Quinn Oulton - Alexithymia - 12" Vinyl

‘Alexithymia’ is a deconstruction of the struggle that many young men face when processing and expressing strong emotions. It takes the form of a linear story, pieced together from many moments of emotional intensity Quinn has faced throughout his life, existing within all types of personal relationships. This is a project that sees the stylistic and textural experimentation from his previous work fuse into a powerfully creative, personal and emotive sound. It includes tracks featuring Moses Boyd and Genevieve Artadi.

Speaking on the album, Quinn said "My album ‘Alexithymia’ dissects events from different relationships, whether family, friends or romantic, presented as a single story from start to finish. Obsession, frustration, passion, false hope, grief, self-pity, helplessness, and acceptance are all part of this story.

I wrote it in this way because I was trying to work out why I connect so much with sad or melancholic music, and I realised that maybe listening to that music was filling a hole that I didn’t know I had. It was comforting to hear somebody process their own troubles outwardly when I didn't feel I had a way, or even a reason, to do so myself. Writing the album has been an extremely therapeutic process as I've been able to seek out difficult parts of my life that I'd buried because I couldn't process them at the time.

I think a lot of people, particularly men, struggle to recognise and process their own emotions. It makes it very hard to share them with others, and it’s something that needs addressing to allow for healthier relationships with other people and yourself."

Quinn picked up the saxophone at a very young age. His thirst for music was nurtured by mentors Julian Joseph and Soweto Kinch - two heavyweights of the UK Jazz scene. Although Jazz was his focus, he was surrounded by blues, folk and rock music at home thanks to his dad’s diverse record collection. His first leap into the world as a solo artist was a self-produced EP in 2017 exploring his own voice and skills as an instrumentalist to tell a story. This release earned him a place on the 2018 Red Bull Music Academy, a two-week course that entirely changed his scope and ambitions. His eyes were opened to the world of electronic music culture - working alongside legends such as Just Blaze and father of techno Mike Banks (Underground Resistance). His 2020 EP 'Long Gone' presented a more refined sound as he honed his production skills and pushed his vocal abilities further. He tours and regularly appears on radio and TV alongside 2020 Mercury Nominee, Moses Boyd.