With Off the Shelf, we ask an artist to present objects from a shelf or shelves from their home and talk about them. There are no rules, it could be a selection of albums, their favourite music, a piece of artwork or found objects. What occupies our shelves can be quite revealing, as we found with our first Off the Shelf guest Rachael Dadd.
Now it’s the turn of Northern Irish experimental folk songwriter, singer and producer, Joshua Burnside. He has not long released his new album Late Afternoon in the Meadow (1887) which we recently reviewed here. Before we dig in, watch his video for the title track of his album, inspired by Camille Pissarro’s 1887 impressionist painting of the same name.
Alex Gallacher
Off the Shelf with Joshua Burnside
When I sat down to write this, from the sofa in the living room, I looked over to the shelf on the right to find inspiration.
Fortunately, it is cluttered with objects, books, CDs, ornaments and other artifacts that tell little stories about both myself and my wife Emily.
The first object on the left of the shelf is a book titled ‘The Black Dreams’, which is a selection of short stories by writers reflecting on growing up and living in Northern Ireland. One of these writers, the incredible Jan Carson has been an influence on my lyric writing over the years. Her stories are often, dark, surreal and set in Belfast, like many of my songs.
Next, there is a ‘Mignon’ Melodeon, which I purchased recently from Ken Hopkins in Comber. His collection of accordions is astonishing, and probably the largest in Ireland. His house is a treasure trove of buttons, keyboards and reeds in ornate boxes of every shape, size and colour. This little melodeon was the first one I picked up; its size and simple wooden design drew my attention, I loved it immediately. It is a single-row melodeon, with a surprisingly loud and clear tone. It was also dinky enough to bring with me to Paris for the month in September where I had a residency at the Irish Cultural Centre. I ended up writing and recording with the thing quite a bit there.
There is a pink cup filled with Sea Potatoes or Heart Urchins. This probably says more about Emily as it is her who collected them; she would happily spend hours scavenging on beaches, searching for beautiful or unusual objects. We try and make it to the coast for a walk or swim at least once a week. Since the pandemic, we began swimming all year round, even in December and January. People do funny things when you close the pubs. But I’ve tried to keep it up as it is magical for your mental health. The shock of the cold water sort of resets me, and the day is always better for it.
Behind the Urchin cup, there is a framed lino print of the building where I do most of my work – ‘Vault Artist Studios’, by the brilliant Jonathan Brennan, another artist based there. This place used to be a college, but after lying empty for a while was taken over by a group of artists, transforming the abandoned space into affordable studios. I was very lucky to get a space there, and although it was filled with pigeon crap and broken glass when I moved in, it is now my creative home and recording studio. It is a long thin space above a theatre, where they would have controlled the lights for plays and things back in the day. This is where I record all my music now, including my last album Into the Depths of Hell.
The final object on the shelf is an old miniature chess set, which Emily picked up in Italy I think about 20 years ago. A few years ago my brother Connor and I got very into playing chess, and whenever he came back from London, we would spend many an hour locked in a fierce battle, drinking scotch and trying to outmanoeuvre each other. We are very competitive.
I love chess as it sort of gives you a similar feeling of being in a state of creative flow, in that it’s somehow both exciting and relaxing at once.
Joshua Burnside’s new EP ‘Late Afternoon In The Meadow (1887)’ is out now. He tours the UK next year; for more information visit: https://linktr.ee/Joshua_Burnside
http://www.joshuaburnside.com/