Artist Statement

Tristan Burfield has been described by a new band a day as a modern day electro "polymath". His music often incorporates lo-fi elements such as videogames, toys, junk, glitches and noise.

Tristan's stubbornly retro approach (which has seen him brandish Gameboy's, Nes Consoles and Commodore 64 sound chips as sound sources) often embraces limitations as a means of creative inspiration.

Tristan has played shows throughout the UK, and is becoming a regular staple on the festival circuit (Bring Yourself Fest, Toiletronica, Bristol Ashton Court Festival and Cambridge 'Be sure for the song has no name' festival). His music has been played on Radio 1 and released on various independent labels such as Quagga Curios Sounds, Mute Sounds, Underground Pollution, IFAR, Harsh Noise Movement, Wall Noise Action, ain23, Linear Obsessional, Feed Me Glass, Floppy Kick and Monkey Love Records.

Recently his projects have been enhanced by the incorporation of visual elements, his music has been used as an accompliament to a silent surrealist film (Blood of a poet), combined with small format film (Shimmies in Super-8), and has been juxtaposed against found manipulated material (Shadow Pictures, Switched On Noir: 14 Hardboiled Synthesiser Themes). The visual strand of his work has been strengthened via a series of Photographic/multi-media exhibitions shown in galleries such as Colchester slackspace, Norwich Art Centre and Oxo Tower, London.

Tristan has experience of teaching both BTEC/A-level music technology at institutions such as Access to Music (Norwich), Suffolk One and Suffolk New College.

In 2016 Tristan curated an exhibition in collaboration with Diss Museum celebrating the life and legacy of local electronic music visionary Tristram Cary (who famously established one of Britain’s first electronic music studios in Fressingfield, UK). Tristram Cary: Music Under The Radar was a multi-media exhibition documenting Tristram Cary's pioneering electronic music and soundtrack scores for Doctor Who, Quatermass and The Pit and Ladykillers. Featuring a prototype VCS3 synth, graphic scores, photographs and memorabilia.

Outside of formal academia he has presented workshops at WI's in London and Norwich (Golden Triangle Girls WI and Gothic Valley WI) on 'Female Pioneers of Electronic Music'. The aim of this workshop was to re-address the gender imbalance in the field and discuss the often-overlooked accomplishments of female composers such as Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram, Pauline Oliveros and Laurie Anderson. The idea was to open up electronic music and sound art to those who have been traditionally excluded.

Tristan continues to release music on his own label, his latest release Weaponised Nostalgia features music from 2002 to the present day.