Creative

Explorations

Music Maker, Photo Taker, Film Shooter, Occasional Actor,

Retired Television Presenter, Dreamer,

Tennis Coach, Princeologist,

Contemplator, Hustler

Namaste

Thanks for dropping by. My name is Heron and I like making things. This is the digital home for some of my Cracked Analogue creations. If you haven’t already, I hope that you’ll find something you enjoy.


Rob Heron in the studio

I am a recording artist, songwriter and producer, creating from my studio here at Cracked Analogue. If you connect with any of my works and would like to collaborate, feel free to get in touch. While I love to operate alone, I’m also excited about exploring new avenues of expression and embarking on interesting creative escapades with kindred spirits.

Artistry

Songwriting

As a recording artist, I have major record label experience, including writing, producing, performing & mixing my own material. I also collaborate with other artists with whom I feel a connection.

Production

My recordings have been released through Virgin/EMI as well as my Cracked Analogue label. They have also featured in motion pictures & advertisement campaigns.

Studio

Recordings are produced & mixed from my own studio using laptops and IOS devices. Commercial releases mastered at Abbey Road, Metropolis, The Loft and Esko Mastering.

Directing

Having written & presented TV shows on ITV UK, I sometimes direct and edit films/music videos. I am a former voting member of the British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA).

Camera/Editing

A Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera or iPhone is my preferred way of shooting these days. I edit with any apps I can get my hands on and Davinci Resolve.

Music Equipment

My setup is minimal, based around a MacBook Pro, Universal Audio Interface, and a few other bits & pieces listed in the studio section.

Not For Sale

‘Not For Sale’ by Heron is now available to stream on Spotify / Apple Music. There are only 499 physical copies in existence, most of which were distributed by hand, not just in the UK but also in the US and Germany. Some remaining copies were made available through Cracked Analogue directly. Each CD was lovingly numbered, embossed with a bespoke stamp and shrink-wrapped in plastic. 


This is the first time it has appeared on major streaming services but doesn’t include the musical palindrome version, which is only available on the original CD.


Made & Played by Heron / Mastered by Steve Rooke @ Abbey Road

Cathy Jain

Recent projects at Cracked Analogue include the collaboration between myself and the uber-talented Cathy Jain. At just 15, Cathy’s debut single ‘I See Us In Heaven’ was made remotely from her bedroom in the UK and my studio in India. It was quickly picked up by BBC Introducing and then featured on Radio 1’s Hot List. During our long-distance collaboration, Cathy has recorded and released several more singles independently throughout 2020/21.

‘On June 18th 2021, Cathy signed her first record deal with Yala! Records and released the blissful, slo-fi, soul-jam ‘Cool Kid‘. It was awarded Record Of The Week on BBC Radio One, play-listed on NME Best New Tracks as well as Spotify’s New Music Friday.

‘Artificial‘ followed in August, with the psychedelic blues of ‘Green Screen’ in September continuing an amazing breakthrough year for Cathy. ‘Green Screen’ has been repeatedly played on Radio One and 6 Music and described by Lauren Laverne as ‘my favourite track at the moment.’ It also made the cut for Amazon Music’s Best Songs Of 2021 playlist.

All four songs have now been released as a strictly limited edition lavender vinyl EP entitled Artificial on December 3rd, 2021. Each track was co-written, produced & mixed by Heron @ Cracked Analogue.

Music

Reviews

“Most gloriously, The Brown Room catches an artist as yet unaffected and overawed by big-budget commercial imperatives. The mistakes are left in, and only increase the sense of a musician with a lot to say, and in a hurry to say it: What a way to begin.”

“This is a very special album indeed. Heron is a modern day Harry Nilsson with tunes and attitude aplenty. He’s also one of the most exiting talents to emerge this year. Don’t take my word for it. Give the album a listen and prepare to have your head expanded.”

What’s On Magazine

Album Of The Month 4/5

“Heron’s DIY debut is about as indigenous to Liverpool as bikini car-washes to Siberia. Heron sounds increasingly like Oar-period Skip Spence. No mean feat.”

Uncut Magazine ***

“The Brown Room is full of off-kilter, warped country tunes, unfocused psychedelia and lo-fi slacker rap. There is imagination at work here and the album is rarely dull.”

Q Magazine ***

“The Brown Room sparkles with the wit of ‘Odelay’ and the confidence of ‘Around The World In A Day.”

The Fly Magazine ****

“A home-made delight where no consideration has been given to markets or boundaries.”

Daily Express

“We Get High is a perfect Gorkyesque slice of acoustic psychedelica, I’ll B Your Alibi felicitously introduces Loudon Wainwright III to hip hop, while closer Every Little Thing boasts a prettiness redolent of prime Scritti Politti.”

Mojo Magazine ***

“This debut album has it all.”

“Heron is one of those schizo singers (à la Beck and Badly Drawn Boy) that plunders from all sources and sounds. Make sure that he doesn’t pass you by.”

honestdog.com

“The repetitive piano chug of Punk Muthaf***a is pure I Am The Walrus. The determined whimsey of Jukebox Saloon is Honey Pie Macca to a T. And the line “Clear all the mind from your doubt”, on the very Lucy in the Sky-like We Get High, is quintessential Lennon.”

“Heron has basically managed to cram all of his influences into one 30 minute masterpiece that still invigorates with every listen, and that’s why this is one album you must own this year.”

rockcity.com *****

“A pissed up son-of-Beck-possessed-by-beelzebub subterranean blues hoe-down. Look out, kids.”

