Monday, July 21, 2008


At Greenbelt

I am doing some stuff.
Lots of beautiful humans
+ artistes/singers/bands
thinkers/what you like/
what you may not like/
a mix to delight your soul
Never neglect your soul.


Here is one:: José González's story is rare in modern pop – a heartening case of the artist resisting the vicissitudes of musical fashion to carve out a unique, intimate style that is all his own, then defiantly following his muse all the way to the top of the charts.


It’s uplifting, in an age of spin, hype and wall-to-wall hyperbole, to note that José’s music has required no lavish production (he records on basic equipment, at home) no exotic packaging or gimlet-eyed marketing strategies, to make it cherished by thousands. For once even the Sun got it right: ”In a world of musical clones, the Argentinean Swede is a thrillingly original new talent”.

His achingly emotional melodies and thought-provoking lyrics combine in a manner at once familiar (think Nick Drake, Tim Buckley, Will Oldham) and subtly exotic (shades of Brazilian Tropicalia - early Silvio Rodríguez, Cuban Nueva Trova). His songs are so timeless - you feel like they’ve always been around - yet there’s a clean freshness to José’s music that makes repeated listening an endlessly revivifying delight.

Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1978, José was bought up in a house that teemed with all kinds of music. His Argentine-born father’s natural taste for Latin American music was only rivalled by a penchant for American and UK pop classics – and the eclecticism rubbed off on his young son. After dallying with various shades of rock, however, José returned to the voice and six-string, and, after a series of lessons in classical guitar, the beginnings of a very personal style.

José released his UK debut, the EP Crosses, in February ’05. By the time the debut album Veneer was released in April, word had spread like wildfire. One particular track, ‘Heartbeats’ (originally by Swedish band The Knife and a Veneer highlight), gained wide UK currency thanks to its use in the high profile Sony Bravia TV campaign, helping usher it into the upper echelons of the UK chart in January 2006 (it was even a ringtone Number One!).

Still full of energy, José is currently hunkered down with his other project, the band Junip, working with a premier league UK production duo (details to be unveiled in the very near future).

In a word: smörgåsbord