From Still Point '26: Part 1

On the 4th of July this year, we held a special all-day Ambient event called Still Point, at Brimscombe Mill in Stroud. This was an event put on by our Ambient Label Hub; a group of small labels including Driftworks, Elm Records, Evergreen Music and Whitelabrecs. We invited the legendary Ian Hawgood of Home Normal as our guest of honour, along with a solid and diverse line-up of Ambient artists.

As I couldn't make it due to a last minute illness, chief organiser Andrew Heath is with us today to reflect back on the day. It's impossible for me to share any stories, so we also invited four attendees; Alain, Giles, Mark and Tom to share their own eye witness accounts.

Then we have some amazing photos captured throughout the day by Arthur Newton, (son of Evergreen's Adrian and Lynn), and Glenn Moores (who records as Analogue Path).

Over to you Andrew...

A word from Andrew Heath:

As I sit here writing this, I realise that almost two weeks have gone by since Still Point rewarded us with an amazing day of Ambient music. Bringing so many artists and fans together to celebrate our own style of creativity in such a fantastic venue - perfect.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, Still Point has its origin as we approached September 2025 and The Woodbridge Ambient Music Festival. I’d been approached by Jan Pulsford who runs the festival about creating a little ‘event’ during the weekend. As both Harry and I had been talking to James Osland of Elm Records and Adrian Newton of Evergreen about formalising our collective links in The Inner Echo, we wondered if an event as The Ambient Label Hub, which could comprise performances and talks, might be an interesting proposition.

Needless to say The Ambient Label Hub was a great success and from that, the idea of expanding that event at a venue close to where I live in Stroud came about… and, I knew just who to ask!

Just outside the town centre and a short walk along the canal towpath, is Brimscombe Mill. An old mill and semi-industrial area (we have lots of places like that around Stroud) that had been taken over by a fantastic and very ethical group of people. The Long Table was created to allow people to eat good food for a price that they could afford. There is a great café, a furniture re-cycling warehouse, a bicycle repair workshop and various fun climbing areas for children. All great and very ‘vibey’ but what I was interested in was an old mill building at the side of the site. It was being used for all sorts of ad-hoc events and also for some experimental music evenings. I couldn’t ask for more!

So at the beginning of the year, I sat down with a young lady called Immie (the Long Table events manager) and put forward a proposal to hold a day-long festival of ambient music. To my delight she was instantly behind it and so began a long planning stage.

I wanted to develop what our ‘label collective’, The Ambient Label Hub had done in Woodbridge. It was to be a day long event with mix of performance and talks. However, it was suggested that we needed to name our festival. We had great fun throwing around lots of ideas but in the end, settled on Still Point. It suggested a place of quiet and of ‘switching off’ whist listening to the music. To be honest, I was amazed at the number of artists who wanted to play - some contemplating travelling quite some distance! As the event got closer, publicity became a big part of planning. A big shout out to Phil Tomsett (The Inventors of Aircraft) who created some great promo video work and to Harry Towell of Whitelabrecs who put together a really nice series of ‘artist profiles’ however, everyone was hard at it, hitting the social media platforms constantly. I was lucky enough to be interviewed for a great article which ran in the Stroud Arts magazine, Good on Paper - a very well read monthly publication.

On the day, the event was better than I could have hoped for! Sadly, Harry Towell, who was down to end the day with a great DJ set, called in sick the evening before. He was greatly missed but there in spirit! We sold out of tickets during the day and both audience and artists alike listened to some great performances, had wonderful conversations and just came together.

And, it is this last point that I feel is so important. Still Point bought everyone with a shared love of ambient and experimental music together. I was constantly reminded during the day of my mantra when setting up Driftworks - the wise words of Pauline Oliveros, “don’t try and build a career, build a community".

For those of you wondering… yes. We will be doing it all again next year!

*Photo by Arthur Newton

What made you decide to come to Still Point?

Alain:
Listening to the music beforehand which I do, every day. Luckily, writing to and chatting with artists is often possible. But seeing an ambient musician in person, by attending a live performance is truly an unmissable experience! I hesitated a bit because the journey between my home and Stroud is long. A train to Paris, Eurostar to London and finally another train to stroud. The connections between trains are often a big deal, full of unexpected challenges.

Anyway, this was the first Still Point event featuring many musicians I listen to and I wanted the chance to be with them:

Adrian Lane | Andrew Heath | Ian Hawgood | The Inventors of Aircraft (Phil Tomset) | James Osland | Simon McCorry | Slow Clinic | Harry Towell

I’d selected albums to buy there and bring back home. Of course it was also an opportunity to discover the other musicians performing too.

Giles:
I have been a fan of ambient and experimental music for decades, always enjoying the outer limits of dance music and ambient dub as it used to be known. I had heard of rhubiqs from Spotify but hadn’t heard of the other artists, I had heard of the Woodbridge festival though. I was wondering what other ambient fans were like. I came by myself as my girlfriend is not a fan of ambient - in fact, it makes her angry! So I was hoping to meet like minded fellows and just enjoy a day of great music, which I did.

