Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan

Gordon Chapman-Fox’s Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan project sees a visual aesthetic and retro-futuristic audio identity melded together into one evocative musical package. Over six albums and three EPs, Chapman-Fox soundtracks the construction and growth of a northern English community from the mid 1970s to early 1980s, rendered in shimmering arpeggios and euphoric leads.

Having been embraced by both the mainstream media (BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6, RTE) and niche publications alike, as well as hitting both the UK album charts and multiple end of year lists (Piccadilly Records, Bleep, Electronic Sound), there is appreciation for the immersive drift of Warrington-Runcorn’s sound.

While all of the entries in his canon have garnered praise, it was 2023’s The Nation’s Most Central Location that put Warrington-Runcorn on the map, with Electronic Sound naming it album of the year and Rough Trade placing it at no. 13 in their list, as well as netting Chapman-Fox a repeat appearance at End Of The Road Festival in both 2022 and 2024.

Though the visual aesthetic and world building is a strong part of Warrington-Runcorn’s presentation, it would be nothing without the evocative music that lies at the core of his essence. Bristling synth lines puncture the air, with rumbling basses and chord swells that you feel right to the spine, with rhythmic arps and snapping delays taking the role of most of the traditional percussive elements.

With WRNTDP’s sound making stretches outwards into folky minimalism, shimmering IDM and languid ambient there is no way to tell for sure where it will go, but Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan’s music is presented as a soundtrack for the building of a new world, or the ending of an old one.