{{BLP primary sources|date=January 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}} {{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Cask J. Thomson | image = | caption = | image_size = 200 | birth_date = | death_date = | origin = Falkirk, Scotland | instrument = Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers | genre = {{Unbulleted list|Progressive rock|Grunge|Progressive metal}} | occupation = Musician <br /> songwriter<br /> producer <br /> author | years_active = 2005–present | label = | website = {{URL|https://www.cask.zone}} | current_members = | past_members = }}
Cask J. Thomson is a Scottish-born, Australian-based musician, producer, and designer known for his work in progressive rock and synth-pop. His notable projects include ''CASK'', ''HELIXIRx'', and ''Empty Triangles''. He heads the independent label AudioDefine Records and its sublabel Same Great Sound, which focuses on pop and electronic music. He also runs CASKaudio, providing a range of sample packs, impulse responses, and sound design tools for musicians and producers.
==Biography== Born in Falkirk, Scotland, and based in Queensland, Australia, Cask J. Thomson started performing as a teenager and taught himself guitar, keyboards, drums and how to produce music. Initially focusing on analog recording, Thomson wrote and recorded his debut as Cursed Legacy. The album was recorded live to 7" tape with overdubs and tape loops to simulate a multitrack recording.<ref>Cursed Legacy liner notes.</ref> As a result, the album features hiss and audible tape glitches that were left in during mastering by Jeff Cripps in Sydney. The album was distributed in Australia by Festival Mushroom Records and released independently.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QK3JCQAAQBAJ&q=Cursed+Legacy+band&pg=PA2061|title=Encyclopaedia of Australian Heavy Metal|first=Brian|last=Giffin|date=4 May 2015|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=9780994320612|accessdate=11 September 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref>
'''Cask J. Thomson''' is a Scottish-born Australian producer, composer, musician, graphic designer and author<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Books-Cask-J-Thomson/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n:283155,p_27:Cask+J.+Thomson|title=Amazon.com: Cask J. Thomson: Books|website=Amazon|access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref>
He has released 3 albums as '''''Cask'''''. His latest album "Surviving on Borrowed Time" was released exclusively as Direct Stream Digital in 2019, before releasing in other formats worldwide in December<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nativedsd.com/albums/ADCSOBT-surviving-on-borrowed-time|title = Surviving on Borrowed Time}}</ref>
In August 2020, Thomson premiered synth-pop project HELIXIRx. The first single "Gravity" features on the Spotify editorial playlist "Outrun". The single was streamed over 70,000 times during October and was featured in online coverage of the October SpaceX launch. The debut album Authenticity was released in November.
Thomson is a professional graphic designer and runs a book publishing company.<ref name="steveclayton.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.steveclayton.com/blog/a-f/cask-thomson-2/|title=Cask Thomson – Steve Clayton Official Blog|website=steveclayton.com|date=4 January 2014|access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/cask_thomson?lang=en|title=Cask J. Thomson (@Cask_Thomson)|publisher=Twitter|access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=March 2019}} His independent record label AudioDefine Records has released most of his projects as well as that of Dutch pianist Johan Versk<ref>{{Cite web|title=Choosing Favourites|url=https://www.nativedsd.com/product/adjvcf-choosing-favourites/|access-date=2021-10-27|website=NativeDSD Music|language=en}}</ref>
In 2010 Thomson performed as a session guitarist for Sydney band Operator Please and ''Australian Idol'' winner Stan Walker during his From the Inside Out promotional tour.
In 2017 he released his first solo album ''Play it Over and Start Again'' under '''Cask'''. The album features predominantly piano-driven contemporary music but does not stray from the gloomy lyrical and musical content Cursed Legacy features. The first single, "Bedridden (Move Forward)", premiered on Reverbnation where he reached 4th in the Independent Charts<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Be9EH0zhyYm/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/instacask/1710541563392108070 |archive-date=26 December 2021 |url-access=registration|title=Cask J. Thomson on Instagram: "Cask hits the indie charts in Australia"|website=Instagram|access-date=11 September 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcceY6fCwI8|title=Cask – Bedridden (Move Forward) Official Music Video|last=Cask J. Thomson|date=3 May 2018|access-date=11 September 2018|via=YouTube}}</ref> followed by a music video for "The Murder".
