Dylan Wilson - Calculated

Biography

It all started when David Bowie died.

I was a history student living in the middle of nowhere. I had no job, no friends, and no real personality. I rediscovered my childhood love for Bowie when his music was featured in Metal Gear Solid. When the Starman died, I felt a heavy duty to start following my dreams.

Just over two years later, I released my first album. I moved to Edinburgh and started again. New experiences like drug abuse, punk rock, student halls, and bedroom pop all influenced my following singles, and my second album. This was also when I invented ‘Bedroom Rock’.

I’m not a fan of the music industry. Gatekeeping conformists have wrestled it away from real people and real artists; and replaced it with a rule book parody that we’re all supposed to conform to. Someone needs to take a stand, and I’m always happy to start a fight. Music is a primal thing. An ancient thing. It comes out of you like trees growing from the ground. Its power isn’t something that belongs to streaming sites or billionaire record labels. Music is free and it belongs to all of us.

My songs have been played by the likes of Amazing Radio, Good Soup Radio, and Radio Saltire. I was the first artist to ever play The Jazz Bar’s Groove Thursday jam night, and probably the only person who ever played punk rock there.

My latest single ‘Calculated’ was played by Jim Gellatly’s radio show and promoted by headline sets across Edinburgh. These included stints at The Banshee Labyrinth and Sneaky Pete’s. Sadly, I was kicked off the bill for an LGBTQ live event in Moray, who described ‘Calculated’ as “too Velvet Underground” for their show. Still sounds like a win to me.

I’m a Scorpio. As well as Bowie and The Velvet Underground I love Neil Young, Iggy Pop, and The Cure. My music walks the line between snappy punk rock to monolithic jams of psychedelic eternity. I came out as bisexual in 2017 and was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021. My main influences are other groups across the Scottish scene including Lucia and The Best Boys, Spyres, Goth GF, and (my favourite) The Stoned Immaculate.