Ronsack by Swansither

Ronsack is an ancient and remarkable oak tree, that stands on a high ridge above Tom "Swansither" Kennedy's farm.

With immense views in all directions over the Shropshire countryside. The tree is remarkable not only for its size and shape, but it was also recorded in the Domesday Book.

Tom says of the tree: "it is at least one thousand years old and so the oldest living thing I am ever likely to encounter. I visit the tree often, and imagine it as a silent witness to some 40 generations of humanity, the changing landscape, Civil war and, most importantly, the Industrial Revolution that began in Coalbrookdale, barely a stone's throw away, and changed the world forever."

During this time, Shropshire has changed from a deeply forested area rich in folklore, magic and giants, to a county which has seen huge changes through urbanisation and industrialisation.

Tom muses: "This process began at about the time the tree was an acorn. The creation of the Domesday Book was the first time that everything in this country was quantified. With that measure came control and the gradual erosion of our culture and folklore. Later, the Industrial Revolution, which began right here, was a tidal wave which has now passed on to China and other parts of the world. The once hellish furnaces around Ironbridge are now grown over with brambles and the area now bustles with tourists and gift shops selling goods made in China.

Meanwhile, Ronsack remains unmoved, at the edge of the field, and for now it is my responsibility to ensure the tree survives through my lifetime and beyond. So in this album I want to use the entity that is Ronsack to explore the passing of deep time, changing of society, loss of innocence, industrialisation, and the future of the planet."

Tom also worked with visual artist Mick “Conflux” Coldwell. On talking to Tom about the historical significance of Ronsack, Mick felt inspired to produce a series of manipulated photographic images of the site, including a film which was later shown at the Belgrade film festival in 2024.

Coldwell conducts research into time, hauntology and AI. In this new kind of image generation, ghosts are summoned by artificial intelligence from countless photographic fragments, into a kind of spectral goo that Coldwell has recently dubbed “Vectoplasm” - a reference to Roland Barthes’ writing on the spectrality of the photograph.

This new ghostly digital “substance” is comprised of many traces of a real past mixed together, but unlike traditional photography, completely reconfigures them into bizarre new forms. While these traces can no longer be used as historical evidence in this formation, their digital deconstruction and reconstruction does allow us to visualise impossible perspectives on time and find haunting patterns in the data. Ronsack is the best current visual representation of this new concept.

Ronsack saw the very beginning of the industrial revolution – a 300 year process that would finally lead to artificial intelligence - in some senses a mirage of its memories.

Track notes:

Ronsack - The tree itself, growing through the ages, the sky zooming past endlessly through night and day, year by year. Leaves shivering.

Glattering Gat - A place on the Wenlock Edge which was believed to be a portal to the Faery Kingdom.

Sunken Village - In another field on the farm, there is a sunken village, abandoned long ago and now covered over with pasture. There are still humps in the land, shapes left by human habitation.

Monastic Remains - Very close by are the ruins of two monasteries, Buildwas Abbey, and Wenlock Priory. Both were great centres of learning, and communities sprang up around them. Henry VIII destroyed them as part of his “dissolution,” in reality the greatest land grab and centralisation of power since Domesday. The remains of these wonderful buildings still possess incredible power, especially when seen through the morning mist.

The Battle of Bridgnorth - One of the longest sieges of the Civil War, in which much of Bridgnorth was destroyed and many lives ruined. Some of the castle still stands, leaning at a perilous angle. Musket balls can still be found in the fields here.

The Coal Brook - A sleepy body of water which started the Industrial Revolution when Abraham Darby discovered large quantities of coke exposed on its banks, which enabled a superior smelting of iron.

Last Giant - Within view of the oak stands the Wrekin, which in reality is a very dead volcano, but in folklore was created by a giant.

Bedlam Furnace - One of the very first blast furnaces devised and owned by Abraham Darby. People would come to Coalbrookdale to marvel at the terrifying inferno burning day and night.

Light Harvest - Ronsack looks over at a large south-facing valley. Currently there is a planning application to cover this valley with a 500ac solar farm. There was a coal fired power plant at Ironbridge, and that has recently been destroyed, leaving grid capacity for the solar project. Ronsack has seen the beginning and end of the coal age, and next will see the start of the solar age.

Electronic composer / producer based in Shropshire, U.K.

Modular Synth music with releases on Castles in Space, Subexotic, Werra Foxma. Also compilatons on DiN, Dustopian Frequencies, and MEANS.

Occasional live performances.

Former member of The Collectors, we released..
"Galapagos" Album by The Collectors ( on Mantis )
"Midnight Bulbs" E.P by The Collectors.

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