Anyone that listened to our latest Lost in Transmission Mixtape would have heard the quirky and hypnotically shape-shifting Eye Witness from ME LOST ME, led by Newcastle-based artist Jayne Dent. The track is from their new album RPG, due for release via Upset The Rhythm on 7th July.
They playfully weave together disparate genres, drawing influence from folk, art pop, noise, ambient and improvised music and inspiration from world-building in video gaming, and their new album has had a rich endorsement from Richard Dawson:
The music of Me Lost Me is beguiling, idiosyncratic and cinematic – or should that be video-game-omatic? This suite of songscapes often hits the sweet spot between ancient and modern with its masterful blend of stark folk, neon electronic burbling and unusual arrangements. Jayne’s singing is refreshingly straightforward and nuanced – it’s exquisite! – and perfectly punctures the nebulae of synths and brass which billow around the old wooden frames of the songs. Whilst listening I had images in my mind of what Northumberland might look like through the eyes of Simon Stalenhag – foggy moors, a robot looking across the sea to Lindisfarne, twinkling lights on metal towers…. that sort of thing. It’s a really great album.
Richard Dawson, 2023
Originally an ambitious solo project, ME LOST ME has since transitioned to a collaborative project with acclaimed North-East jazz musicians Faye MacCalman and John Pope. Those folk influences are more visible in the opening of ‘Festive Day‘, the video for which you can watch below, which was directed and edited by Jayne, who also created the 3D models and textile design you see in what’s like a moving collage with a choreographed performance by Mark Insley in the Cotswold Morris tradition.
The music and visuals are striking, with blues and yellows, joyful dance, and elemental symbols; there’s an undeniable sense of freedom in the music, which also carries a more profound sense of ritual and tradition – albeit one that is unhindered by boundaries…it’s one of authentic self-expression. Embroidered into one of the fabrics are the words ‘An Elemental Desire’, a reflection on an intense sensory experience that Dent talks of below.
Jayne Dent on Festive Day:
Festive Day is a song about being overcome by intense sensory experiences of nature, the elements and desire. It’s inspired by spending a midsummer festival in Denmark, when the huge bonfires lit along the coast stayed alight through torrential rain and dense sea fog, which left a massive sensory impression on me. It’s about the coming together of all these elemental forces, feeling connected to this seasonal ritual, and connecting it to the English folk traditions around the same time of year, explored in May carols and similar songs, which often celebrate desire, lust and love alongside celebrations of nature and the land.
The music video is an overload of artefacts, it’s fast-paced and intense in terms of the editing, but I wanted to contrast the emotional intensity of the song by framing it almost as an archive or museum of the future that is documenting folk traditions and trying to reconstruct them and understand them, but missing that vital emotional component. I worked with folk musician and dancer Mark Insley, who choreographed a dance in the Cotswold Morris tradition to be featured as part of the music video, and made handkerchiefs in the Morris style featuring elemental symbols.
ME LOST ME are also touring across the UK, including support dates with Pigs x7 (details below). It’s a delight to share such original music, and I encourage you all to buy the album and catch them on tour.
Pre-Order RPG via: Upset the Rhythm | Bandcamp
ME LOST ME LIVE DATES:
02.03 Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield ^ Tickets
03.03 The Library, Oxford ^ Tickets
04.03 Gwyl Ffynnon Garon, Tregaron ^ Tickets
05.03 Cafe Oto, London ^ Tickets
08.04 Bobiks, Newcastle ^ Tickets
20.04 w/Pigsx7 The Crescent, York * Tickets21.04 w/Pigsx7 Le Pub, Newport * Sold Out22.04 w/Pigsx7 Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth * Sold Out
23.04 w/Pigsx7 Corn Exchange, Hertford * Tickets
07.06 Supporting Xiu Xiu EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney), London ^ Tickets
30.06-02.07 Hyper Inverter Festival, Fell Foot Wood, Ulverston * Tickets
* = Solo (voice/electronics)
^ = Full Band (voice/electronics, clarinet, double bass)
An album release show has also just been announced on the 15th of July at The Lubber Fiend in Newcastle + with special guests TBA – details here.
Website: https://www.melostme.com/