THE PORTCULLIS draws on dungeon-synth textures, medieval ambience, and the imaginative pull of folklore. Rather than recreating the past, it opens a threshold into a world slightly outside time. At its centre is a simple question – what lies behind the portcullis? – taking the listener on a focused journey through shifting eras, symbols, and atmospheres. It plays like a lost fantasy soundtrack, inviting the listener into an adventure that feels both ancient and newly invented.
Released on Fire Records and available as part of the Weird Walk Record Cult series, ‘The Portcullis’ (out 15th May) sees composer Graham Reynolds investigate his lineage and name back to Launceston Castle. This is the soundtrack to an imagined world that nods to RPG and fantasy culture without leaning on it, keeping the tone medieval, minimal, and atmospheric.
“Wintonia is the old name for Winchester. New and old go head-to-head in Wintonia. Here the old world is represented through the harpsichord, theorbo, and pounding drums, while the new brings in studio techniques with glitch and lo-fi elements, reverse reverb, and heavy filtering. It embraces limited sample rates and those digital pops that we always used to try so hard to avoid” Graham Reynolds
“For The Portcullis, I took a deep dive into the history of my family’s patrilineal side. Starting with my grandfather, an ironworker who built the Hartford Cathedral, to my great great great Grandmother, who was a galley cook on a Welsh sailing ship, to the enlightenment era celebrity portrait painter, Joshua Reynolds, and finally to twelfth century know Richard Reynell (before the Reynolds spelling was standardized). Reynell was the Sheriff of Devon and the custodian of Lauceston Castle. While King Richard I was away on the crusades, Reynell made his name defending the castle from the usurper Prince John. I started making sketches of the scenes and stories I imagined. The Portcullis follows Reynell from castle to castle, sequentially as they were built after the Norman invasion. On Reynell’s chest and shield is the symbol and crest of the Reynolds family: The Portcullis.”
A heady mix of dark ambient and dungeon synth, Graham who composed and produced the release creates an “ominous, stark environment that rumbles with sounds evocative of the natural world, in both its beauty and despair” New York Times.
Graham Reynolds will tour throughout 2026 in support of the release. Live dates include this year’s Leyline Festival, Weird Walk CULT NIGHT and NeoAncients Festival with full details and more dates to be revealed.
“Reynolds stretches his repertoire across widescreen Texan vistas with jittery interludes of anarchy” Uncut
“The quintessential modern composer” The Independent
Available on Limited Edition Neon Green Vinyl & Weird Walk Record Cult Deluxe Portcullis Dice & Vinyl Bundle.
Live Dates
25 Apr: Ley Line, Verdant Taproom, Falmouth UK, w/ Jane Weaver, Memorials, Elspeth Anne, Andy Votel DJ
30 Apr: Weird Walk presents Cult Night, Moth Club, London, UK, w/ The Last Sacrifice (Presented by Mike Lindsay)
02 May: NeoAncients Festival, St Laurence Church, Stroud, UK, w/ Memorials, Jane Weaver
