Trestle Rec - Instrumental Music of All Genres

A composer whom I admire very much once commented that with sound we can torture and with sound we can heal. These pieces humbly intend to achieve the later. Fourteen patient and atmospheric electronic works that were made with a sorrowful and shameful reflection upon extinction and more specifically the absurd stance of becoming an ‘Endling’ - the last single known living representative of a species.

These works are laments. Secular electronic hymns. Drones layer in dusty reverbs, memories spanning eras and epochs snuffed out in the blink of a human eye. Longing melancholic synths take time to find melody above the weight of foundational Taurus bass. Harmonic violins and cello accompany minimalist church organ arpeggios as sorrowful brass surrounds from distance. Distorted micro-beats blink among the haze of what is lost forever. These human developments that demand and bear witness to the many sacrifices made. Field recordings add to the mise-en-scene placing us environmentally. The spoken word, beautifully read by composer and actor Keeley Forsyth, gives brief journalistic detail and insight into the end of life circumstances of those who these pieces are made for and named after. The cover for the album features an image of Martha, the last known Passenger Pigeon. The graphic is a simple act of empathy. Leveling the branch to perhaps make things easier.

Although environmental factors are at times the cause of a species’ demise, it is predominantly the actions of humans, apathetic and destructively exploitative, who inflict this ongoing phenomena of irreversible loss. But I suppose I state the frustratingly, bleedin, obvious. An echo we collectively swallow. As well as for those species we have lost, this record is also dedicated to the memory of author Richard Adams and those other caring, responsible voices who declare the ongoing necessity for kindness and understanding towards animals and to actively respect those fellow creatures that enrich our lives by their very presence.

Ross Downes. June 2026

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Trestle Records is pleased to announce the new record from Tout. The aptly named Fourth. Fourth ushers in a change of direction with core members Nick Downes and Jonathan Fryer composing the principle tracks as a duo in their London studio. Once these were established and recorded they both reached out with invitations to a host of collaborators, mostly friends, to complement and expand upon their foundational elements. Fourth finds Tout delving deeper into the bands interest in contemporary classical, jazz and ambient music, whilst still retaining some of the aesthetic preoccupations of the previous records which largely explored folk and new age traditions. The result is a thoughtful and continuously exploratory textural world that is at once melodically satisfying whilst being structurally experimental.

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Saudade is the first solo record of guitarist and composer Jonathan Fryer. This collection of pieces were written and recorded in a short period of time during the summer of 2023 and draw on elements touched upon in previous collaborative releases (Tout & Calibos) delving deeper into esoteric, percussive and new age palettes; integrating elements of bossa nova, samba and jazz. Contributions from fellow Trestle Records label mate and long time friend and collaborator Adam Coney (Ashwin & Above & Pavilion) are the only other musical additions which provide a beautiful second voice to tracks ‘Esterel’, ‘Roma’ (Parts I and II) and the jazz infused ‘Visions of Naima’ helping to elevate them further, with all other instruments played by Fryer, meaning this record is a stripped back affair where simplicity is key.

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