I Guess Im Just A Fool – Jay Jay Johanson (1999)
He was born in Sweden, in Trollätten to be precise, in 1969. He spends all his youth in Skara, where he founded, when he was 10 years old, his first band: May Tuck, with whom he plays punk. He also followed a so-called “classical” learning, in practicing the clarinet and saxophone. During his adolescence he discovers himself a passion for jazz through his father and joined a quartet.
After studying architecture and modern art, he left jazz and moved towards electronic music armed with a drum machine and a synthesizer. In 1994, when he discovers Dummy album from Portishead, it is the discovery of a lifetime! He then composed his first trip-hop album: Whiskey, released in 1996. Followed in 1999 by the album Tattoo.
Jay Jay Johanson, whose real name is Jäje Johanson, is now known and recognized as an androgynous dandy crooner whose texts are always full of sadness, melancholy and spleen.
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Threads – Portishead (2008)
Do we still need to introduce Portishead? This group of trip-hop formed in 1991 by Geoff Barrow, after his works with Tricky or even Massive Attack, and Beth Gibbons. The group’s first album: Dummy, published in 1994, was a symbol for a whole generation by embodying perfectly the trip-hop spirit. Their second album, the eponymous Portishead, released in 1997, did not meet the same success as the previous one, but it maintained the special atmosphere of this group.
Then a long, even interminable wait started for the fans, punctuated by false joys. It is first in 2003 that a rumor started about the release of a third album, denied early 2004 on the band official website. In 2006, some are beginning to say that the recording of Portishead’s third album is completed. Then, to the delight of fans, Portishead appeared live at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival, in early December 2007, with 5 new compositions. Finally, Portishead announced officially the release of the third group album: Third, on April 28, 2008. So, for the fans, it is the end of a waiting period of more than 10 years.
Threads is the closing song of this third album from Portishead. The atmosphere of the song keeps the spirit of the group alive. It is still dark, disturbing and modern at the same time, with Beth Gibbons, true to herself, who offer to us a magnificent singing.
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Portishead Official Website
Portishead Myspace
Portishead Blog
Buy Third on Amazon.com
Organ Song – Archive (1996)
The trip-hop band Archive is formed by Darius Keeler and Danny Griffiths in 1994. In 1990 they already produce together several singles on their own label: Swam. They also participate in the project Genaside II.
After 3 years of work, in 1996 they released their debut album: Londinium, from which the track Organ Song is extracted. Unfortunately, the disc is not selling well, therefore they decided to split. Short break, as in 1999, they released a second album: Take My Head.
This track of Archive is the penultimate of the album. This is a classic full of soaring emotion that sums up the spirit of this album: violins, gentleness, spleen, cared arrangements…
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Further information on Wikipedia [en]
Buy Londinium on Amazon.com
A Rabbit In Your Headlights – Unkle (1998)
In 1994, under the leadership of James Lavelle, label Mo’Wax’s boss, and Tim Goldsworthy, accompanied by Kudo, from the Japanese collective Major Force, U.N.K.L.E. was born. In 1995, divergent musical directions push Goldsworthy, who wants to produce House music pieces, to leave the group. Lavelle, who is aiming to work with singers, hip-hop and rock artists, is quickly joined by DJ Shadow, who will remain at its sides until the end of Psyence Fiction’s tour.
A Rabbit in Your Headlights, composed by DJ Shadow and Thom Yorke, has been produced as a single in 1998, to introduce the release of the album Psyence Fiction. This piece, at the crossroads of UNKLE’s trip-hop universe and Radiohead singer’s anguish is overflowed with energy cleverly restraint.
The clip directed by Jonathan Glazer reveals perfectly the illness associated with death that is present in this song: “If you’re frightened of dying and you’re holding on; You’ll see devils tearing your life away; But if you’ve made your peace; Then the devils are really angels; Freeing you from the Earth”.
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A Rabbit In Your Headlight on DailyMotion
Further information on Wikipedia [en]
Unkle Website
Buy Psyence Fiction on Amazon.com