In July 2018, Cask released "See What Tomorrow Brings".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVyR6Gb9-Kw|title=Cask – See What Tomorrow Brings (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)|last=Cask J. Thomson|date=29 June 2018|access-date=11 September 2018|via=YouTube}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://thebandcampdiaries.com/post/175391656292/cask-see-what-tomorrow-brings-born-in-scotland|title=(Cask – See What Tomorrow Brings Born in Scotland,...)|first=Peter|last=Vidani|website=thebandcampdiaries|access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref> On 1 August 2018 he released his second album, ''Life is a Terminal Illness''. The album received critical acclaim and was released in high resolution Direct Stream Digital<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tunedloud.com/2018/12/17/cask-life-is-a-terminal-illness-totally-addictive-listening/|title=Cask: "Life is a Terminal Illness" – totally addictive listening|website=TunedLoud|access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://audiodefine.nativedsd.com/albums/ADCLIATI-life-is-a-terminal-illness|title=ADCLIATI Life Is A Terminal Illness - Albums - AudioDefine Records - NativeDSD Music|last=NativeDSD.com|website=audiodefine.nativedsd.com|access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref> Cask released the song "Waited for You" in January 2019<ref>{{cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/6rn3ym5Aspf9Y6jlgFXAgD|title=Waited for You|date=18 January 2019|publisher=|access-date=4 June 2019|via=open.spotify.com}}</ref> claiming that it was to be used for a future album but "didn't fit".
Cask posted a digital painting on his Instagram in May 2019 with the description "I have news from the conflict zone. 2019. concept album. End transmission".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17880213712362879/|title=2019 - @instacask|website=www.Instagram.com|access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref> In August, Cask announced the concept album Surviving on Borrowed Time would be released in 2020<ref>{{cite web | url-access=limited |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/1856172847932854/2310764569140344 |archive-date = 2022-04-27| url = https://www.facebook.com/CaskJThomson/photos/a.1877354642481341/2310764569140344/?type=3&theater |title = CASK on Facebook |website=Facebook}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref> The official video and single "Presentiment" premiered after the announcement<ref>{{cite web | url-access=limited |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/1856172847932854/2310668329149968 |archive-date = 2022-04-27| url = https://www.facebook.com/CaskJThomson/photos/pcb.2310676315815836/2310668329149968/?type=3&theater |title = CASK on Facebook |website=Facebook}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url-access=limited |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/1486647678315736/2268772573436572 |archive-date = 2022-04-27| url = https://www.facebook.com/IvoryStudiosMusic/photos/a.1505413636439140/2268772573436572/?type=3&theater |title = Ivory Studios Music on Facebook |website=Facebook}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref> The album was released exclusively in Direct Stream Digital format in December 2019 before being released worldwide digitally and physically January 2, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nativedsd.com/albums/ADCSOBT-surviving-on-borrowed-time|title=ADCSOBT Surviving On Borrowed Time {{!}} Albums {{!}} NativeDSD Music|last=NativeDSD.com|website=www.nativedsd.com|language=en|access-date=2020-01-09}}</ref>
To mark the five-year anniversary of the debut and bridge the gap to the new album, HELIXIRx released a reimagined version of the first record titled ''authenticity // low_fidelity'' in July 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=authenticity // low_fidelity, by HELIXIRx |url=https://helixirx.bandcamp.com/album/authenticity-low-fidelity |access-date=2026-04-08 |website=HELIXIRx |language=en}}</ref>
Outside of music, Thomson runs an independent book publishing company and operates a design and marketing firm.<ref name="steveclayton.com" /><ref name=":0" /> His UI and logo designs featured on the Linux distribution Ubuntu<ref>{{Cite web|title=LinkedIn Profile|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/linkedcask/}}</ref>