Mark:
Before I unpack my experiences, I want to thank with my whole heart the organizers of this truly wonderful festival - I’ve organized MUCH smaller events and the amount of work that went into them was daunting, so I can only imagine the twists and turns it took to put on such an event. That being said, NONE of the behind the scenes stuff was even hinted at on the day, everything went so incredibly well from my attendee perspective! So CHEERS to all involved, deep thanks!

Gigs of this calibre are few and far between. Once I saw the festival was booked and the incredible line-up, I knew it was something I could not miss. An equal part of my enthusiastic decision to attend was the chance to meet some of the artists & fans I had been communicating with on The Inner Echo. Still Point promised to be a wonderful opportunity to see and hear some amazing music, but also to shake the hands of some of my favorite performers and like-minded fans of the genre who I consider to be friends without ever having met.

I set up a plan to visit London for four days and take a full day in Stroud to catch every performance, every talk, and have a chance to introduce myself and meet the crew.

Tom:
I was introduced to the Ambient Label Hub by their documentary from the Woodbridge Ambient Festival (which I sadly couldn't attend). A day of beautiful ambient music sounded so wonderful I ordered my Still Point tickets on release day!

*Photos by Arthur Newton

What was your favourite moment from the day?

Alain:
I can’t tell of a single moment because there were so many favourite moments! Here are some:

Andrew’s welcome. The espresso inside the long table.

Finding the place at the same moment as Adrian, Phil and Ian, in the room preparing their electronics.

The kindness of the artists and fans.

Every set was a listening delight and emotional sequence. Everyone stunned me.

The food was perfect.

Discussions with the artists. Little chats with fans

The gifts. The goodbyes.

Understanding the chance I had to be there.

The final walk along the canal to go back to my Airbnb.

My worst moment? Friday night, when I arrived at the Airbnb - Harry told us he was sick and wouldn’t come.

Giles:
I had a few, I met some great people whom I spent the day with - thank you to them for including me.

Music-wise it was rhubiqs who I listened to daily, the very accomplished set of Andrew Heath but the one that set me alight was Cyril Secq's guitar ambient session - that was incredible.

Mark:
Impossible to determine a favorite. The bliss of the day blurs, and I cannot think of one thing without it leading to another perfect moment. The music was sublime, the venue perfect - welcoming, organized, accessible & respectful, the area conducive to calm community.

Some highlights:

Meeting two fans (yes, YOU Bobby & Paul!) as I grabbed a spot between them on a sofa at the back of the venue. We ended up spending the whole day together chatting, marvelling at the music, laughing as we got on, and finding so many similarities in our tastes & attitudes despite the distance separating us.

The feeling of being mystified at each performer’s approach to their art, watching as each took a turn creating an incredible atmosphere - sounds that excited & relaxed, intrigued & astounded.

Meeting Ian Hawgood (thanks for the hugs!), Andrew Heath, James Osland, Tom Squires, and so many others who were so gracious with their time and art.

I had little to no cell service along the way, so I relied on what I remembered from a conversation: "Walk along the canal tow path and you'll find the venue." The fact that I was 3,250 miles from home, walking along in a place I'd never been, was exciting to me, harkening back to a time before GPS and mobile phones when navigation was a rewarding challenge. The walk was gorgeous, green and lush, with all manner of birds darting around and informational signage telling me what had been in this spot while this was a functional canal. A quick but meaningful tip of the hat and a "good morning" to opposing pedestrians (something sadly missing from city life) put me in such a sweet frame of mind.

THE MUSIC. Oh, the heaven of letting myself just soak it all in, not trying to figure anything out but just relaxing and revelling in such wonderful sounds.

Tom:
The music was all absolutely brilliant, but my favourite moments were meeting other members of the community and bonding over our shared love of the great music. Special shout-out to Paul for being so friendly - and it was a pleasure to induct Giles into The Inner Echo together.

*Photos by Arthur Newton

Did you discover an artist or label that was new to you?

Alain:
It’s not really discovering because I had heard of most of these artists, but I'd say:

Bowing | Mosaicist | Phonsonic | Rachel Musson | restinj | rhubiqs | Cyril Secq

For me it is more how they interacted with the wires, instruments or branches. How they connected deeply with the music they played.

Giles:
Discovered lots of artists and all the labels associated with the festival. I had been listening to music on Spotify so it was all new to me. Before i had never looked into listening to music on Bandcamp and never heard of Whitelabrecs, Driftworks etc, so I have much to explore. Also, I never knew about Inner Echo! So I've found my tribe at last.

Mark:
Not a new label (though putting a face to a name was really special!), but several new artists who impressed me greatly. Phonsonic, Bowing, Rachel Musson, and Cyril Seq all brought their A-game and have a new fan in me.

Tom:
restinj was new to me and my favourite set of the day, the sounds used were so engaging, expressive and well combined. I can't wait to hear more of their work. That being followed by Ian Hawgood's brilliant, exciting set was about as good as I can imagine an hour of live music being.

*Photos by Arthur Newton

What was your favourite conversation or connection you made?

