Northern Gothic: the haunting beauty of forgotten towns in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Richie Culver's latest album I Trust Pain is a cinematic exploration of his childhood home, Withernsea, a faded seaside resort near Hull. The 46-year-old musician, who grew up in the town before leaving for London at 17, found himself drawn to its stories and emotions after years of searching elsewhere. "I remember feeling so resentful," he recalls. "I heard Tracey Chapman's Fast Car and thought: is this song about me?" The album's mix of witchy trap, spoken-word, and dreary ambient draws on these feelings, weaving a dark and haunting narrative.
Northern Gothic is a musical movement that celebrates the beauty in forgotten towns like Withernsea. Artists such as Rainy Miller, Blackhaine, Iceboy Violet, and Shell Company are creating music that reflects their experiences growing up in isolation and boredom. These musicians often draw on feelings of alienation and loneliness to create confessional lyrics and dark, club-adjacent sounds.
Rainy Miller, a Lancashire-based artist from Longridge, has founded the Fixed Abode label, which has become a hub for these northern experimental artists. His album Joseph, What Have You Done? explores his own experiences with family and small-town upbringing, while the theme of isolation and loneliness is echoed in Iceboy Violet's Not a Dream, But a Controlled Explosion.
The White Hotel in Salford is another key location, where regulars and like-minded northern artists have gathered to share their work. This club has provided a platform for these musicians to perform together, fostering friendships and collaborations that have inspired some of the most innovative music coming out of the north.
Richie Culver's I Trust Pain is a defining album in this movement, its mix of industrial beats and witchy trap drawing on his own experiences growing up in Withernsea. The album explores themes of childhood escape fantasies, loneliness, and relationships, with lyrics that are both deeply personal and universally relatable. Culver's gratitude for the stories and emotions of his hometown shines through, as he processes his feelings about leaving and coming back.
The Northern Gothic movement is a testament to the beauty in forgotten towns and the power of music to capture our emotions and experiences. These artists are creating something new and exciting, drawing on their own histories to craft a sound that is both hauntingly beautiful and deeply relatable. As Richie Culver says, "I'd never heard anybody make the north sound so cool, and poetic."
Richie Culver's latest album I Trust Pain is a cinematic exploration of his childhood home, Withernsea, a faded seaside resort near Hull. The 46-year-old musician, who grew up in the town before leaving for London at 17, found himself drawn to its stories and emotions after years of searching elsewhere. "I remember feeling so resentful," he recalls. "I heard Tracey Chapman's Fast Car and thought: is this song about me?" The album's mix of witchy trap, spoken-word, and dreary ambient draws on these feelings, weaving a dark and haunting narrative.
Northern Gothic is a musical movement that celebrates the beauty in forgotten towns like Withernsea. Artists such as Rainy Miller, Blackhaine, Iceboy Violet, and Shell Company are creating music that reflects their experiences growing up in isolation and boredom. These musicians often draw on feelings of alienation and loneliness to create confessional lyrics and dark, club-adjacent sounds.
Rainy Miller, a Lancashire-based artist from Longridge, has founded the Fixed Abode label, which has become a hub for these northern experimental artists. His album Joseph, What Have You Done? explores his own experiences with family and small-town upbringing, while the theme of isolation and loneliness is echoed in Iceboy Violet's Not a Dream, But a Controlled Explosion.
The White Hotel in Salford is another key location, where regulars and like-minded northern artists have gathered to share their work. This club has provided a platform for these musicians to perform together, fostering friendships and collaborations that have inspired some of the most innovative music coming out of the north.
Richie Culver's I Trust Pain is a defining album in this movement, its mix of industrial beats and witchy trap drawing on his own experiences growing up in Withernsea. The album explores themes of childhood escape fantasies, loneliness, and relationships, with lyrics that are both deeply personal and universally relatable. Culver's gratitude for the stories and emotions of his hometown shines through, as he processes his feelings about leaving and coming back.
The Northern Gothic movement is a testament to the beauty in forgotten towns and the power of music to capture our emotions and experiences. These artists are creating something new and exciting, drawing on their own histories to craft a sound that is both hauntingly beautiful and deeply relatable. As Richie Culver says, "I'd never heard anybody make the north sound so cool, and poetic."
i think northern gothic sounds like a total buzzkill 
richie culver's album is all about nostalgia and escaping your hometown, which is kinda the opposite of what most people would want to do 
if you ask me, who wants to be stuck in one place with nothing but memories? 
i'd rather have a life full of new experiences and meeting new people 
besides, these towns are probably super boring and depressing, not exactly the kind of place that inspires creativity 
I'm totally obsessed with this Northern Gothic movement 
. Richie Culver's album I Trust Pain is giving me all the feels 
. And Rainy Miller's Fixed Abode label is like a haven for these talented musicians 
. The White Hotel in Salford is literally the coziest spot to discover new music 
. I'm loving how this movement is showcasing the beauty in decay and imperfection 
, it's so refreshing! 
I'm totally stoked about this Northern Gothic movement! The way these artists are weaving their personal stories into dark, cinematic soundscapes is just mesmerizing 
. And I love how Richie Culver's album I Trust Pain is like a sonic exploration of his childhood home, it's so deeply personal but also relatable to anyone who's ever felt lost or alone 
richie culver's album is like a slow-burning fire that just gets deeper and darker as it goes on, it's like he's trying to process this whole 'i left but i'll never leave' vibe 
anyway, the fixed abode label is like the hub of all things northern gothic - these artists are speaking straight to my soul with their feelings of isolation and loneliness 
. i love how richie culver's album 'i trust pain' is like a cinematic exploration of his childhood home, withthornsea, and how it draws on feelings of resentment and alienation 
. and can we talk about the fixed abode label? rainy miller is doing some amazing things over there 
you know i think its really cool how these artists are bringing attention to forgotten towns in yorkshire and lancashire 
their music is like a time capsule of emotions and experiences that capture the essence of these places. Richie Culver's album I Trust Pain is like a soundtrack for feeling lost and alone, but also finding beauty in it 
! It's like they're tapping into the vibes of those forgotten towns in Yorkshire and Lancashire. The way Richie Culver's album I Trust Pain captures the dark, haunting beauty of Withernsea is just mesmerizing 
. And Rainy Miller's label Fixed Abode is like a hub for all these talented artists to come together 
. It's amazing how they're turning their experiences of isolation and loneliness into something so beautiful and relatable 
. I think this movement is going to be huge!
it's like they're giving voice to something we can all relate to - feeling lost and alone in our own towns, but finding beauty in the darkness. I mean, I've always been fascinated by the stories of people who leave their hometowns for the city, only to find themselves longing for the very place they left behind. It's like there's this nostalgia for a time when life was slower and more isolated. And these artists are capturing it so beautifully 
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it's like they're capturing the essence of these forgotten towns in Yorkshire and Lancashire so perfectly, you know? The way Richie Culver's album explores his childhood home Withernsea is just beautiful... I can totally see why he was drawn back to it after all those years. And Rainy Miller's Fixed Abode label is like a hub for this amazing community of artists 
the way they're all pushing boundaries and creating something new and exciting... not sure what's more captivating, the music itself or the stories behind it 
! Interesting
... can't wait to see what these talented musicians come up with next 
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. Richie Culver's album is like a cinematic experience - you can almost feel the weight of his emotions as he reflects on his childhood home 
. I think this movement is going to be HUGE 