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Aug 23, 2023 Web Exclusive By Dom Gourlay

Desolate Spools, the electronic music label put together by Eccentronic Research Council/Moonlandingz founders Adrian Flanagan (Acid Klaus) & Dean Honer (I Monster), to help put out music by ‘like minded eccentrics, wayward freaks, people who make music because they have to as a form of inner/outer communication - and not because they are chasing some flavour of the month crown . Niche humans with synths that never really fit in to yer tidy popular scenes!! Like myself!’ jokes Adrian.

Desolate Spools first single release is by a Sheffield based artist who goes under the name Wet Man aka Jack Clayton - his single “Swimming with Sharks” is an exciting blast of post punk DIY electronics and new wave thrills - produced by The Eccentronic Research Council and mixed by Dean Honer. Jack comes from a lineage of Sheffield outsider weird pop royalty, His dad John Clayton was the bass player in Peel favourites (and a teenage Jarvis Cocker’s favourite group) Artery, and also played live bass occasionally for the legendary Cabaret Voltaire.

Jack Clayton explains the origins of the song “Swimming with Sharks”:

“Originally the song was about a gameshow host / comedian in the 90s who got in to hot water over a scandal and my nan (as well as the nation) absolutely adored this man because he used to make risky remarks about people on ITV. For me, targeting this person summises attitudes we see amongst politicians and so called ‘infleuencers’. And, although the invite to a pool party sounds great, it will probably end in tears (or blood rather). Now that you have pieced together what I’m talking about, the title now becomes hilarious, but also heeds a warning because we’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

To promote the single Wet Man will be doing his one man live thing.

“During a Wet Man show expect to see a thin, lost, hopeless shadow of a pop singer with nothing left to lose, losing his shit. This consists of a man dressed in ‘velvet cowboy’ clothes, smashing the mic in to his own face, while maintaining perfect sarcastic key and pitch. Soundtracked by some German electronic take on Iggy Pop, thrown in with Ramones, Scott Walker and Grandmaster Flash (with a dab of Italian disco). Also expect audience members to shout ‘Get on with it’ when Wet Man thinks he can pull a comedy routine mid set for absolutely no reason whatsoever,” says Jack

Wet Man will be performing live at the following places over the coming month and is available to play house parties, DIY events, street parties and high end rock venues, so contact him direct via his Instagram.

25 August Woodstockeboda, Alvesta, Sweden

30 August Annelundsgarden, Malmo, Sweden

2 September NGBG Street Party, Malmo, Sweden

22 September The Windmill (Bible Club), London

29 September Hatch, Sheffield

“Swimming With Sharks” is out on all digital platforms from today (Wednesday 23rd August)