Spook Muziek is a lot of things – a long-running in-joke, a musical experiment, a strange man in sunglasses yelling into a sampler at midday – but above all, it’s the brainchild of Sheffield musician and producer Adam Follett.
Originally conceived as a MySpace prank in the early 2000s – complete with a fake Belgian backstory – the project lay dormant for years, before bursting into life again in 2023. “I had all these little homeless songs,” Follett explains. “They didn’t fit with the bands I was in – so I thought, maybe I’ll just get up with a sampler, wear sunglasses and talk rubbish. That’s pretty much what I did.”
An unannounced Tramlines Fringe appearance at the Frog and Parrot kicked off a full-blown reinvention. What began as a way to finally give form to years of unused ideas has become something far more exciting: a one-man electronic act that’s carved out the most peculiar corner of the Sheffield music scene.
A big part of that creative resurgence comes from a February songwriting challenge Follett helped pioneer – a now-global community of musicians who attempt to write 14 songs in 28 days. “It’s the most supportive place – you get lovely comments from people around the world,” he says. “It’s become a real motivator. I used to save all my ideas for February, but now that I’ve left the bands, I’ll get an idea, write it, record it, and have it out in weeks. That’s the joy of it – no meetings, no waiting around.”
“It becomes what it becomes,” he says. “Sometimes it’s ambient, sometimes it’s funky, sometimes it’s me lying on the floor with my shoes off.”
It’s that freedom that brings Spook Muziek back this month with Big Wow! – a brand new standalone single, out on 19th September. Written, recorded and produced entirely by Follett, it’s a wild, chaotic burst of maximalist dance-punk energy that finds Spook at his most frantic. “Most of my songs are kind of mid-tempo,” he says. “When you open Ableton, it defaults to 120 bpm – sometimes I don’t even touch it. But this one was like 160 or something, and I thought it’d be good to have something a bit more energetic in the set.”
Big Wow! follows the May 2025 release of his pop culture EP and continues to expand what Follett jokingly calls the “Spook Muziek Sonic Universe”. But don’t let the daft Insta reels and ironic posturing fool you – there’s real depth behind the digital mask. “The music, I take very seriously,” he says. “But I do it all very silly. In a knowing way.”
The character has also become a creative shield of sorts, offering freedom to experiment online as well as onstage. “I’ve always admired those Instagram comedians… but never dared do that on my own,” he admits. “Putting the sunglasses on creates such a barrier. It’s not quite a disguise, but it’s enough.”
The mix of sincerity and absurdity is what makes Spook so singular. From fake rivalries with his own partner to calling out BBC Introducing with playful social media digs (which worked, by the way – Big Wow! got played by Christian Carlisle, Spook thinks anyway!), it’s a project built on freedom, playfulness and instinct. “There’s no one to ask.” he says. “There’s a real freedom in that.”
After years in collaborative projects like Cats for Peru and The Sheffield Beatles Project – which he recently stepped away from – Spook Muziek represents a very different kind of outlet. “With bands, there’s always scheduling, practices, pressure,” he says. “This is low maintenance. I can gig monthly if I want, or not at all.”
Still, he’s not ruling out bringing the full band treatment to Spook one day. “I do miss that full-band sound. There’s an energy you don’t get with a backing track. But for now, Spook gives me something to fall back on. It’s mine.”
Ask him how he’d describe the sound, though, and things get blurrier. “It’s not really electronic, or it is, but it’s also post-punky, spoken word, some rap – not that I’d say I’m a rapper – a bit LCD Soundsystem, a bit electroclash,” he says. “It becomes what it becomes. I’ve never been able to stick to one style.”
That scattershot approach hasn’t stopped him from building a growing local following – albeit one still heavy on mates and long-time collaborators. “You can only be a friend-fan for so long,” he jokes. “Eventually they’ve done their bit and want a night off.”
He’s played to full rooms and empty ones, and it hasn’t made much difference. “I played Green Fest to my mate, the sound guy and the bar staff,” he laughs. “Still enjoyed it. Still did what I do.”
He’s working on that following though – picking up support slots, headline gigs and building out the persona. The character allows a little extra freedom to mess about onstage – lying on the floor, taking his shoes off mid-song, playing up the Spook of it all. “I’ve always been quite shy, but I’ve always felt more comfortable on stage. When you’re on stage, people expect you to perform,” he says. “That expectation gives you permission.”
Offstage, he’s thinking about how to build something more inclusive. “I’ve always tried to represent decent gender splits – not just in the bands I’ve been in, but on the bills too,” he says. “But that obviously makes the pool of acts smaller. It’s a challenge.”
While he’s very humble, even he’ll admit: “I’m Sheffield’s answer to Alex Turner.” And while that might be delivered with a wink, any aspirations come with a healthy dose of realism. “I’d love to play a decent Tramlines slot with a proper crowd,” he says. “But I’m not expecting BBC 6 Music. It’s all nice-to-have stuff now.”
With Big Wow! about to drop, more singles in the works and a local scene that’s slowly waking up to his brand of daft brilliance, Spook Muziek is finally having his moment.
It’s weird. It’s wonderful. It’s got shades on indoors. Go check it out.
Big Wow! Is out19th September on all streaming platforms and Bandcamp
