Theory Therapy 88: Burning Pyre
Dub-informed rhythms from the North of England
The next Theory Therapy mix comes from Geordie producer C.M. Owen aka Burning Pyre. Fresh off the release of his fantastic new album Imago on co:clear, Owen’s mix draws together long-standing influences and recent listens, moving from Internazionale and Croatian Amor to Elysia Crampton and a.m.p. Best enjoyed on a train ride, ideally heading north along the coast.
How are you today?
I’m great, thanks! Excited that my new album on co:clear, Imago, has finally seen the light of day!
What was the last song you listened to?
“Moth” by a producer from Montreal called Glyphbound. I’m not really sure how I came across it – most likely when trawling through some random Bandcamp collection – but I’m really into it. It has this simple off-kilter, syncopated rhythm and some dreamy vocal samples. The kind of track I’d equally love to hear in a club or just listen to while walking around.
Where do you most enjoy listening to music?
I mostly listen to music while working, but that’s certainly not my favourite way to enjoy it. In a social setting is where I most enjoy listening to music. The shared experience and the conversation around what we’re listening collectively is a beautiful thing and it’s the perfect way to be introduced to new music to really get excited about.
What’s the best music discovery you’ve made recently?
I was listening to the new compilation on Short Span, Short Tracks, and I was particularly taken by the track “Sapphire (SP Mix)” by a.m.p. featuring b.p.p. It has this beautiful jazzy sort of feeling — very light and airy — with a break that sounds like drums played with brushes. After hearing this track, I tracked down a.m.p. and started listening to their cafe001 EP from earlier last year. It’s super dubby, with loads of gorgeous, drifting ambience that almost feels like smoke drifting by before dissipating. The second track, “screensaver”, is incredible. There’s something about the way they use space that really appeals to me.
Is there an artist or album you listen to often that people might not expect based on your own sound?
I’ve been really into The Tubs’ 2025 album, Cotton Crown, for the past few months. I really love the combination of jangly indie rock instrumentation and proper downer lyrics. The album has some great songwriting on it and so many catchy hooks. Narcissist is my favourite track, but it’s wall to wall bangers. No skips.
Tell us a bit about your musical background – what was the first album that really stuck with you, and when did you start exploring electronic production?
My musical background is pretty all over the place, to be honest. I was playing in a post-punk band when I was a late teenager before finding electronic music again, but before that, when I was 14 or 15, I was into dubstep. I remember sitting at home trawling YouTube to find new tracks from Deep Medi Musik, Tectonic, Hyperdub, for example, but I was far too young and naïve to go clubbing. I’m from Newcastle upon Tyne, the opposite end of the country to London, and didn’t know anyone else who was into this kind of music, so it was quite solitary, in a way. Hardcore punk then somehow became a passion — maybe because it seemed like an antidote to the lack of community I had when I was listening to dubstep alone in my bedroom. From there, I ended up somehow stumbling onto the Danish post-punk and electronic scene in around 2013 and started listening to Lower, Iceage and everything Posh Isolation and Janushoved. I became totally obsessed. There are a bunch of those records that are the most important in shaping my view on electronic music and just opening my eyes and mind to the possibilities of it. That you could just be in your bedroom making music. You didn’t need all of this expensive gear. It’s not the very first album that really stuck with me, but Croatian Amor’s The Wild Palms from 2014 was sonically and aesthetically so impactful on me at the time. Ultra sad and raw yet with a romanticism that I found really attractive. It was from that point when I really had a compulsion to start making electronic music, despite having almost no idea of how to do it.
What does your current setup look like, and how much does your environment shape what you make?
My current set-up is pretty straight-forward. I produce everything in the DAW, so Ableton, Massive X, Korg M1 VST and Output’s Portal granular FX are integral to how I work. I like to play everything in with my midi keyboard live, so I’m always fiddling around and recording little loops, re-recording and changing sounds as the track progresses. It’s an uncomplicated approach that suits my attitude to making music. My environment – or what I would consider the environment that shapes my work – is most influenced by my listening habits. Influences from all kinds of different musical avenues end up in my work, some more obvious than others!
