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Jose Gonzales - Stay In The Shade EP
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Year :: 2005
Label :: Peacefrog
Cat No :: PFG069
Genre :: Indie
Tracks :: 05
Size :: 25,7 MB
Source :: CDDA
Bitrate :: VBRKBps
Rel. Date :: 23/08/2005
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3 days ago we brought you Junip, today we bring you
the new Jose Gonzales EP, I guess were Snr. Gonzales
number one fanboys ;) enjoy..
Continuing to blend classic English folk with a real
sun-bleached West Coast sensibility, Gonzalez makes
the kind of soothing music which could happily
soundtrack a thousand Wes Anderson films. Opening
with the irascible title track, the usual Elliot
Smith comparisons seem relevant but increasingly
churlish as Gonzalez carves a distinctive sound all
of his own. Including the genuinely stunning cover of
Kylie's 'Hand On Your Heart',
Interview:
Only a madman would attempt to turn Kylie Minogue's
Hand on Your Heart into a tragic folk ballad. Or,
perhaps, a genius.
Rising acoustic star Jose Gonzßlez has taken one of
Kylie's naffest songs, a facile piece of euphoric
'80s pop, and transformed it into a thing of
spellbinding beauty. Yet, while Gonzßlez's unusual
choice of songs raises eyebrows - his repertoire also
includes covers of material by Massive Attack and
Bronski Beat - his delicate interpretations, blending
folk, bossa nova and more esoteric styles, are
capable of breaking hearts.
"The cover versions have attracted a lot of
attention," he says, speaking before a gig at
London's Bush Hall, "especially when I performed
Massive Attack's Teardrop on the Zane Lowe show on
Radio 1.
"I love the process of taking an old song and making
it new again; making it mine. I hope that my style is
distinctive enough that the covers can become a
natural part of my live set, fitting happily together
with my own songs."
Gonzßlez's sound is certainly distinctive, with his
hypnotic finger-picked guitar style and an
endearingly plaintive Swedish voice (his name comes
from Argentinian parents). His influences are
eclectic, as likely to be from the worlds of
noise-rock or experimental electronica as they are
from traditional music. "I first learned to play in a
hardcore punk band when I was 14," explains Gonzßlez.
"So I got very into the idea of repetition, and I've
brought that into my acoustic music. Sometimes, when
I'm just playing at home, it almost puts me in a
trance."
Also evident in his syncopated style is the influence
of his parents' Latin American record collection. "I
particularly love the Brazilian 'Tropicalia', samba
and bossa nova from the '60s, people like Caetano
Veloso and Chico Buarque," he says.
"Though the one I have most in common with and was
most inspired by was the great Cuban musician Silvio
Rodriguez, a protest singer-songwriter. His really
early albums would be on at home all the time; all
Moog synthesizers and lightning-fast guitar. In one
sense he's my definition of 'folk music'. But where I
live now, folk means traditional Swedish singing or,
to other people, it's that 1960s singer-songwriter
thing. Some people try to avoid the label, but I'm
happy to be called folk."
This internationalism and a magpie attitude to
sources are trendily contemporary and yet true to the
spirit of the travelling troubadours of long ago.
At festivals such as the Green Man in the Welsh
Borders this weekend, Homefires in London's Conway
Hall, and at clubs such as Swaddling Songs and Folky
Dokey, musicians from all over the world meet, play
and collaborate.
Loose groupings such as the Fence Collective from
Fife, Scotland, and Texan-Mancunian psychedelicists
the Earlies jam together and swap ideas. Likewise,
international artists such as Gonzßlez and
Argentinian ex-TV presenter Juana Molina, and
electronica explorers such as Kieren "Four Tet"
Hebden and Tunng add non-European rhythms and modern
techniques to the folk mix.
Gonzßlez is not averse to the idea of a global scene.
"There's a big diversity of styles; it's not that
these artists all sound the same, but there is
certainly a shared interest in acoustic instruments
and in varied styles of music among people at the
moment. And at somewhere like Homefires, where I have
played, the chance to meet with young and old artists
is great, it can be quite inspiring."
Having won over British audiences, he is now
returning to Sweden "to record music on to my
computer and relax after all the touring". As his
reputation spreads, he can feel confident that his
melancholy, sophisticated music will win more fans.
The 'Stay in the Shade' EP is out now on Peacefrog
records.diverse sounds."
The fact that Gonzalez is signed to Peacefrog records
- traditionally a hardcore techno label - is evidence
of these new, exploratory tastes amongst music fans.
Having won over British audiences, he is now
returning to Sweden "to see my friends, to sit and
record music onto my computer, to relax after all the
touring"; and as his reputation percolates through
CD-buyers by word of mouth, he can feel confident
that his melancholy, sophisticated music will
continue to win over more fans.
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[01] Stay In The Shade [02:46]
[02] Down The Hillside [02:20]
[03] Sensing Owls [03:13]
[04] Hand On Your Heart [03:49]
[05] Instr. [06:14]
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UK Independent