Theo Bleak

Scottish indie artist Theo Bleak shares the music video for the single "Finest Work" from her new mixtape Bargaining.

Theo Bleak is the musical project of Katie Lynch, a Dundee-based alternative artist known for her atmospheric and introspective sound. She is sharing Bargaining, a new collection of songs, a mixtape filled with heartfelt confessions, musings on grief, and desire for connection. Written throughout a transformative year in the raw songwriter’s life, in conversation with the journals of her late great uncle, Theo Bleak excavates every bad experience for the sake of her songs, documenting cathartic moments of pain and hope.

“A chronological mixtape of my year through the most intense stage of grief I experienced- bargaining. Coming to terms with change, which felt unsurpassable, deep love,

and brutal honesty,”

Theo Bleak explains.

“My mixtape was recorded at each of the rawest, saddest moments. The creak of my studio chair was audible in some of the tracks where I sat down to reason with my life, my mistakes, and my choices.

I navigated the mess of my life over the last year, inspired by the complex philosophy hidden within simple sentiments, imparted through my late Great Uncle's journals.

I read and annotated these, rich with his passion for cycling. These diaries begin in 1966, and although John died in the early 2000s, I could feel the friendship as though the veil was thin between the living and the dead. My best friend.”

Last month, the mixtape was announced with “Megan in New York. The song premiered with an official music video, reflecting on a trip to New York that felt like the beginning of the end.

“A song about the most damaging dynamics we can enter into driven by passion, emotion and connections void of any reasonable intellect,”

explains Theo Bleak.

“Inspired by the self-implosion of my life beginning in New York City, conversations with Megan, who accompanied me on that trip, and the reflections of a man who kept her frozen in time. It is the first single from my fourteen-song mixtape 'Bargaining' - each a song a painful step forward as I was stuck longest in the bargaining stage of grief.”

Earlier this year, Theo Bleak released her new EP, Bad Luck Is Two Yellow Flowers. The project captures Theo Bleak’s signature blend of haunting melodies, poetic lyricism, layered instrumentals, and emotive vocal delivery, displaying a push and pull between intellect and raw feeling.

Following the success of last year’s introspective single “You Said I’d Feel It All Again,” singles from the EP, “Said Like A Poet”, and “Peach Sky,” marked another chapter in Theo Bleak’s exploration of raw emotion and dreamlike soundscapes. “Said Like A Poet” serves as a perfect sign-off to the upcoming EP, a project built on themes of longing, superstition, and blurred friendship. “Peach Sky” captures the fleeting beauty of a single moment, blending wistful lyricism with the artist’s signature “goth waltz” guitar melodies and lush, layered vocals. The track delves into themes of change, longing, and the search for meaning.

“You Said I’d Feel It All Again” garnered widespread support internationally. The single was played on BBC Radio 1’s Future Artists, BBC Radio 2’s Unwinds and was also recognized by multiple Spotify editorial playlists such as New Music Friday in the USA, UK, Belgium, Sweden & Netherlands as well as Fresh Folk, All New Pop, and Next Gen Singer-Songwriters. Earlier this month, rising star Rachel Chinouriri played the track on her takeover of BBC Introducing on Radio 1. Bad Luck Is Two Yellow Flowers looks to have the same impact, adding to the young artist's impressive repertoire. 

Theo Bleak’s work is more than just music; it is an exploration of the human experience through the lens of nature’s ever-changing beauty. With each piece, she offers a moment of introspection, a chance to reconnect with the world and with oneself. Her music is a journey—a walk through the countryside of the mind and heart, where every step brings a new revelation.

Earlier this year, Theo Bleak made her North American debut at New York’s New Colossus Festival and played various festivals across the United Kingdom, including Brighton’s famed The Great Escape Festival. Last month, she supported Eleni Drake in London and Manchester, before supporting Admiral Fallow in Glasgow.

Theo Bleak Live

JANUARY

1 - Edinburgh, UK - Winter Festival First Footing 

FEBRUARY

5 - The Glad Cafe - Glasgow, UK