Flux Magazine

“Music that is untouched and raw.”

BBC Radio Stoke Online

“Proving that navel-gazing still has some life in it, the album also confirms that the new acoustic movement has been beaten senseless by the left-right of iconoclastic solo quirkiness and good old fashioned electric guitars.”

The Sunday Times: Culture Magazine

“In the tradition of premier releases by artists like The The and Baby Bird, this debut is a mighty potent concoction assembled from creaking electronic beats and shuffling analogue accompaniments, while the songs themselves are funny, flirtatious and shot through with ripples of darkness.”

roughguides.com

“The world needs eccentric performers with supreme songwriting ability and there’s none more eccentric and talented than Heron. Tracks like ‘Punk Muthafucka’ and ‘Keyboard song’ will establish him as a lo-fi mixture of Beck, Badly Drawn Boy, Syd Barratt and Brian Wilson, while the strange but beautiful ballad ‘Every Little Thing’ has hit record written all over it.”

What’s On Magazine

“Jukebox Saloon’ is what the Bugsy Malone soundtrack might have sounded like if it’d been scored by Super Furry Animals, all collapsing breakbeats and music hall piano, while ‘Lemon Aid’ is lo-fi toytown dope-hop, kind of like Gonzales with less sleaze and more wonky sound effects. Heron might be just the thing we all need.”

NME Magazine

“Listening to Heron’s debut, The Brown Room, is like taking a laid-back trip through a landscape of lo-fi beats and sounds, not quite knowing where you are going or where you’ll find yourself at the end of the eclectic journey. An interesting example of what a perfect summer album should be.”

BBC Manchester Online

“Here’s one of those bedroom debuts that appears to have been made with a beatbox, a keyboard and an old hairdryer. The plaintive ‘We Get High’, ‘I’ll Be Your Alibi’ and Cotton Clubesque ‘Jukebox Saloon’ are engaging indie gems – enough to win him funds to dispense with the hairdryer next time round.”

The Observer

“A self-produced majestic effort, blending American country, ’60s rock, psychedelia and electronica. Heron mixes a plethora of influences from the last four decades, whilst still conjuring up his own magical sound.”

“Endearing DIY effort from the London Money Mark. Tune splattered, idiosyncratic pop music without all the fancy shit. ‘The Brown Room’ is a wilfully non-league gem that’s gagging for a larger audience.”

“I do wish you’d cut the swearing out. I much prefer the ‘Not For Sale’ piano recording on Cracked Analogue.”

Heron’s Mum

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Film

Get in touch if you’d like to view any private content and a password will be sent to you.

Turn The Page

Directed by Heron

It was a real pleasure to be interviewed by musical maverick Cathy Jain. Amongst other things, we discuss our remote collaboration, Frank Ocean, Frank Zappa and her third single ‘Green Screen’.

Studio

Computer

MacBook Pro 14″ M1 Max

CalDigit TS3 Plus

Acer 43″ 4K Screen

Interface

UA Apollo Twin Quad

UA Arrow

UA Satellite Octo (x2)

Monitoring

IK Multimedia MTM’s / ARC 3

Kali LP-6 V2

Avantone Mix Cube

Headphones

Audeze LCD-X

Focal Listen Professional

Microphones

Shure SM7B

Samplers

NI Maschine MK1

Casio SK1

Koala Sampler

Controller Keyboards

Arturia Keystep

Roland RD64

Guitars

Yamaha FGX-413SC

Danelectro 56 Pro

Harley Benton TE-80 NT

IOS Devices

iPhone X

iPad Pro 10.5

Focusrite iTrack Dock

Room Treatment

Knauf Acoustic Ultimate

Nankarrow GeoWeave

@ Aural Exchange, Mumbai

Consultancy by Ashutosh Pande

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Artwork

Vinyl Record Artwork Umbrella
Vinyl Record Artwork Jukebox Saloon by Heron
Vinyl Record Artwork Turn The Page
The Brown Room Album Artwork
Vinyl Record Umbrella
Vinyl Record Artwork Jukebox Saloon
Vinyl Record Artwork Truth In Time
Artwork Not For Sale by Heron
Vinyl Record Artwork Punk Muthafucka
Vinyl Record Lemon Aid
Vinyl Record Artwork 15 Speakers
Heron Vs Heron Artwork
Vinyl Record Punk Muthafucka
Vinyl Record Artwork Lemon Aid by Heron
Acetate Hustler Artwork

Acting

SNOW is a film directed by Washington Buckley. Like many spontaneous occurrences in my life, I met him one day in an independent cinema in the city centre of Liverpool. He asked me if I would become a character in a film he was making. After a brief and compelling conversation, I obliged. At that stage, the film was almost complete, and I played a small role as a taxi driver. He then asked me if I would perform a larger role in his next film SNOW. Billed as an anti-road movie, there was no script, and the film would be entirely improvised. The video above includes only the scenes in which I appear.

Shop

Check out the fabulous ‘Cracked Analogue Megastore’.

It’s brimming with weird & wonderful delights.

You know it makes sense.

Open 24/7 for all your Heron & Cracked Analogue wants and needs!

Whether you’re after a Cracked Analogue T-Shirt, Heron duffle bag, Not For Sale cooking apron or a mustard jam mini-skirt, many of your wildest desires are covered.

The store has over 25 unique and original designs, conjured from my own chronically imaginative subconscious, and several hundred quite splendid items in stock.

Shop

Contact

Phone

Address

Goa, India

Liverpool, UK