Richard Skelton (aka A Broken Consort) is a musician based in Lancashire in the UK. He started his Sustain-Release private press label in 2005 as a commemorative tribute to his late wife Louise, with the intention of publishing her artwork alongside his own music. Since its inception he has released a slew of recordings presented in lovingly-assembled, limited art editions.

Operating under a variety of guises, including Carousell, Harlassen and Clouwbeck as well as A Broken Consort, Skelton creates powerful instrumental music out of densely-layered acoustic guitar, bowed strings, piano, mandolin and accordion, often laced with delicate, shimmering percussion. The result is something unique - a music that is both life-affirming and yet etched with memory and loss, evoking equal parts Arvo Pärt and Ry Cooder, Nick Drake and Henryk Górecki.

Sustain-Release