silenced? (VAN Magazine)
How the Chair of Arts Council England threatened to cut £3.2 million of Welsh National Opera funding after music director Tomáš Hanus spoke out about the company’s financial difficulties
Essays around music
“Maria” and the method hollowness of the modern music film (VAN Magazine)
A film essay on “Maria,” “Maestro,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Tar,” “Better Man,” and “Mr Turner,” and why music films today feel kind of hollow.
How lore became pop’s hottest summer accessory (The Face)
A short essay on lore systems in pop music in 2024.
The Value of Normality (VAN Magazine)
In 2023, I headed to Georgia and the Tsinandali Festival to meet a remarkable youth orchestra, and a festival riven with geopolitical tensions.
William Byrd: An Essential English Composer for Four Centuries (The New York Times)
On the 400th anniversary of Byrd’s death, I looked back on a composer of nimble styles and stubborn beliefs.
Pianist of the Century (VAN Magazine)
An essay on ego, truth, and Igor Levit’s book “House Concert.”
Writing on other subjects
How the housing crisis is impacting culture in Manchester (Dazed)
An interview with author Isaac Rose on his book The Rentier City, the commodification of the city’s identity, and fighting back against landlordism
Fallon Sherrock is the most talked-about player on the darts circuit (The Face Magazine)
As she prepared fish fingers for her son, an interview with darts’ hot property ahead of the PDC Worlds.
The Rhyme of the Ancient Marketer (The Fence Magazine)
On the form and ethics of corporate spoken word poetry.
Documenting the world’s most endangered McDonald’s (The Face Magazine)
A video-game designer from Pittsburgh has made it his mission to track down the world’s most outlandish McDonald’s restaurants. Now he’s on a race against time to document them before they disappear forever.
‘Dead time’ and the broken world of work (Huck Magazine)
Unpaid time spent at work while not working is a ubiquitous feature of the gig economy. How we think about it has huge implications for the future of work and the rights of all workers.