Old Fire is the recording project of Abilene, TX-based composer and producer, John Mark Lapham. His second record, a largely collaborative affair, features a whole host of guests including Julia Holter, Bill Callahan, Adam Torres, and Emily Cross. The album – titled Voids – is a truly immersive listening experience, plunging you into a world where musical ideas clash and collapse, only to be built into something far grander. Unconstrained by genre or expectations Lapham is a free spirit, and Voids is all the better for it. 

Below we get a unique insight into his audio and visual influences. 

Three favourite albums:

Peter Gabriel – So

I grew up with a surface knowledge of Peter Gabriel, though his hits starting with Shock the Monkey. I became a slightly more committed fan through the 80’s and 90’s, but it really wasn’t until the last ten years that I really began to appreciate his artistry fully. So is a classic album through and through. I had the single of Don’t Give Up back in the day and would play it on repeat (just to add to the drama of my adolescence…) I never really appreciated Sledgehammer, all its influences and songwriting craft until quite recently! He is definitely living on his own planet.

Stars ot the Lid – and Their Refinement of The Decline

I discovered Stars of the Lid relatively late, only first hearing them around 2007 when I bought their album Avec Laudenum. They went from strength to strength with their subsequent releases, The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid and finally and Their Refinement of The Decline. I’ve been buying ambient music since the mid 80’s and haven’t found many better examples of what I love about the genre than these recordings. They weren’t content to hit a chord and throw on some reverb, these are classically arranged and beautifully produced compositions that without a doubt had a profound impact on me.

Brian Eno – Music For Airports

This is the album that really ignited my love for ambient music. When I first heard it, it was completely alien to my ears. It wasn’t something necessarily to engage with, but to let wash over you. Brian Eno proudly made “background music” and that was a positive! His ear for textures and production methods have always been influential to me, and I’ve carried that influence around since I started producing music in the 90’s.

Favourite film:

Blood Simple – Joel and Ethan Coen

I remember my sister telling me when I was a little kid that someone was shooting a film in Austin, TX… something ‘dark.’ I think she had seen a production crew downtown on sixth street and heard rumblings about it. It wasn’t until many years later that I found out that film was Blood Simple. There are so many things I love about this film. The acting is top notch, the story is bleak, the production is creative and there are so many narrative twists and turns. It’s such a strong debut film. I’ve always loved the Coen’s darker work most, and this one easily tops the list. Their way of creating Texas Noir has been a strong influence on the stories I’ve wanted to tell through Old Fire, and this album, Voids, specifically. I found Bill Callahan was the right voice to tell those stories.

Favourite book:

Beneath The Underdog – Charles Mingus

A good friend of mine lent me this book some 18 years ago and told me that it would blow my mind. He wasn’t wrong! I had never (and still haven’t) read anything else quite like it. It’s dark, bleak, messy, poetic and beautiful. Mingus tells his story in his own voice and through his own fractured mind. I read it obsessively when I was out on tour in the UK with my band The Earlies around 2005.

A song that means a lot to you

Glen Campbell – Wichita Lineman

One of my earliest musical memories is hearing Glen Campbell around the house. I can specifically remember hearing Rhinestone Cowboy a lot after my brother got the 45 for his birthday. It wasn’t until decades later when I heard Wichita Lineman on the radio that something got triggered, a memory like a faded dream started bubbling up. I didn’t remember a specific moment that I’d heard this song as a kid, but I could feel it in my bones and knew that I’d heard it a lot when I was very young. This song was the sound of childhood. Listening to it now I can hear it differently and appreciate the production and how beautifully arranged it is. It will always be among my favorite songs.

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