John Stephen Richards (born 1966 in Bideford, Devon, England) is a British musician and composer working in the field of electronic music.
Whilst working with kREEPA, Richards developed the kreepback instrument: an assemblage of self-built sound generating devices and discarded analogue audio hardware patched together to create a feedback labyrinth.
The group have performed specially commissioned pieces by Merzbow, Pauline Oliveros, Howard Skempton (founder member of the Scratch Orchestra), Gabriel Prokofiev and Nicholas Bullen (ex-Napalm Death and Scorn).
Other notable collaborations have included working with Rolf Gehlhaar (original Stockhausen group), Chris Carter from Throbbing Gristle, Keith Rowe and STEIM (Amsterdam).
He has written a number of academic papers and articles on contemporary electronic music that in particular cover postdigital theory, new modes of performance and hybridity.