NE HOT SEAT: THE DAWDLER

We’re back with our artist insight feature ‘NE Hot Seat’ – where we sit down with some of the North East’s brightest talent on a monthly basis, shine a spotlight on their latest work and find out what they have planned next.

Next up we have local hushed singer-songwriter The Dawdler aka John Edgar. In outright contrast to the effervescent and heavy output from the bands he played in and lead over the past decade (including Okay Champ, EAT FAST and Nately’s Whore Kid Sister), The Dawdler is the manifestation of Edgar’s delicate and beautiful ambient music – work also imbued with a slo-core sensibility, conjuring a gently meandering mid-point between Grouper, Low and Codeine.

Check out our chat with John about his latest single ‘Never Go Far‘ from his upcoming EP ‘Tracing Spirals‘ out now

Tell us a little about yourself and your career in music so far  

Newcastle resident – 30something – fan of music, sport, and animals.
I’ve always dabbled in music. I’ve played in numerous bands over the years – NWKS, Eat Fast, Okay Champ.
I started The Dawdler in my bedroom in 2018/19. I wrote a bunch of gentle little tunes on guitar, took them to my friend Will Throneycroft, and he helped me record and produce them. It was the best of times. We were pushing it further with a band and more ambitious compositions/productions, but my health nosedived, so I’m back to just doing bedroom based stuff now.

You’ve recently released the first single to your new EP ‘Tracing Spirals’, can you tell us a bit about your new release and what it means for you?

It’s a very personal EP. It’s the first time I’ve done everything myself, so perhaps I feel a greater sense of achievement.

I made this EP with sleep in mind. I sleep a lot and spend loads of time in bed listening to ‘sleepy’ music.
I wanted these tunes to be a worthy sleep companion for any fellow slumber fiends out there.
The subject matter is my own health. I try not to whinge too much in real life, so I put it all into my tunes.

What inspires you the most when it comes to writing your music?

Gentleness, sadness, love, nostalgia, death.

What else can we expect from you in 2023?

I’ll probably attempt another EP and I’ll definitely put on weight.

If you could collaborate with any artist of your choice, who would it be and why?

Aphex Twin and Snoop Dog.

Never Go Far by The Dawdler is out now. Listen Here

The full EP Tracing Spirals is out 31st March 2023

Check out The Dawdler’s picks of 10 tracks from their favourite North East acts below:

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