On Monday 26th January, somewhat of a dreary night, I made my way to East London’s Shacklewell Arms for a ‘Friend Crush’ event programmed by Lauren Auder. An eclectic lineup featuring performances by Wounder, Jennifer Walton and Lauren Auder herself, who played new material that was due to be released on that Friday [praxis out now].
‘Wounder’ is the alias of Sonny Holland, London based artist and producer, and purveyor of heavy music who has cemented himself in the broad underground scene over the last few years by playing at a number of event series for those in the know (BalaX, Borough, Genesys and Trauma Unit), recording and playing his own music as well as producing for others. He has previously released music under ‘crimson//chaos’ (RIP).
With Wounder, Sonny sits comfortably in both the electronic and metal worlds, fusing heavy basslines, detailed sound design and walls of distorted guitars with fry scream vocals, and choppy vocal processing. Working adjacent to ‘post-club’ while channeling a distinctly post-genre sensibility, he plays with established conventions while reshaping them into something distinctly his own. Through both our conversation and his output you can tell he has eclectic taste, something that’s also evident in his collaborations.
His latest album, ‘Builder’, released through Final Hot Desert in August 2025, features notable collaborations with Australian producer Sus1er, a figure known for his work across rap and dance styles, and London based underground veteran Felix Lee, both known for their genre-bending approaches. He plays in the latter’s live band contributing live electronics. Great performance clips found [HERE]. Audio of which is found [HERE].
At Friend Crush, he performed a stripped back thirty-minute set. His equipment, an assortment of devices – a sampler, pedals, MIDI keyboard and laptop organised on a table to the left of the stage which was also used to lean against in moments of respite. He seemed as comfortable with this setup as he is with a live band.
He navigated the set’s dense material with ease, the highlights being ‘I Never Said That I Didn’t Mean It’ and ‘Tell Him I Too Have Known’. Abrasive, tremolo-picked guitar tones punctuated the set, interspersed with texturally juxtaposed synths and pads that were more prominent in the live mix, than on the released material. The bass cut through and remained as a constant yet welcome onslaught – my only gripe was not experiencing it on a larger sound system. The tracklist tastefully alternated between blast beats and electronic drums. An ebb and flow from the more frantic to morose cuts. The audience’s response reflected this mix of styles: both head-banging and bobbing, moves associated with the two genres.
The black metal influence and stylisation on his work is undeniable – throughout his instagram feed and previous shows he’s seen sporting corpse paint and using the titular vocal fry common to the genre, but what I found with this live show was a performance style more confrontational and synonymous with noise artists. As reference, this Prurient performance comes to mind.
It was an incredibly animated performance, an embodied practice that included him collapsing on the ground, beating his chest, leaping off the stage and contorting his frame. He acted as a vessel for the music, with the same cathartic release as a noise performance but with more grace and less violent movement. It allowed the audience to feel comfortable enough to draw close and enclose him in a circle.
As the show concluded parts of the mic stand lay scattered across the floor. No mic stand is safe – he corroborated that is a common occurrence at his shows. He quietly and calmly packed up his equipment, pedals, and power supply in a black duffel rucksack and adjourned for a quiet cigarette outside of the venue.
