Xanthus makes music somewhere between Eat Static and Jean Michele Jarre.

When not making music, Cliff also does some funky lighting.

Xanthus AKA Clifford Dowding has been composing music since 1982 when he bought his first cheesy Casio synth. He has always enjoyed writing, and performing and he now owns a fully functional MIDI studio in Brighton. He has been involved with many theatre productions and has played in many venues in the Brighton area. He is a regular at the A3 events with his trademark colored jacket, his big frame and bigger sound. Recently he has started incorporating the bodhran in his live sets and is always looking for other ways to improve his act. He is proud of the fact that not one gig that he has performed has ever been the same so that whoever regularly comes to see him will not get bored with seeing the same old act. He currently has two albums available to date and is working on a third album expected to be completed in the summer.

He has been involved in several bands including a Jean Michel Jarre tribute band and several rock and punk bands including; 'Lemon Stream' which featured the Brighton writer Doug Devaney, whose recent play 'Does My Bomb Look Big In This' sold out in the 2006 Brighton Festival, and 'The Doctor Spacetoad Experience' which featured Captain Sensible and Monty Oxymoron who are now members of 'The Damned'.  His most recent band 'The Corrupted Spirits' made their debut in April's A3 night where they mashed up some early experimental music with their own. They also accompanied their set with some disturbing visual images to great effect.