Richard Youngs is a UK experimental musician from England, born in 1966, who is based in Glasgow from the early 1990s. He begins releasing and performing music in the early 1980s, working both solo and with collaborators across folk, experimental, psychedelic, lo-fi and avant-garde music.

Career and approach

Youngs builds a large and varied catalogue, with his formal solo and collaborative discography beginning with Advent, first issued in 1990. He is a multi-instrumentalist whose most common instrument is guitar, but he also uses shakuhachi, accordion, theremin, dulcimer and a home-made synthesizer that appears often on his early recordings. He also releases an album performed entirely a cappella, and one of his better-known pieces, Sapphie, is a lament for his dog. Another recording, Lake, is made over three days in 1990 with Simon Wickham-Smith and is noted for its unusual humour.

Collaborations and groups

Collaboration is a central part of Youngs’ work. He releases albums with Matthew Bower, Brian Lavelle, Neil Campbell, Stephen Todd, Makoto Kawabata, Alex Neilson, Andrew Paine, Telstar Ponies and Simon Wickham-Smith, who is his longest-standing partner. He records under several duo names, including Brian Lavelle & Richard Youngs, Neil Campbell & Richard Youngs, Makoto Kawabata & Richard Youngs, Richard Youngs & Alexander Neilson, Alex Neilson & Richard Youngs, and Simon Wickham-Smith & Richard Youngs. With Andrew Paine he also works under the names ILK and Urban Parable. He is a member of the collective A Band, and he appears more recently as part of the prog-revival group ILK.

Live work and related recordings

Youngs also performs live with Heather Leigh Murray and with Vibracathedral Orchestra. He works with Matthew Bower’s projects Sunroof! and Skullflower. He gains attention for performances with the reclusive American avant-folk and blues singer-songwriter Jandek, and he appears on the Glasgow Sunday, Newcastle Sunday and Glasgow Monday albums, which are recorded at Jandek’s first three known live performances.

Style and range

His output is described by its range and experimental approach, spanning solo work, collaborations and performances using both conventional and unconventional instruments. The breadth of his recordings and partnerships places him among the more prolific figures in UK experimental music.