He may have been in the game for over a decade, but Bradley Miller’s career is spinning out of his cktrl. His understated, ambient debut album, spirit, and recent headline show at the ICA, the polymath has entered uncharted territory. Now, at 32, he’s focused on one apex goal: centring himself.
“You know when you’re in control; and then you’re just not?”
It’s a strange, unpredictable time for Bradley Miller – or, since adopting his artistic pseudonym in 2020, cktrl. The multi-instrumentalist, producer, DJ, and composer has long been a fixture of London’s musical undergrowth, first making his mark on NTS Radio at just 17, before releasing grime and R&B-infused EPs throughout the mid-to-late 2010s. Then, during the Covid lockdowns, Bradley reinvented himself – stepping out from under his DJ-constructed ceiling and into the open skies of ambient, jazz-laced classical music.
A week or so before we speak in mid October, Bradley played his most significant live show to date at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), the iconic riverfront London setting that leads countrywide in contemporary culture. It’s “one of those venues that after [performing there], you see artists start really doing things,” he pinpoints. The show was a career acme, a summit which celebrated his 19th September-released debut album, spirit, shared via R&R Digital – the resting place of boundary-pushers like Mk.gee and Dijon. The event’s success has now culminated in another apex achievement – being taken under the wing of one of contemporary classical music’s most acclaimed and impactful composers, Max Richter.
Now, the born-and-bred South Londoner is getting busier; perhaps more so than he’s ever been. He’s caught between the grind of his past, the frantic nature of his present, and the potential prosperity of the future. “I’m grateful because obviously there’s things happening,” he sighs, reflective. “Now it’s like: I either try to be more disciplined, or I’m gonna ask my manager for some help on a day-to-day basis.”
If you’ve listened to spirit, Bradley’s serene and meditative inaugural full-length record under the cktrl moniker – which is an acronym for ‘can’t keep to reality’ – the notion that the 32-year-old is a nonchalant individual will likely not surprise you. He joins our call slumped on his sofa, relaxed, friendly and thoughtful, having just returned to his native Lewisham following his Wonderland cover shoot in the English capital’s north earlier in the day.
In the editorial, he can be seen sporting his long time pal Saul Nash’s new collaborative collection with Canadian apparel brand Lululemon, coined SLNSH. “cktrl is not only part of my community but truly embodies the people I had in mind when designing these clothes,” Saul offers when I catch up with him over email. “He’s a talented musician who moves between different contexts, and I wanted to create a wardrobe that reflects that fluidity. Pieces you can wear for sport or activity, but that also transition seamlessly into everyday life. You can dress them up for a casual event or strip them back for the gym.”
For Saul, the collaboration with Lululemon was second nature. “The partnership began through a mutual appreciation for how both of our worlds revolve around movement,” he continues. “SLNSH has been a journey in how we can bring these two worlds together through material development, design, and technical innovation, paired with a real understanding of the lifestyle of those who wear it.”
The collection mirrors the lightness and richness of Bradley’s LP. “I describe it as breathing,” he says, quietly triumphant. “Or – you know when you just sit down on the sofa after a long day, before you turn on the TV? And then you kind of breathe out? Just exhale? That’s spirit.”
The album’s 32 minutes provides a cruise to catharsis. Completely without lyrics or vocals – because “there should be people who are well known who don’t sing,” – it’s assembled of delicate piano cadences, sustained strings, spellbinding guitar work, incandescent woodwind and wandering saxophone. The music breezes through your conscious, gently immersive, like a sonic spa that you are bound to leave feeling replenished and rejuvenated, itching for your next appointment.
“I don’t think it’s what I wanted to make – it’s what I was compelled and moved to do at that time,” he affirms on his spiritual hankering to concoct an album of such tender tranquility. “spirit is not a monolithic idea, it exists out there in the world within you, around you. Water is a spirit – that’s why I’m in water in the artwork. It’s one of the most powerful ones, it’s cleansing. I’ve been through so much in my life that this cleanse was needed.”
Bradley’s artistic and personal evolution are inherently interlinked. “Music for me has been shaped around the decisions that I’ve had to make. For my whole life, I’ve just been searching for a kind of peace.” And that he has; growing up in Lewisham in South East London, music has been paramount in his life since a young age, first picking up an instrument at eight-year-old and making beats from the age of 11. Outside influence and the tos-and-fros of being a young man in London was never far from his door, but it was the sonic and cultural movements that surrounded him that steered him. “Growing up, your family, cousins, friends, whatever, they’re getting into all sorts of things,” he remembers. “But at the same time, there’s this soundtrack.”
