Look Mum No Computer

Last updated

Look Mum No Computer
Sam Battle With Equipment.jpg
Battle with electronic equipment
Background information
Born
Sam Battle

1990 or 1991 (age 35–36) [1]
Genres
Years active2016–present
Formerly ofZIBRA
Website lookmumnocomputer.com

Sam Battle (born 1990 or 1991), better known online as Look Mum No Computer (stylised in all caps), is an English musician, YouTuber, electronics enthusiast, and composer who posts videos about making pro audio gear and synthesizers, as well as original music tracks. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

He is known for making and playing unusual, esoteric, and eccentric electronic musical devices made from vintage technology; notably such devices as a Furby organ [5] , a synthesizer fused with a classic Raleigh Chopper bicycle, and a Game Boy Triple Oscillator synthesizer. [2] Battle runs This Museum Is Not Obsolete, a museum in Ramsgate, Kent which showcases vintage analogue devices repurposed for humorous uses. [6] He is set to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with his song "Eins, Zwei, Drei". [7]

Early life

Battle spent much of his childhood indoors experimenting with building projects, such as rockets and robots inspired by the television show Robot Wars. From an early age, Battle showed a strong curiosity for mechanics, frequently dismantling toys, pedal cars, and household appliances like irons and toasters to explore their inner workings. [8]

Career

Battle launched his YouTube channel in 2013, originally setup for ZIBRA, a band that Battle created with three friends. Battle's first music gear related video was posted in 2016. [2] [9] Besides ad income from YouTube, Battle has also been funding his electronic inventions with fan donations, on the subscription platform Patreon. [2]

In 2018, he created a synthesiser based on a Furby, by wiring it up into a modular synthesizer. [10] In 2022, Battle began restoring a 1914 church organ, as an exhibit in This Museum is Not Obsolete, [11] the process of which has been documented on his channel. Battle also produces and sells modular synthesizer components, [12] such as the #1222 Performance VCO. [3]

As of January 2024, his YouTube channel has garnered over sixty-three million views. [13]

Look Mum No Computer performing with a modular synthesizer at Electromagnetic Field festival in 2022 Sam Battle (Look Mum No Computer).jpg
Look Mum No Computer performing with a modular synthesizer at Electromagnetic Field festival in 2022

He released his first single, called "Groundhog Day", in 2019. [2] He did a tour in Germany, Switzerland and the UK in 2019. [2]

In May 2022, he joined with Cuckoo and Hainbach to form a musical supergroup called Uncompressed. [4]

Battle has co-produced several compositions for screening, such as Satellite Moment (with Charlie Fink), for the film adaptation of A Street Cat Named Bob, as well as Glitter and Gold (with Barns Courtney) for Netflix's series Safe . [14]

He typically uses modular synthesizers in his compositions. [15]

In March 2025, he announced a video game called Look Mum No Computer, [16] developed in collaboration with the German indie studio The Bitfather [17] and publisher Headup Games. [18] The game was released on Steam on 24 July 2025 and for consoles on 22 January 2026. In 2025 the game was nominated for the German Developer Award for Best Audio Design. [19]

In February 2026, it was announced that Battle had been selected as the artist to represent the United Kingdom at Eurovision Song Contest 2026. [20] Of being chosen to represent the country, he said he "found it completely bonkers to be jumping on this wonderful and wild journey. [...] adding that he had always been a massive Eurovision fan, and that he [loves] the magical joy it brings to millions of people every year, so getting to join that legacy and fly the flag for the UK is an absolute honour that I am taking very seriously." [21]

Discography

As Look Mum No Computer

Singles

  • "Groundhog Day" – 2019
  • "Modern Gas" – 2019
  • "Shock Horror" – 2020
  • "Desperado Vespa" – 2020
  • "Daydreamer" – 2020
  • "Stand and Deliver" – 2020
  • "Youth8500" – 2021
  • "Stupid Me" – 2021
  • "RIDE" – 2021
  • "Mind Over Matter" – 2021
  • "We'll Find a Way" – 2022
  • "Time Is Not a Healer It’s a Fuel for Resentment" – 2022
  • "Handbook on How to Stay Alive" - 2023
  • "Night or Day" - 2023
  • "T.I.M" - 2023
  • "Too Many Mistakes" - 2024
  • "No Hope Eternal" - 2025
  • "Eins, Zwei, Drei" - 2026
feat. Hainbach
  • "Bordsteinkante" - 2024

