Matthew Ashcroft
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syndication.bsky.social
Matthew Ashcroft
@syndication.bsky.social
77 followers 89 following 410 posts
Made music. Builds #gunpla. Increasingly morphing into a Luddite.

syndication.bandcamp.com
https://youtube.com/@syndicationbuilds?feature=shared
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syndication.bsky.social
PSA for people getting Studio Series 86 Soundwave, but aren't keen on the new cassettes - the jetpacks on Buzzsaw and Laserbeak are compatible with the Siege molds, which I'm utterly delighted about
#transformers
The Transformers Legacy versions of Laserbeak and Buzzsaw, two identical robotic birds (Laserbeak is mainly red, Buzzsaw is mainly yellow) in this photo, they're using the jetpacks from the newer toys of the pair, as it turns out they clip in with no trouble. The jetpacks add some nice vents and missiles to the siege/legacy molds.
February 12, 2026 at 2:09 PM
syndication.bsky.social
I just wrote a rather big and rambling review of Second Nature by Ultra-Red on discogs, only to learn that Dont Rhine revisited the album back in December - maybe I should've read that first!

radioultrared.substack.com/p/inappropri...
INAPPROPRIATE USES OF THE CITY
An interview
radioultrared.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 10:35 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Had some post.
A leaflet for Reform UK, torn into tiny tiny pieces because I'm not a big fan
February 7, 2026 at 10:50 AM
syndication.bsky.social
The most important job to do with my new phone (slapping all my Autechre and Talking Heads on it) is complete
February 6, 2026 at 9:25 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Today's musical acquisition was Second Nature by Ultra-Red. I think this may be an unplayed copy, which is a bit terrifying for a CD from 1999.
The CD sleeve for 'Second Nature: An Electroacoustic Pastoral' by Ultra-Red. The main image is a digitally edited photo of woodland with a boombox in the bottom right. The album name is in a white bar underneath.
February 6, 2026 at 5:55 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Fairly happy with my Android experience thus far, helped by the fact that the OnePlus is a *very* zippy phone. Not fun logging back into everything though!
February 5, 2026 at 12:38 AM
syndication.bsky.social
According to Google's ad settings, they think I'm a homeowner in a relationship. At least(?) they got my age right
February 4, 2026 at 8:52 PM
syndication.bsky.social
I picked up Delphic’s mighty Acolyte on CD in Liverpool the other day, and in a frighteningly amazing coincidence, they’re flipping reuniting!

www.instagram.com/reel/DUQLjOO...
delphicmusic on Instagram: "moving synths? lemon squeezyView all 12 comments"
moving synths? lemon squeezy
www.instagram.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:21 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Had to be slightly more adult for a change and cancelled my MPG Optimus Prime in favour of the aformentioned Android. With any luck he’ll be in supply at TFN in March
February 2, 2026 at 7:55 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Picked this up on Saturday.
The vinyl sleeve for Sly and Robbie’s ‘The Sting’ from 1986. A photo of two men, one with a pair of drumsticks in his hand facing to the side, and the other with a bass guitar in his hand facing outwards. The name of the band and album are in a yellow box at the top, and there’s a Tower Records sale sticker for $8.99 at the top.
February 2, 2026 at 6:25 PM
syndication.bsky.social
In a terrifying turn of events, I’m moving to an Android phone. I’ve already found a pair of apps that compiles loads of Quake and Doom source ports, so I expect all to go well
February 2, 2026 at 1:20 AM
syndication.bsky.social
Very happy Tyla won a Grammy for Push 2 Start. I hear that song most days in work and it never gets old.
February 1, 2026 at 11:33 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Finally saw sense and sorted out MusicBee on my PC. I am now obsessed with how customisable it is.
January 29, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Matthew Ashcroft
seamas.bsky.social
Calling transphobia a 'gateway drug' to the far right undersells it. It's pure accelerant. Grimly fascinating to guess what crankery becomes any famous transphobe's secondary obsession, cos they all have one: 15 minute cities are fascism! Grok noncing is cool! ICE are good! We should kill all dogs!
Sharron Davies ranting against 15 minute cities, because of course she is. Suzanne Moore in the Telegraph saying she wants to... kill all dogs?? Julie Burchill asking "does it matter if Grok undresses us all?" in The Spectator Graham Linehan in the midst of his now four-day-long double down on Alex Pretti's murder being justified and fine.
January 27, 2026 at 1:59 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Good grief. I use Ozone for my mastering, and beyond that Native’s influence on digital music making can’t be overstated
January 27, 2026 at 5:20 PM
syndication.bsky.social
At the dentist. Domino Dancing is on the radio so hopefully that’s a good omen
January 27, 2026 at 4:32 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Bought myself a new keyboard, my first mechanical one. Certainly takes some getting used to, especially since this one omits the numpad (I never used it, so I was cool with that) but it certainly feels and sounds much nicer than the (admittedly fairly reliable) Logitech I was using.
January 27, 2026 at 3:44 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Dang, RIP Sly Dunbar. What a cracking career.
youtu.be/5CwHsEF2Tuc?...
Black Uhuru - General Penitentiary and Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
YouTube video by Palestina Livre
youtu.be
January 26, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Matthew Ashcroft
jeffrueter.bsky.social
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.