Tell us about your release Imago. How did it come together? What were your major influences?
It’s taken a couple of years for Imago to come together. I’m not a particularly prolific producer, almost all of the tracks that I finish get released, so it usually takes me a little while to get a full project together that makes sense as a cohesive body of work. The album first started forming in 2023 when I was experimenting with incorporating more rhythmic elements into my music. I’ve done this before, but my releases have been predominantly beatless. Listening to tons of dub and reggae music at home definitely instigated this – my partner Dolores was playing a lot of Barrington Levy and Linton Kwesi Johnson at the time — so I became more influenced by this on a subconscious level. I really wanted to ensure that my more melancholic sensibility remained, despite the stylistic shift, so hopefully I’ve achieved that. Imago represents a broadening of horizons for me, of pushing myself out of my comfort zone, finding inspiration in new places and just having fun with producing. Most of these tracks have been through 2 or 3 different iterations since they were first produced, so there wasn’t necessarily much consideration given to the approach other than an instinctual one. The most important question was “do these tracks fits together?” The album is also the first time I’ve worked with vocalists, so that has brought an entirely new dynamic to my music. I’m ecstatic to have 3NDLES5 and Rosabella Allen on the album. They’re both such inspiring artists, whose music has been a big source of inspiration to me, and I’m honored that they would want to collaborate. I met both Mitch and Rosabella at events in Newcastle and Manchester, so there’s a lot to say for chance meetings. I also have to shout out Conna Haraway for his expertise and willingness to release Imago. I’ve been a huge fan of co:clear since it started, so it’s a real honour to have worked with him on this project.
Have any experiences outside of music filtered into your sound? What inspires you outside of music?
Strangely, I don’t find that much specifically influences my music on a conceptual level, in a direct way at least. I just spend the time creating and instinctually building out these worlds without much thought to where the ideas are coming from. Experimentation and accidental moments are often what results in the most interesting outcomes, in my experience, so I tend to rely on that. Outside of music, cinema is a big passion of mine. I have a Master’s Degree in Film Studies, so when I’m not producing music or hanging out with friends, I’m normally watching films. Like Someone In Love, the Abbas Kiarostami film from 2012, definitely influenced me in some way, particularly the scenes of driving around at night. When I think of Imago, that’s what I conjure in my head. When Conna first showed me the draft of the artwork that he’d created for it, it was totally perfect and immediately reminded of that film. It was just meant to be.
Talk us through your Theory Therapy mix – where it came together and what kind of space you were in mentally or musically.
It all came together in my studio — just through listening to a bunch of the music I’ve been enjoying lately coupled with plenty of nods to what first got me really into electronic music over a decade ago. I like to make sure that my taste is pretty broadly represented, whether that’s by playing a track from Internazionale or Elysia Crampton, or newer releases from Shell Company, Hasfeldt & Fatshaudi, Shinetiac and other joe. I enjoy blending these different styles and not staying too rigid on genre — I’m not a DJ and it’s all pretty new to me, so I just wanted to have fun with it and provide a little snapshot of where I’m coming from musically.
Where would you recommend listening to it?
On a train journey from Newcastle up to Scotland along the East Coast. There’s some beautiful coastal scenery that you can see from the window. Ideal for zoning out to.
Tell us something exciting that's coming up in your life, music or otherwise.
I’m excited to perform live more in 2026, visit new places and share Imago in a live context with people. I’m working on new material now, too, so fingers crossed it won’t be as long as long a wait as it has been since my last full-length release! We’re planning out the new releases on Eastern Nurseries (the label I run with Canadian Rifles over in Porto) as well, so there will be lots of new music this year!
Tracklist:
Internazionale – The Heavens Ignited By Hundreds of Flares
Hasfeldt – Benches (feat. Fatshaudi)
Shintiac – Billie
emer – Shell
Burning Pyre – Drifted
Shell Company – Gritty
Zaumne – Airport City
Croatian Amor – Love Means Taking Action
Elysia Crampton – Abolition
Glyphbound – Moth
a.m.p. – heli dub
other joe – feed the hum
Burning Pyre – Inna Past Life (feat. Rosabella Allen)