Musical Biography
The Full Story
Early Years 2004 to 2010
The initial beginnings of Nigel Sanders sound art and music started with some prior songs written in his formative years. The first recorded release was in 2004 with the 'Dreamworkers EP' under the moniker of The nss58 Project. He was studying music at Colchester Institute and this EP was the outcome of the work. The EP featured 4 tracks of which 2 went on the very first album.
Nigel continued his musical studies over the next 6 years leaving his teaching career in Special Needs and becoming a full time freelance musician. Most of the time was spent depping or playing for bands whilst he established himself on the scene. He continued writing tracks in this period and worked with a singer 'Viv' for a few months.
2009 to 2011
In 2009 Nigel embarked on a MA Music at Middlesex University and it was here that he really started to develop his style and technique. Two albums came during this period and namely 'Worldly Dreams of Narcissus' and the outcome of his MA 'Ghostly Echoes of Fear.'
Worldy Dreams was the collection of single tracks written from 2004 to 2010 and brought together under the name of 'The nss58 Project.' The cover shown here is the latest reissue from 2025.
Ghostly Echoes was composed with a final drum kit performance in mind. The album was to explore the meaning of drum kit virtuosity through composition. The album was centred around Progressive Electronic, rock and metal. The album also featured guest musicians Dave Ainsworth on guitar and James Coppolaro on Guitars and Vocals. The accompanying book with full drum scores and guidance notes is available here. The small break that happened from 2011 to 2013 next release was due to playing with the Classic Rock Tribute Show Freebird.
Further musical writing did not happen again until 2013.
2013 to 2014
With the demise of Freebird and having a break from 60 gigs in a year on Drums, composition began calling once again. Initially I released 'Pillars of Sand' which was part of the 2011 recording sessions which concluded that chapter. Having tried to get a new line up together for live performing which came to no avail I completed a new set of works at the piano. This was released as 'Is This Love?' This featured session vocalist Becky Gaber on two tracks.
Italy, Atlantic Fusion and The Robinsons
2015 to 2017
Momentum for my own compositions and the growing presence of The nss58 Project saw much more activity and self belief in my own work. 2015 would begin with a trip to Italy to record with the amazing Giovanni Amghetti at Studio Esagono with sound engineering from Stefano Ricco and guitar session work from Daniele Zoncheddu. This was an enlightening experience and would start a friendship with Giovanni to this day. The two recordings would not be released until 2018 but the experience help to develop my confidence. Two other projects transpired from 2015. First of all the work and subsequent release of the album and EP by Phonik Records for the duo Atlantic Fusion. The aforementioned albums are all included in the discography. Also the release of 3 albums and an EP with The Robinson brothers. Again these can all be found in the discography. The images are taken from my sessions at Studio Esagono.
MPhil / PhD SoundScapes 2018 - 2020
2018 - Genesis Piano Project and ARU
The start of this year saw the release of my next solo adventure 'Neon' and the two EPs including 'Nocturna' from the Esangono recordings and a collaboration with some more great musicians from Italy and France namely Pier Bernardi, Marco Vincini and a guitarists who's name completely escapes me. This EP was called 'Guards Of Magog.'
Since late 2017 I had been in contact with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Dr Sean Albiez putting together a proposal for a PhD in Music Technology and Composition. I had continued my composition studies since my MA which led to this point. My crazy journey and the following releases are all mapped out in my book available on Amazon. (Click on the picture).
1. Winter Clouds (2018).
2. NOiRa (2019).
3. PROSAiC (2019).
4. Motorbreath (2019).
5. Dead Planets (2020).
6. Dark Wood Forests (2019 released 2024).
7. The Wolf Returns. (2019 released 2024).
Four other releases were put out in 2020 which were some further collaborations and remix albums that I had been doing. One of the highlights of the PhD journey was performing live at Birmingham City University. The program notes and videos are shown here.
The artist name I was using for these performances was 'Black September Falls.' On reflection I would say that the transition from my sound being centred round the drum set to keyboard and music tech soundscapes developed leading into the sound art of the next decade of releases.
2020 - 2023 COVID to The Dark Moon
As documented in my book the world changed in 2020 with COVID. I had withdrawn from my Academic journey for the forseeable future and was going it alone, although I had a brief spell on drums for the band Derade. This would end with my own experience of COVID, Long COVID and the journey into the dark wilderness of another meltdown. The effect on my sonic landscape was profound and I would continue to create soundscapes that moved between dark melancholic works to meditational ambient mindfulness and spirituality.
2022 to 2023 saw the rise and fall of the neo classical dark ambient duo 'The Dark Moon Ensemble' with clarinetist and piano performer Emma Francis. Our journey almost got onto some really good music outcomes. We ended up in deep A&R with James Sanger in France at Vibey Studios. Although the duo ended at the end of this amazing experience a friendship with James would develop and continue until to this day. Performance highlights would include The Ahyme Festival at the Milano Arena Italy and the Chelmsford Cathedral lunchtime concerts to a packed audience.
2024 Nigel's Space Voyage & Hydrus Live
Having accepted the demise of The Dark Moon I decided to work on my own material in a live context. This led to a last minute performance at Chelmsford Theatre's Lunchtime Concerts (Nov 2023) in which I played an hour of my own material improvised in the moment. The new year started with some live streams on Youtube and a one of performance for Hydrus Live. This would seal a contract that saw me perform 8 more concerts leading into Jan 2025 and the release of 5 albums through the Hydrus Label. These are all still available to watch on Hydrus Live and through most digital stores. Click on the pic to the right to see the streaming events. I also played a solo concert at Stroud Park which went well too.
2025 Onwards - 6 Album Marathon
With my final Hydrus Live event on 10th Jan 2025 I took a little time out. I then resumed with endeavour releasing past recordings and a wealth of new material. The albums were:
1. 'Nebula' taken from the 2023 Vibey sessions when I was left on my own with a Behringer 2600 clone.
2. 'Dark Space', the final Hydrus album.
3. 'Deserts 'EP a sound art works for the Aural Films label call out.
4. 'Midnight Shades of Black' an album of doom and dark noir jazz.
5. Reverie in conjunction with James Sanger featuring Megan Rawlinson and Emma Francis from the Vibey Sessions.
6. 'Inside The Rain' a journey into exploring new soundscapes and sound art.
7. 'The Universal Mind' a journey into the inner and outer universe. As it stands my final solo works.
Having released the last album on 6th January 2026 I had reached my limit on output and was thoroughly burnt out. I could no longer do anymore for the foreseeable future. Having also tried to put several line ups together to perform my music all of which came to no avail I decided that that was it for now. This has as of April 2026 meant that I am forming a new band with a more electronic industrial rock feel with guitarist Dave Ainsworth. The bands name is 'Disciples of Chaos.'
Watch out for the sound coming your way soon.....