Albums and EPs

  • "Human Procrastination" – 2019 (EP)
  • "These Songs are Obsolete" – 2020
  • "Look Mum No Bootleg PT. I" – 2022
  • "Look Mum No Bootleg PT. II" – 2022
  • "Kosmo Plays Vivaldi" - 2023 (EP)
  • "Kosmo Comes For Christmas" - 2023
  • "Pipe Dreams" - 2024 (EP)
  • "PortaKosmo Vol 1 At the Length" - 2024 (EP)
  • "Double Barelled Decadence" - 2024
  • "The VCS4 Collection" - 2025
  • "Portakosmo 2.0" - 2025
  • "Godwin Band in a Box" - 2025
  • "Hungry Vultures" - 2025
feat. Hainbach
  • "Rotopops" - 2024 (EP)
  • "Ghosts" - 2024

Sources: [22] [23]

Museum

This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete is his permanent exhibition space in Ramsgate, Kent, housing a collection of vintage electronics, synthesizers, and experimental musical instruments. [24] [25] The museum opened in August 2021 and features items from Battle's personal builds alongside donated historical pieces, emphasizing hands-on interaction with obsolete technology. [26] [27] It attracts visitors interested in tinkering with early electronic devices, such as modified tape delays and modular oscillators. [28]

References

  1. ↑ "Look Mum No Computer, portrait of a musician 100% maker – Makery".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Inside the crazy, musical mind of Look Mum No Computer". Engadget. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  3. 1 2 Vincent, Robin (6 May 2022). "Look Mum No Computer brings Kosmo #1222 Performance VCO to Eurorack". gearnews.com. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 Rogerson, Ben (26 May 2022). "Look Mum No Computer, Cuckoo and Hainbach are forming "the world's first synth-nerd supergroup"". MusicRadar. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  5. ↑ "Sam Battle: The Sunday Interview - Sam Battle (aka Look Mum No Computer) talks Drones, Drains, and DIY Synths with Alan Rider ...the latest story in Outsideleft". outsideleft.com. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  6. ↑ By (24 September 2021). "This (Obsolete Technology) Museum Is (Not) Obsolete". Hackaday. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  7. ↑ Press Release (17 February 2026). "LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026". BBC. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Brown, Alistair (17 February 2026). "🇬🇧 United Kingdom: LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER to Eurovision 2026". Eurovoix. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  9. ↑ Guitar into modular synth Interfacing , retrieved 23 September 2022
  10. ↑ "Furby Synthesizer Creates Sounds Nobody Should Ever Hear". Nerdist. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  11. ↑ Booth, Martin (24 May 2022). "The organ that took up most of a house has finally been removed". Bristol24/7. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  12. ↑ Vincent, Robin (24 February 2022). "Look Mum No Computer AAAPPPCCC chiptune noise machine". gearnews.com. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  13. ↑ "LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER's Youtube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats". Social Blade. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER biography". Last.fm. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  15. ↑ "STUFF". LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  16. ↑ "Look Mum No Computer on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  17. ↑ NO WORD OF A LIE WE MADE A GAME... REPAIRING MACHINES AND MAKING SYNTHS , retrieved 22 April 2025
  18. ↑ "Look Mum No Computer on PC", Headup Games, retrieved 22 April 2025
  19. ↑ "German Developer Award Homepage", Deutscher Entwicklerpreis (in German), retrieved 9 February 2026
  20. ↑ Heritage, Stuart (17 February 2026). "'Quite frankly, we have nothing to lose': how the UK is going weird for its 2026 Eurovision entry". The Guardian . Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  21. ↑ Sanderson, David (17 February 2026). "Look Mum No Computer built a Furby organ. Can he win Eurovision for UK?". The Times . Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  22. ↑ "LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER music, videos, stats, and photos". Last.fm. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  23. ↑ "LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER Discography". spotify.com. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  24. ↑ "This Museum Is (not) Obsolete". LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  25. ↑ Bailes, Kathy (25 April 2024). "Step inside Ramsgate's This Museum Is (NOT) Obsolete". The Isle of Thanet News. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  26. ↑ "This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete". This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  27. ↑ "Look Mum No Computer opens the Museum Of Everything Else, dedicated to experimental instruments and obsolete tech". MusicTech. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  28. ↑ "Interview: UK Eurovision star Look Mum No Computer's music and sound tech museum". Strange Tourist. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
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