That soundtrack was grime. His interest in the genre, which etched itself into popular consensus by the time Bradley reached his late teens, as well as his passion for Black music styles like R&B, landed him a show on NTS, a globally renowned radio platform, at just 17-years-old. The experience facilitated his inner growth and placed him in the palm of opportunity. “At the beginning of doing radio, I met all kinds of people. With where I had come from. I didn’t know the fuck was going on! Even encountering QTIPOC spaces for the first time. It just changed how I saw the world, from being on the station, the people that I met and what I encountered. It opened up my mind and contributed heavily to the type of music that I was listening to and making.”
During these years, from around the ages of 19 to 26, Bradley also worked a day job in an office. After years of rarely playing and concentrating on his DJ/producer endeavours, it’s what drove him to his instruments again. “That nine-to-five is what made me pick up the instruments,” he says. “I might have a shit week and need to just unwind on a Friday.” He’d compose, but only for himself, using classical music as a coping mechanism for the highs and lows of everyday life, and the institutional racism that existed in the corporate world.
His introduction to cult favourite musician and producer Dean Blunt changed his outlook. “I met him through an NTS thing,” Bradley remembers. “He had a live show that he had put together. I just brought my sax along. It was just all pretty free and open, but the direction he gave spun everyone. It just worked. If I didn’t have someone like him around, I wouldn’t know the possibilities. That’s why I now feel affirmed and infinite in my ideas – because from knowing him, I know you can do whatever you want and it’s calm.”
During Covid, Bradley began releasing music as cktrl. “When everything stopped, it just felt like a good time to try a thing.” And his intuition was proved right; EPs “robyn” and “zero” – the latter of which features Mereba and anaiis on “zero” and “felt” respectively – presented a deft and daring new presence in instrumental music, combining aspects of jazz and R&B with a classical music core. Since, he’s began actively collaborating with Brazilian photographer Raf Pavarotti for his visuals, was enlisted by Dior for musical direction for their capsule collection with Denim Tears. Can that paragraph end with we’re all just gang, and was cast by director Jenn Nkiru for a cameo in Beyoncé’s Black is King visual album film. To Bradley though, it’s just his community, his friends, his support hub. “It’s like when you see pictures of like, I don’t know, [Jean-Michel] Basquiat and Andy Warhol just chilling. That literally is this world of art and music, we are all just gang.”
To some, the idea of a classical musician working with premium Parisian Fashion Houses and Queen Bey herself might seem unusual. The style has often been stigmatised by younger generations, labelled as dross, outdated, archaic. It’s also long been associated with a lack of diversity. But Bradley is an emblem of classical’s budding renaissance – he’s showing it can be fresh, exciting, modern, without compromising on quality or authenticity.
“I’m just an artist,” he shrugs, not restricting himself to a sharper definition. “I have all kinds of ideas and I try to make them come to life in my own little way. I’m heavy on having my own voice in this thing. What’s been a blessing is being able to navigate while leading with full integrity. I don’t have to compromise on any sonics, I didn’t have to think about features, or to try and get a co-sign. All of those things are still important and are a part of the journey of artistry in 2025 and beyond. But I think for my debut, that offering to be as pure as it is and as intentional as it is has been a real blessing for me. So regardless of whether it pops off and does the madting, for me it does that every day.”
All-in-all then, Bradley’s reputation is one that sits on the cutting-edge of cross-pollinating culture. With these recent strides forward – not least his soothing, sensationful spirit – control may feel like it’s slipping away at times. But, as he always has done throughout his 15 year plus journey since being plucked from anonymity to front an NTS show, Bradley Miller will find focus.
“You should write a self-help book,” I joke before we part ways. He laughs in approval. “I’ve been thinking about it, I can’t lie. You know when you just come out the other side of stuff? Going through it, it gives you the tools. Now when it comes to music, I know what I’m doing.” It’s hard to argue with that.
Listen to spirit…
Photography by @ellwilcox
Styling by @abigailhazard
Words by @tibbitsben
cktrl wears SLNSH by Lululemon
Senior Editor @ellabardsley_
Features Editor @tibbitsben
Art Director @mike.w.morton
Assistant Art Director @beth1owri
Junior Art Director @llltash
Fashion Director @abigailhazard
Production Director Lola Randall
Production Director @clemmiehyde
Grooming by @kaylaeviana
Fashion Intern @scarlettmilroy
Videography by @roybrandys