International Drone Day 17.05.2025

Following the success of previous years, Whitstable, Kent based monthly electronic meet-up session and podcast Coastal Electronauts have announced another evening of electronic music, tone clusters and live visuals for the annual celebration of drone, community and experimental sounds.

Taking place on 17th May 2025 at the Gulbenkian Theatre situated within Kent University in nearby Canterbury, it will feature a headlining set by Sam Battle aka LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER, plus performances by ambient electro-acoustic artist Shape Navigator, electric violist Sophie Sirota and experimental east/west coast synthesist AnalogueMechanic. Live interactive visuals will be provided by analogue/digital video artist @diz_qo. The event commences at 7.30pm.

A Café stage situated in the theatre bar will see Sebtic Smile and GHOSTYHED hosting a communal drone/jam from 5pm, for which attendees are invited to bring their own and join in, while the same two artists plus John Gallen will perform their own music from 9.30pm following the conclusion of proceedings in the main theatre.

International Drone Day was originally conceived by Marie LeBlanc Flanagan of Weird Canada in 2014 with events happening worldwide.

Coastal Electronauts began with a 2020 podcast hosted by Peter Coyte and Clive Walpole, followed by a monthly experimental electronic meet-up session which has grown into a collective of local and guest artists. This has led to larger events including the annual Drone Day and Synth & Electronic Music SoundBath.

PERFORMERS

LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER

LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER (aka Sam Battle) began uploading videos to YouTube in 2017, issuing a debut EP that autumn. A series of innovative EPs and albums in the years since have gained support from BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music, while he has toured regularly around the UK and in mainland Europe. He also writes and produces for other artists and continues to to share content on his YouTube channel, which now has over 650,000 subscribers and provides a true insight into his genius.
Whether building the musical Gameboy Mega Machine, an organ from the '90s toy Furbies or conducting an orchestra of 97 Lego Star Wars Droids to perform the film’s theme song, Battle is constantly working on creative musical projects. Building his own synthesisers and musical machines, he performs on them at his live shows and on his genre defying records.

SHAPE NAVIGATOR

Peter Coyte (aka Shape Navigator) is a versatile and innovative composer, musician and sound artist whose career spans multiple genres and creative fields. His career began in the ‘90s when he signed to Guerilla Records as a solo artist and also collaborated with Coldcut, Seal, David McAlmont and Heartless Crew. He is known for his diverse work in theatre, film and installations, writing compositions that are integral to the narrative and atmosphere of the projects he is involved in, blending sonic innovation with emotional depth. His artistic portfolio reflects his broad creative vision, making him a sought-after collaborator in multidisciplinary settings. He has forged long-term partnerships with numerous esteemed creatives that include filmmakers Francois Verster and Joanna Callaghan, choreographer Dora Frankel, writer/poet Salena Godden and dragademic John-Paul Zaccarini. He is a co-founder of the Coastal Electronauts Podcast and music sessions, where he continues to push the boundaries of electronic music and share his passion for innovative sound.

SOPHIE SIROTA

Sophie Sirota is a classically trained violist, singer and composer. Having enjoyed a long, genre-spanning career, she has worked as a session musician, live performer, arranger and composer with iconic artists that include 4-Hero, D'Influence, Gabrielle, Beth Orton, Ed Harcourt, Paul Weller, Kim Deal, Robert Kirkby and Tindersticks, as well as visual artists Jeremy Millar and Sadie Hennessey. A member of Coastal Electronauts and the Free Range String Orchestra, she blends her classical training with modern experimental sounds, utilising looper and effects pedals to create innovative ambient soundscapes with intricate, evolving textures. Her live sets have garnered praise for their atmospheric depth and emotional resonance, while a recording was lauded by Electronic Sound Magazine as "an elegant requiem for looped strings that swells like the incoming tide," cementing her reputation for blending emotive classical instrumentation with electronic elements. With a reputation for her distinctive approach to both classical and contemporary music, her work showcases her skill as a violist while also highlighting her expertise as a composer and arranger, pushing the boundaries of music and sound.

ANALOGUEMECHANIC

Clive Walpole (aka AnalogueMechanic) is a composer of experimental and electronic music. His early teens saw him creating experimental music using tape recorders and found sounds, before graduating to synthesisers and purely electronic music in the mid ‘70s. With influences that include BBC Radiophonic Workshop pioneers Delia Derbyshire and Daphne Oram, F. C. Judd and more, he retains a strong interest in ambient and both west and east coast styles of electronic music.

@diz_qo

Creating video/projection art in both analogue and digital spaces, @diz_qo has experimented in tape/slide, 16mm film and video art, utilising abandoned buildings and found materials for site-specific events as part of the Colosseum Project/Luna Nera art collective. diz_qo has also created video installations at iKlectik, the Coastal Electronauts International Drone Day and meet-up sessions, Wonky Plonky Electronk events, Orbscure Festival, Delaware Festival, Intrinsic, Cluster, Alchemy, Tinderdust and group show Spellzone. diz_qo is the point on a graph where x & y meets. The overlap on a Venn diagram. The space between our lives.