"Please get the truth out about our son."
Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti Parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti “We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the ‘hero’ term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.
January 25, 2026 at 12:43 AM
syndication.bsky.social
youtu.be/cX8szNPgrEs?...
Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next (Official Video)
YouTube video by ManicStPreachersVEVO
youtu.be
January 24, 2026 at 7:28 PM
syndication.bsky.social
With this morning’s hideous comments about uk troops, I’m starting to wonder whether the Trump connection might start to wear on Reform’s poll leads à la what happened to the Canadian Conservatives. Doesn’t help them that Badenoch is (very slightly) starting to look a bit tougher post-Jenrick
January 23, 2026 at 11:47 AM
syndication.bsky.social
I can’t even remotely justify spending £1k on this thing but good lord do I love the sounds it makes
jjbbllkk.bsky.social fox noises @jjbbllkk.bsky.social · 23d
After years and years the Korg Phase8 is finally out. I did a video on it where I treated it *respectfully* but it turns out it likes to be treated *weird*.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpMx...
January 22, 2026 at 7:38 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Another day, another version of Quake ticked off. This time it’s the Nintendo 64 version, recreated for the remaster and brought into CRT filtered, 30 fps majesty by me tinkering with the settings. It’s a good version of the game, and now I can say I beat The Pain Maze in one go, which was rough.
A screenshot of the end screen of Quake 64, with the player character standing in the middle of a dark cavern, with red lighting on the walls. The text reads: “Congratulations and well done! You have beaten the hideous Shub-Niggurath, and her hundreds of ugly changelings and monsters. You have proven that your skill and your cunning are greater than all the powers of Quake. You are the master now. Id Software salutes you.” For maximum accuracy, a CRT filter is on, as are the OG texture filters and no antialiasing. To put it bluntly, it’s not the prettiest looking thing.
January 22, 2026 at 4:11 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Beat Quake II: The Reckoning - was much better than I expected, although it definitely loses steam at the end, in both level design and enemy diversity. Off to play the PSX version of the OG next!
A screenshot of the video game Quake II: The Reckoning, showing a 90s 3D video game. The enviroment is a brown brutalist building, with pipes emerging from a cylindrical structure in the centre, and two walkways either side flank a body of green water. The sky is cloudy and firey orange.
January 19, 2026 at 10:28 PM
syndication.bsky.social
Peace through tyranny
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 27d
Bessent on Greenland: "Peace through strength. Make it part of the US and there will not be a conflict because the US right now, we're the hottest country in the world, we're the strongest country in the world. Europeans project weakness. The US projects strength."
January 18, 2026 at 2:32 PM