JD Roberts
@jdroberts.bsky.social
Musican, historian and biologist. Melodic ambient soundscapes and parasitic worms. He/him
Researching hookworm, guinea worm, environmental history, parasitology, ecology, and Caribbean & Cornish history.
Researching hookworm, guinea worm, environmental history, parasitology, ecology, and Caribbean & Cornish history.
Reposted by JD Roberts
#medievalsky may esp be of interest to @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social nice meditation on the walk along Offa’s Dyke by Andy Marshall @fotofacade.bsky.social www.digest.andymarshall.co/harmonyonoff...
Finding Harmony on Offa's Dyke
Walking Offa’s Dyke, I set out to understand a landscape of division - and found something that brings us together.
www.digest.andymarshall.co
October 4, 2026 at 7:31 AM
#medievalsky may esp be of interest to @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social nice meditation on the walk along Offa’s Dyke by Andy Marshall @fotofacade.bsky.social www.digest.andymarshall.co/harmonyonoff...
It was an absolute joy to be involved in making this wonderful ambient jazz album, now out just in time for Bandcamp Friday!
unknun.bandcamp.com/album/ahap-d...
unknun.bandcamp.com/album/ahap-d...
AHAP de Aliyah, by Unstable Knowledge University
4 track album
unknun.bandcamp.com
October 2, 2026 at 6:48 PM
It was an absolute joy to be involved in making this wonderful ambient jazz album, now out just in time for Bandcamp Friday!
unknun.bandcamp.com/album/ahap-d...
unknun.bandcamp.com/album/ahap-d...
Meadow grasshoppers (Corthippus paralellus)! I've hardly seen any of these this year - I suspect the dry summer hasn't been good for them - so it was very nice to find a few at Lindow. Hoping they bounce back this month!
September 29, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Meadow grasshoppers (Corthippus paralellus)! I've hardly seen any of these this year - I suspect the dry summer hasn't been good for them - so it was very nice to find a few at Lindow. Hoping they bounce back this month!
Anthropocentrism? I 'ardly know 'em!
September 24, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Anthropocentrism? I 'ardly know 'em!
Finally had a long-awaited and much-needed day off, so of course I headed into the woods with the Monotron
September 17, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Finally had a long-awaited and much-needed day off, so of course I headed into the woods with the Monotron
I don't much worry about the risk of human extinction; I worry about the kind of misanthropy which leads people to believe human extinction would be an acceptable outcome
September 16, 2026 at 9:27 AM
I don't much worry about the risk of human extinction; I worry about the kind of misanthropy which leads people to believe human extinction would be an acceptable outcome
Me: I'm actually kinda excited to apply for this job, it seems interesting and enjoyable, and I think I'd be good at it
Employer: Great! Now fill out this 20-page form duplicating all the information which is already on your CV
Employer: Great! Now fill out this 20-page form duplicating all the information which is already on your CV
September 12, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Me: I'm actually kinda excited to apply for this job, it seems interesting and enjoyable, and I think I'd be good at it
Employer: Great! Now fill out this 20-page form duplicating all the information which is already on your CV
Employer: Great! Now fill out this 20-page form duplicating all the information which is already on your CV
Three random thoughts on AI I needed to get out of my head:
1) the immense resources which have been poured into LLMs have created a need to justify the expenditure as producing something 'superhuman'. The hype machine has backed itself into a corner where it can only justify itself by further hype
1) the immense resources which have been poured into LLMs have created a need to justify the expenditure as producing something 'superhuman'. The hype machine has backed itself into a corner where it can only justify itself by further hype
September 7, 2026 at 8:34 AM
Three random thoughts on AI I needed to get out of my head:
1) the immense resources which have been poured into LLMs have created a need to justify the expenditure as producing something 'superhuman'. The hype machine has backed itself into a corner where it can only justify itself by further hype
1) the immense resources which have been poured into LLMs have created a need to justify the expenditure as producing something 'superhuman'. The hype machine has backed itself into a corner where it can only justify itself by further hype
Mini-tour! I'm very excited to be hitting the road (or more accurately, the railway) for a lovely duo of gigs with some very lovely people in September!
7PM Thursday, 10th September - Walthamstowe Trades Hall, London
7PM Sunday, 13th September - Bishops' House, Sheffield
7PM Thursday, 10th September - Walthamstowe Trades Hall, London
7PM Sunday, 13th September - Bishops' House, Sheffield
August 30, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Mini-tour! I'm very excited to be hitting the road (or more accurately, the railway) for a lovely duo of gigs with some very lovely people in September!
7PM Thursday, 10th September - Walthamstowe Trades Hall, London
7PM Sunday, 13th September - Bishops' House, Sheffield
7PM Thursday, 10th September - Walthamstowe Trades Hall, London
7PM Sunday, 13th September - Bishops' House, Sheffield
Reposted by JD Roberts
Very happy to see another article out in the world! Part of a special issue edited by the wonderful @sabinehanke.bsky.social & Anne Sophie Overkamp, from a fantastic (and very hot) workshop we had in Tübingen back in 2024 #envhist #envhum #histsci
Available open access:
doi.org/10.1002/bewi...
