Who is Mistrust?
SUMMARY
Who is Mistrust?
Mistrust is the synthpop project of Bolton artist Tim Blackburn, known for blending atmospheric electronics with melodic, emotionally charged songwriting. His recent releases — including the charity single “LIFE” — have earned praise from Bread Records, Trust the Doc, and BBC North West Tonight. With performances across the North West, including headline shows and support slots for ULTRA: Foxx and The Cathodes, Mistrust continues to build a reputation as a compelling live act with a distinctive Northern electronic sound.
Mistrust’s live performances combine his emotional, sincere vocals, catchy, sing-along hooks, with compelling video backdrops.
What They Say
“He has been making music for a good while now and has a plethora of great releases under his belt, making a name for himself as a quality producer and songwriter.” — Bread Records (2025)
“Synthpop to put a smile in your heart.” — Neil March, Trust the Doc (2024)
Recent Releases
Mistrust’s music has been described as “synth pop that will put a smile in your heart” (Neil March/Trust the Doc)
LIFE — Single (in aid of The Whitechapel Centre homeless charity)
Yellow and Grey Farewell — Single
Sunlight — Vinyl Album
New Chester Road — Single
Recent Live Performances
The Globe, Glossop — Support for The Cathodes
Zanzibar, Liverpool — Support for ULTRA: Foxx
The Old Courts, Wigan — Headline Show
Dulcimer Bar, Manchester
Press and Media
BBC North West Tonight — Television Interview
Tameside Radio — Artist of the Week
Bread Records — Review of “LIFE”
Trust the Doc — Review of “LIFE”
Sounds Like Us Podcast — Interview
Roch Valley Radio — Feature
Similar Artists:
Kraftwerk, OMD, New Order, and early Human League.
Watch the recent Interview I did with Big Condo Records where I talked to them about my music!
Recent Releases:
Yellow and Grey / Gelb und Grau (2023) / Never Let You Go (2022) – Self-released / New Age Mistrust Remix (2021) – RV Music (Australia) / Everyday, Everyday, The Mistrust Remixes (2020) – Self-Released / Pitch Black – Rude Mechanicals mistrust remix (2008) – Dubmission Records / Animat – Deep Space Lament mistrust remix (2020) – Disco Gecko Records
Interesting Fact:
Mistrust has been raising money from sales of his Yellow and
Grey EP to help preserve an historic train!
I have previously produced official remixes of songs by a number of well-known bands and artists including Tom Bailey (Thompson Twins) and Pitch Black (New Zealand). My 15 minutes of fame came a few years ago when a remix I did for Pitch Black made the top 30 indie radio airplay charts in NZ.
Airplay and coverage:
Review of Yellow and Grey by Neil March aka Trust the Doc; Review of Yellow and Grey by Rob Benny;
Yellow and Grey has been played on Artefaktor Radio, Radio Hartlepool, Trust the Doc, Revival Radio Station, Radio Wigwam, Big Satsuma Radio
Review of Everyday, Everyday Mistrust Remixes on Niceup; airplay on ALL.FM radio (UK); Video for Never Let You Go featured on Trust the Doc TV;
Quotes and reviews:
Yellow and Grey: “Effortlessly melodic with a simple but great hook. Synth Pop that will put a smile in your heart.” (Neil March / Trust the Doc)
Yellow and Grey: “impressive work by Blackburn and his project Mistrust. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re a person who enjoys catchy music with a throwback feel.” Rob Benny
Deep Space Lament Mistrust remix – “operatic fashion worthy of an upcoming cinematic adventure” (Niceup). / Rude Mechanicals Mistrust Remix – “draws the listener in before teasing, then releasing, a nostalgic beat” (Niceup)
Contact information and website/social media links:
Website: mistrustmusic.co.uk / Twitter: @mstrstmsc / Instagram: @mistrustmusic / Facebook: @mistrustmusicuk / Youtube: @mistrustmusic / News/Blog/Contact: Mistrust.Wordpress.com
Bandcamp: https://mistrust.bandcamp.com
Biography (Part 1)
I first got interested in electronic music when I heard “Son of My Father” by Chicory Tip, and “Crazy Horses” by The Osmonds, when I was a kid.
I couldn’t believe the weird noises coming out of radio. I was hooked, even at a young age.
Fast forward a few years and I was making weird noises of my own with a Bontempi fan organ that I had at home. I didn’t follow the song books and chord buttons. I just made weird sounds.
Fast forward again to the late 1970s and 1980s, and the music of Gary Numan, OMD, Ultravox and Depeche Mode, got me into buying a Jen SX1000 synth, Casio MT31 keyboard, and a KAY Memory Rhythm drum machine, and later a Yamaha VSS-30 digital sampling keyboard. I wrote and recorded five or six C90 cassettes worth of synth pop songs, pretending to be Gary Numan, and hoping to get a record deal.
Somewhere along the line, I didn’t get a record deal, probably because I didn’t send the cassettes to anyone!
Years later, I bought a Casio CZ1000 keyboard, Roland SH101 synth, and a Yamaha drum machine, bought an Amiga 1200 computer, wrote some more songs, and then sold everything. I didn’t write another song until 2002!!!
I decided I wanted to get into writing and recording music on a computer, so I bought a PC and Cubasis 2 (the original version) and wrote a song called “Hello” for my future wife. This got me into writing and recording more music, culminating into a track called “Never Alone”. This was the track that changed everything!
Part 2 coming soon!