Manchester based David A Jaycock’s (Big Eye Family Players) last release was his debut 12 track vinyl LP Preset on the Blackest Rainbow label. The LP was a limited edition of 250 with pro printed sleeves. Pressed on virgin vinyl. We spoke to David recently about the album concept:
I wanted to combine acoustic sounds with found sounds/samples of old toys and hammered pianos and analogue synths. I also wanted to do some more song like forms and so used vocals a lot more. I am very interested in dissonance and its resolution and I have tried to incorporate these devices into a song format.
I have used surreal and real memories and ghost stories to create a dreamlike quality. I also looked at ways of incorporating longer more progressive ideas. An example being wedding dress rag /lost in space. This was originally a triptych based on the beginning middle and end of a relationship.
At the centre of most of my work is the guitar. I am influenced by the great right hand technique players like Fahey and Jansch but I generally try to steer away from taditional chord progressions.
Despite the melancholic feel of the album it also has some primal guitar moments. If you were able to isolate the instrument in your mind it would be an entirely different sound, the overlaid haunting and toy like sounds create a darker feel, no more so than on Winnie the Wince which sounds sinister even during the daylight hours of listening.
Some of the tracks commence with a more lighter introduction. Wedding Dress Rag initially maintains a downtempo feel with gentle vocals and some nice guitar work but this soon changes halfway through to electronica, creaks and undertones of isolation and fear. The album image of a headless ghost like woman in black with her leg tied to the table leg should leave no doubt in your mind that this LP is a very deep and surreal excursion.
Most of the album was performed entirely by David on a variety of instruments which must have been a strange experience in itself, gradually layering one sound upon another like layers of paint hiding another hidden piece of artwork. The closest resemblance used to describe the album has been to Ben Chasny’s Six Organs of Admittance but even this doesn’t really describe it that well. Whilst it is dark and sinsiter in places that underlying initial paint on canvas does lift through to some moving moments such as on God’s Own Toys and Wolves on Trains, overall it’s an interesting place to visit.
We’ll be playing some more of David’s earlier work in our playlist which is also worth checking out.
Artist Links
Myspace
www.earlywinterrecordings.co.uk