Available open access:
doi.org/10.1002/bewi...
August 24, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Very happy to see another article out in the world! Part of a special issue edited by the wonderful @sabinehanke.bsky.social & Anne Sophie Overkamp, from a fantastic (and very hot) workshop we had in Tübingen back in 2024 #envhist #envhum #histsci
Available open access:
doi.org/10.1002/bewi...
Available open access:
doi.org/10.1002/bewi...
One of the things I like about using the long delay and reverse reverb is it forces you to take the music slowly, and ask yourself the only question which matters in music: which note do I play next?
August 23, 2026 at 5:00 PM
One of the things I like about using the long delay and reverse reverb is it forces you to take the music slowly, and ask yourself the only question which matters in music: which note do I play next?
A poem I wrote on a very quiet bat survey last night:
Above silver stars shine serene
Nor is aught else to be seen
Save shadowed trees and streetlamp glow
Illuminating weary ecologists below
Above silver stars shine serene
Nor is aught else to be seen
Save shadowed trees and streetlamp glow
Illuminating weary ecologists below
August 15, 2026 at 8:52 AM
A poem I wrote on a very quiet bat survey last night:
Above silver stars shine serene
Nor is aught else to be seen
Save shadowed trees and streetlamp glow
Illuminating weary ecologists below
Above silver stars shine serene
Nor is aught else to be seen
Save shadowed trees and streetlamp glow
Illuminating weary ecologists below
Maybe I'm just underslept from working nights at my non-history job, but the question of whether AI can do historical research (it can't) seems a bit secondary to me when so few trained historians are doing history because there's no jobs in it
August 13, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Maybe I'm just underslept from working nights at my non-history job, but the question of whether AI can do historical research (it can't) seems a bit secondary to me when so few trained historians are doing history because there's no jobs in it
One thing I think environmental historians need to shout about is that we see dramatic effects on the course of history arising through climatic shifts *which are tiny in comparison to those we are now beginning to experience*
August 12, 2026 at 1:10 PM
One thing I think environmental historians need to shout about is that we see dramatic effects on the course of history arising through climatic shifts *which are tiny in comparison to those we are now beginning to experience*
Some people meditate when they need to relax; I get the instruments out
August 8, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Some people meditate when they need to relax; I get the instruments out
Did I mention I had a new track out? And that it's about a dragon living in an ancient burial mound? jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-dr...
The Dragon is not a Metaphor, by JD Roberts
track by JD Roberts
jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com
August 6, 2026 at 12:17 PM
Did I mention I had a new track out? And that it's about a dragon living in an ancient burial mound? jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-dr...
New single! It’s time for some minimal fantasy ambient, blending deep, calm drones with an air of mystery. Sit back, relax, and descend into the dimly-lit barrow… jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-dr...
The Dragon is not a Metaphor, by JD Roberts
track by JD Roberts
jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com
July 30, 2026 at 11:12 AM
New single! It’s time for some minimal fantasy ambient, blending deep, calm drones with an air of mystery. Sit back, relax, and descend into the dimly-lit barrow… jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-dr...
I'm not quite sure whether ambient reflects the peace and calm of the natural world, or prefigures a calmer, more reflective human world which we're yet to build
July 25, 2026 at 7:16 PM
I'm not quite sure whether ambient reflects the peace and calm of the natural world, or prefigures a calmer, more reflective human world which we're yet to build
I still say the Greater Manchester Combined Authority was a poor choice of name: we should have called it the Mancunian Union
July 23, 2026 at 1:54 PM
I still say the Greater Manchester Combined Authority was a poor choice of name: we should have called it the Mancunian Union
Sloe bug, nestled in thistledown
July 21, 2026 at 6:22 AM
Sloe bug, nestled in thistledown
I've just updated the Ambient Leeds spotify playlist with some of the wonderful artists we've had so far this year!
At some point I need to figure out how to copy playlists over to a less evil platform, but one thing at a time
open.spotify.com/playlist/6IG...
At some point I need to figure out how to copy playlists over to a less evil platform, but one thing at a time
open.spotify.com/playlist/6IG...
Ambient Leeds
Playlist · Jon · 67 items · 5 saves
open.spotify.com
July 17, 2026 at 10:59 AM
I've just updated the Ambient Leeds spotify playlist with some of the wonderful artists we've had so far this year!
At some point I need to figure out how to copy playlists over to a less evil platform, but one thing at a time
open.spotify.com/playlist/6IG...
At some point I need to figure out how to copy playlists over to a less evil platform, but one thing at a time
open.spotify.com/playlist/6IG...
The hills are burning; my house smells of smoke. I'm trying to channel my grief for my land, its people, its animals, its plants, into my music, but I'm also grappling with a deep uncurrent of rage at the shills who turn a blind eye to their country burning to repeat their mindless talking points
July 14, 2026 at 1:12 PM
The hills are burning; my house smells of smoke. I'm trying to channel my grief for my land, its people, its animals, its plants, into my music, but I'm also grappling with a deep uncurrent of rage at the shills who turn a blind eye to their country burning to repeat their mindless talking points