Alain:
Chatting with Ian Hawgood and telling him how much I have appreciated his work for many years. I think spending a little time with him would be my favourite conversation.

Giles:
There are a few that come to mind:

Bill from Coventry - we somehow got talking about owning didgeridoos and he gave me a full debrief on how to achieve circular breathing with a didgeridoo! This was both unexpected and funny. I have had a didgeridoo since the 90s but rarely pick it up. This was quite random as I never told Bill I had one until after he mentioned it.

And the guy who did the talk on a sense of place in Ambient recordings (James Edward Armstrong) - I was able to point him in the direction of The Black Dog and the recent ambient remixes of their album ‘This Brutal Life’ which is all about an estate in Sheffield.

Also I was chatting pedals with Glenn - I didn’t realise the people attending would all be creators of some form.

Mark:
I mentioned previously my time spent with Bobby & Paul and we have kept in touch since so I’m going to go with this one.

Tom:
As mentioned above - Paul Liam Walker was a great companion for the day and also makes amazing music of his own!

*Photos by Glenn Moores

What made Brimscombe Mill such a good venue for an event like this?

Alain:
Andrew’s introduction explained the place very well. Simplicity and kindness.
The purpose of the place is cool. The idea of 'pay what you can, and if you can give a bit more' when it comes to the food is great.

Giles:
Yes I am lucky to be local so come to the venue often. I attend another music event they put on in the same room which is called Sanctum. The Mill has a good feel and also, great lighting which added to the atmosphericals!

Mark:
Oh, absolutely! The venue was professional yet felt cozy, like this was a common occurrence for them! The setting was perfect, plenty of non-festival goers enjoying the food and amenities that the Mill and The Long Table had to offer. Would love to visit again and get a better feel for the immediate area.

Tom:
Brimscombe Mill was a fantastic venue, it feels so appropriate to be in a community space surrounded by nature, that provided excellent food. The room itself was great too, ideal for relaxing in on a hot day and watching the light changing throughout the day.

*Photos by Glenn Moores

What do you think might be interesting to explore in future Still Point events?

Alain:
It's too early for me to think about this. In my head, I’m still there in England listening to this wonderful day of ambient music.

Giles:
Just keep expanding the horizons of whom and what you have to play. DJ sets and artists from the wider Ambient community and of different types would be welcome. But it was a great event and all the ambient artists where outstanding, thank you! I look forward to September's event in Woodbridge.

Side note - there was another festival in Stroud on the same day - the Sacred Music Festival so if you could avoid the clash next time - I was torn as I'd attended the year before and it had lots ambient adjacent acts playing.

Mark:
I loved the idea of interspersing talks / seminars with the performances and would love to see that take on a larger role - some great information was given so this is a total plus.

Tom:
I loved that there were talks mixed in with the live performances. More of those would be fun, along with possibly some interactive sessions? Seeing everyone wandering around getting field recordings of the beautiful surroundings would probably be slightly confusing for passers-by, but could be really fun!

*Photos by Arthur Newton

BONUS: The DJ set that never was

As mentioned at the top of this blog post, I couldn't make Still Point as I sadly came down with a bug I'd caught from one of my kids. It kicked in literally just after I'd loaded my Technics turntables, records and merch into the car. I had planned to close Still Point with something a little different - a Dub Techno set!

I have no idea how this will have been received - perhaps the beats will have been welcomed, to wake people up ready for their trip home? Or perhaps they'd have sounded at odds with the relaxed feel of the day? We'll never know...

Looking back through Arthur's photos I saw that he'd spotted a butterfly, trapped inside and fluttering towards the light beaming through the room's beautiful windows. Weirdly, I can somehow relate a little to this butterfly, as I watched back some of the live streams of the event from my sick bed. I had a call last week with EBlo who was at the event, and he mentioned this butterfly! I was reassured that after a little while soaking into the Ambience, it was able to escape safely out of the window...

I recorded a practice mix the week before Still Point and so I thought I'd share this here, using Arthur's photo as the cover. Click the player below or HERE

PS - if you notice any slightly adrift transitions, remember this was just a practice mix! I'm absolutely sure I'd have got it perfectly in time on the night, had I been there - aided by it being my first proper DJ gig in 20 years, the pressure of an audience and having been up since 5am...

Tracklist

01 Altone - Unnaturally Balanced (Another Channel Version)
02 CV313 - Seconds To Forever
03 Yura Moorush - Moorush Vs. Alexandroid
04 Dävid - 0001
05 Pola - Double Wedding (Altitude Remix)
06 Mryn - Mai Tai
07 Lawrence - Poppies
08 Dävid - Dub02
09 Lawrence - Ray
10 Furry Phreaks - Tearful

*Photo by Arthur Newton

It's hard to give any set figure, but I'd estimate that over half of Still Point attendees are members of the Inner Echo community. Whilst this online space is facilitated by us - The Ambient Label Hub - it is very much powered by the community spirit. It's amazing just how much we've achieved together, not least this festival. If you'd like to join us, simply join the Whitelabrecs or Driftworks email newsletter, and in your welcome email you'll be able to take a look at Inner Echo for yourself.