Blackadder

Hailing from Nottingham, UK, Blackadder is an artist whose journey into music was anything but conventional. Before 2020, he had never picked up an instrument or understood the basics of music theory. However, a deep passion for music and its immersive qualities had always been there. During the COVID lockdowns, on a whim, he downloaded Ableton—what started as a casual experiment quickly turned into an obsession. Hours of relentless learning and experimentation led him to take the leap from a career in finance to studying Audio & Music Technology at Confetti, part of Nottingham Trent University. After graduating with first-class honors in 2023, he began releasing music in 2024, bringing his unique sonic vision to life.

Blackadder’s music is shaped by synaesthesia, a condition that allows him to “see” sounds in colors and textures, making his creative process highly visual. Instead of traditional instrumentation, he approaches production like an intricate collage, stitching together snippets of sound—synthesizers, field recordings, foley, and cut-up acoustic samples—into rich, evolving compositions. His work exists in a space between electronica, downtempo, and ambient music, but remains genre-fluid, focusing on blending the organic with the electronic. His inspirations include artists like Bonobo, Maribou State, Burial, and Kiasmos, who also weave together intricate sonic landscapes.

His artist name, Blackadder, often surprises people—it’s actually his real last name. After spending time searching for the perfect alias, he realized he already had one.

Blackadder’s journey is just beginning. Having transitioned from the 9-to-5 world into a life dedicated to sound, his mission is simple: to create music that moves people, just as music has always moved him.