JAMIE LIDELL BIO:
Jamie Lidell is unmasking. As an artist and performer he’s had a hell of a life, ping-ponging from the avant-garde to clubland hedonism to the mega-mainstream and all points in between, adopting personae from faceless, nameless techno producer to flamboyant showman. He’s made monstrous noise and sweet soul music, he’s performed in art spaces, rave dungeons and the biggest stages in the world in a whirlwind of creativity. But since relocating to Nashville and starting a family, he’s experienced isolation, introspection, being brought face-to-face with his own neurodivergence, and has had to completely reassess his relationship to himself, his history, his music and creative processes. And now all of that is expressed in Places of Unknowing, his first album in nearly a decade and a stark and beautiful departure from anything he’s ever done before.
It was only when he met his wife Lindsey that he “had to really unpack a lot of who I'd become through those years, hardening myself to deal with people and to perform on a regular basis.” As they settled into domestic life in New York, and then Nashville, Jamie slowly, slowly began to shake off the need for relentless stimulation and approval. You can hear some of that process of unwinding and fierce self-examination through 2016’s Building a Beginning, his first self-released album.
In the decade since Jamie's first self-released album, 2016s Building a Beginning, his focus has been on family life, and his creative outlet has been the Hanging Out With Audiophiles podcast – which has been a haven for him, a place to enjoy musical process and sound entirely for their own sakes, as well as great conversation with a striking array of talents. He continued accumulating studio tech expertise, and singing every day (“I understand now, it’s basic nervous regulation for me!”), but – as he says with typically unflinching attitude – “I often feel semi-retired. Like in a slightly nihilistic way, there’s a sense of ‘What’s it all for?’”
Things changed for Jamie in COVID lockdown. The introspection stepped up yet another notch, and a strange need for new expression took hold. Discovering his family's neighbours were esteemed classical musicians – they never met outside the lockdown times as they were always on tour – Jamie took it on himself to learn piano for the first time, and began recording some lyrics written by his wife, Lindsey. Singing some else’s words – albeit someone he felt a deep responsibility to – and having an entirely new musical palette to draw from was immensely refreshing. The results are gripping: heavily inspired by David Sylvian and Bowie, on Places of Unknowing Jamie explores dark places, revisiting some of the shadows he cavorted through with Super_Collider, but with new confidence and clarity.
Where he goes next from here is unwritten. That sense of semi-retirement lingers, having little to prove and being several steps removed from the music industry itself. But at the same time, the ever-present need to tinker and explore the process is drawing him more into the world of post-classical composition and arrangement, starting with a one-off orchestrated performance of the album. And most importantly of all, there’s a powerful motive to continue: “If I'm gonna teach my son anything, it's: follow that passion because especially as an autistic person, you need those special interests to guide you in life. That will be your saving grace when people are mocking you for being different. Having that and knowing the power of that is huge. And not to be all ‘life lesson’ about it, I know I should take a little bit of my own advice!” | 
No comments:
Post a Comment