Tom Bugs

Tom’s set is preceded this evening by the arrival onstage of several monstrous-looking pieces of electronic equipment. “Bloody hell, that looks intimidating,” I utter as I suspiciously regard an immense home-built analogue synthesizer bristling with wires and buttons. “Not really,” chirps Mr Bugs as his hand flashes across a few dials. “Look at the pretty lights!” he exclaims with the enthusiasm of an awe-struck child. I marvel at the twinkling display before retiring to my seat, enchanted at the possibilities of such a device but no less confused.

After a short verbal introduction explaining that Tom builds his own commercially-available synthesizers and effects pedals, he starts to strum the open strings of his guitar and tentatively frets a few melodic notes to offset the drones. He somehow manages to maintain this whilst beginning to rotate the dials on a rather utilitarian-looking metal box. The sound starts to break up and scatter like sand poured from a jug: it’s still familiar as that of a guitar, but somehow transfigured and alien in texture.

Once he’s happy with the level of decimation achieved by this device, he begins to add to the guitar drones by coaxing sounds from the aforementioned synthesizer. It must be said that this resembles an abandoned relic of some Russian Cold War communications strategy, but the sounds it produces are sparkling and starkly beautiful. A muted bass drum enters the mix, its hypnotic thud recalling metronomic Basic Channel-style techno. Chiming tones build and wash like waves, as Tom starts to poke more and more wires into sockets. It’s like he’s playing a version of the children’s game Operation, where the objective is a total brain transplant. As if to substantiate this simile, the occasional wire triggers a sudden skronking sound upon insertion, which blares from the speakers like a warning: “Don’t prod me here!” One senses that he’s not totally in control of this beast of a synthesizer, but this element of unpredictability merely adds to the wonder of it all.

As the sound level peaks then stabilises, Tom brings the set to a close by singing a joyful rendition of ‘I Believe In Bugs’ by the recently-passed, highly eccentric performance artist Ivor Cutler. It’s a surprise to hear the familiar, jaunty melody, but the constant droning of synth and guitar sits perfectly in place of the original’s accordion accompaniment.

Tom’s magical devices are available to view and buy here, along with info about shows, etc: knowledgeofbugs.co.uk