Thomson is an extraterrestrial research enthusiast who, under his publishing house, reissued ''Taken'' and ''Into the Fringe'' by Dr. Karla Turner.<ref>{{cite book|title=Taken: Inside the Alien-Human Abduction Agenda|first1=Karla |last1=Turner|collaboration=designed by Thomson, Cask J.|date=13 September 2013|edition=2nd|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|isbn=978-1-4904-5908-0}}</ref> He was announced as a speaker at the Close Encounters conferences in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.closeencountersconference.com.au/cask-j-thomson|title=closeencountersconf – Mary Shaw|website=closeencountersconf|accessdate=11 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.afterlifeexplorers.com.au/|title=afterlifeexplorers|website=afterlifeexplorers|access-date=11 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828170404/https://www.afterlifeexplorers.com.au/|archive-date=28 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Thomson's logo "hourglass" features an empty triangle atop a black triangle. The symbol has been used on all of his releases and major contributions since at least 2010. Cask described the symbol as "an important reminder to me that we are always on the clock".<ref>Drum Media Australia, 2018</ref> Outside of music, Cask has a collection of Saab cars including the "Wasaabi" that was purchased from Australian series Mighty Car Mods<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B6Vm485hUmp/ | title=Cask J. Thomson on Instagram: "It's honestly hard to fathom that it's been 3 months since my accident. Not a day goes by where I don't smile and think about how damn lucky I was. It's crazy how things work out but I wanted something entirely opposite to a clean classic as I lost what was irreplaceable to me. I'm lucky to own what is easily one of the most recognisable Saabs in Australia (For good or bad reasons is up to you) but taking delivery of the Mighty Car Mods Wasaabi is one of the funniest things I've done and it's so good to know that I'll be back doing car shows next year but this time with something aimed at an entirely different audience! @mighycarmods #wasaabi #MCM #mightycarmods" }}</ref> Cask is an outspoken privacy advocate and has written a series of articles on his website encouraging people to DeGoogle amidst privacy concerns and personal experience of automated copyright infringement notices triggering his own music accounts.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://caskthomson.com/degoogling-my-life-part-ii-exploring-the-mountains-of-extracted-data/ | title=CaskZone – Producer / Songwriter / Designer / Opportunist | date=2 April 2024 }}</ref>
==Discography==
=== CASK === * ''Play it Over and Start Again'' (2017) * ''Life is a Terminal Illness'' (2018) *''Surviving on Borrowed Time'' (2019)
=== HELIXIRx ===
* ''Authenticity'' (2021)
=== Additional Credits ===
* HELIXIRx - ''Authenticity'' (Composer, Co-Producer)<ref>{{Cite web|title=HELIXIRx|url=https://www.deezer.com/br/artist/106411642|access-date=2021-08-25|website=Deezer|language=pt-BR}}</ref> * Empty Triangles (Composer, Producer, Mixing Engineer)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Empty Triangles (Exclusive NativeDSD Edition)|url=https://www.nativedsd.com/catalogue/albums/sgsempt1-empty-triangles/|access-date=2021-08-25|website=NativeDSD Music|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cask J. Thomson Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & ... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cask-j-thomson-mn0003867349 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> ** ''1.0'' (2021) ** ''2.0'' (2021) ** ''A New Angle'' (2023) ** ''Glitch in the Geometry'' (2025) * Sunsetron - ''Into the Stratosphere'' (Performer and Producer)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-03 |title=Into The Stratosphere (Exclusive NativeDSD Edition) |url=https://www.nativedsd.com/product/sgssitsdsd-into-the-stratosphere/ |access-date=2023-08-28 |website=NativeDSD Music |language=en}}</ref> * ctrl.alt.sleep (Producer) ** ''cmd+dream'' (2026)<ref>https://www.nativedsd.com/product/cmddream/</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Cask J.}} Category:Living people Category:21st-century Australian male singers Category:British emigrants to Australia Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Australian male guitarists