Draft:Sparky Deathcap


Sparky Deathcap
Sparky Deathcap performing Misty and Candarel in August 2009.
Sparky Deathcap performing Misty and Candarel in August 2009.
Background information
Born (1984-02-15) February 15, 1984 (age 42)[1]
OriginCheshire, England
GenresAlt folk
Years activeEarly 2000s–2013, 2023–present
Labels
Websitewww.sparkydeathcap.com

Rob Taylor (known as Sparky Deathcap) is an English multi-instrumentalist and singer. Since 2010, he has been a member of Welsh indie rock band Los Campesinos!. He is most known for his 2009 song September, which went viral in late 2022.[2]

History

Early 2000s–2007: Myspace era, Nosebleed On The 99 and Let's Build a Fire

Taylor founded the Sparky Deathcap name in the early 00s, and posted many songs onto his Myspace profile. Few of these songs still exist, notably including cosmic love infection, which has been archived across the internet. He independently released his debut EP Nosebleed On The 99 in 2005, however only three of the songs are still publicly available.

In 2006, Taylor was approached by Geoff Mendelson with an invitation to join the latter's record label 'Pulsar Music'. Taylor would proceed to send Mendelson a total of 23 songs (some of which appeared on his earlier EP) as well as a sketch for an album cover. This would become Let's Build a Fire, which released in early 2007. Only 101 CDs of this album were ever made.[3].

2007–2013: Tear Jerky, Los Campesinos! and Haitus

After the release of his album, Taylor continued making music and touring with artists such as Jason Molina, Los Campesinos!, and Daniel Johnston, the latter of which inspired Taylor to incorporate physical art into his live shows. A show he performed with Daniel Johnston later became the 2008 film The Angel and Daniel Johnston: Live at the Union Chapel. Around this time, he started writing the Tear Jerky EP.

Taylor started writing Tear Jerky in 2008, while working at a bookstore in Central London and living in Waterloo. His website claims he wrote lyrics for the EP on customer order slips, and would sneak demo versions of the EP onto the shop's stereo system. He self-released the EP in 2009 on his own 'Nettlejam' label, later that year preforming a ukulele comedy opera known as Misty and Candarel

He joined Cardiff-based indie band Los Campesinos! in 2010, just as the band was releasing their third album Romance Is Boring, with his first credit as a member of the band on the Romance Is Boring companion EP All's Well That Ends. Over the next few years, he would record and perform with Los Campesinos! while also recording music under the Sparky Deathcap name, which he officially retired in 2013.

2013–2022: Continued work with Los Campesinos!

Taylor would continue to perform as a member of Los Campesinos!, providing instrumentation on songs (as well as vocals on a few tracks), as well as designing artwork for the band's music and merchandise. Notably, Taylor was the artist behind the 2015 'Never Kiss A Tory' t-shirts based off 2009 song The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future, which were re-released in September of 2015 after news that then-Prime Minister David Cameron had reportedly put his "private parts" in a deceased pig during an Oxford society initiation.[4]

The tees raised over £10,000 for charity, distributed between CPAG, Refugee Council and The Trussell Trust, which built upon a prior £6,000 raised from the original run released during the build-up to the 2015 general election.[5]

2022–Present: Virality and Tear Jerky

During the early 2020s, a song called September, taken from the Tear Jerky EP, became popular online, with the introduction to the song used in the background of many TikTok videos. As of May 2026, the official instrumental has been used in nearly 200,000 videos[6] and - according to a late 2023 interview with The Line of Best Fit - has amassed over eight billion views on TikTok.[7]. Taylor himself has stated in interviews that he noticed the virality on Christmas Eve, 2022, while scrolling a Reddit thread.[8] Taylor theorised it was popularised by musician and Twitch streamer Wilbur Soot, who used the song as his intro music while streaming. After discovering the virality, Taylor signed to Sony Music Entertainment and by the end of January he had remastered and officially released September on streaming services. By March, he had remastered the rest of the Tear Jerky EP.[9]

In October, Taylor released a single for Winter City Ghosts, another song from the Tear Jerky EP, and throughout 2023 he was interviewed by magazines and news outlets such as Clash, M Magazine, The Line of Best Fit and The Big Issue. In interviews preceding the release of Winter City Ghosts and the Tear Jerky EP, Taylor claimed that an album originally going to be released under his own name was in the works.[9] The EP was released on the first of December 2023 on Los Campesinos!'s own Heart Swells record label.

Discography

Albums

  • Let's Build a Fire (2007)

EPs

  • Nosebleed On The 99 (2005)
  • Tear Jerky (2009)
  • Tear Jerky (2023)

Singles

  • September (2023)
  • Winter City Ghosts (2023)

with Los Campesinos!

Main article: Los Campesinos! discography

Albums

Live Albums

  • A Good Night for a Fistfight (2013)
  • So Close to Heaven (Live at Troxy) (2025)

EPs

Singles

  • Tiptoe Through the True Bits (2012)
  • Little Mouth (2014)
  • I Love You (But You're Boring) (2023)

Heat Rash Singles

Main article: Los Campesinos! discography § Heat Rash singles
  • Heat Rash #1 (2011)
  • Heat Rash #2 (2011)
  • Heat Rash #3 (2012)
  • Heat Rash #4 (2012)

References

  1. ^ "Sparky Deathcap on Apple Music".
  2. ^ Philpot, Eleanor (1 November 2023). "I Wrote That: Sparky Deathcap on his TikTok sleeper hit September". M Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  3. ^ "Let's Build a Fire by Sparky Deathcap".
  4. ^ "Los Campesinos! raise over £10,000 in charity donations for 'Never Kiss A Tory' tees". DIY. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  5. ^ Britton, Luke Morgan (23 September 2015). "Los Campesinos! re-release 'Never Kiss A Tory' T-Shirt following David Cameron dead pig claims". NME. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  6. ^ "TikTok - Make Your Day".
  7. ^ Smith, Maddy (19 December 2023). "Sparky Deathcap and the charm of nostalgic imperfection". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  8. ^ Levine, Nick (2 December 2023). "Sparky Deathcap on September, Los Campesinos! and becoming an overnight TikTok phenomenon". Big Issue. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  9. ^ a b "Sparky Deathcap's 'September' Took The Long Route To Viral Stardom". Clash. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2026.

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