Cardinal

Philip Jeck writes: “… and they sparkled like burnished brass”* Out of the depths of our complaints, it could be all so simple. To be never fooled by the finesse of a long-yearned for solidity, but in the momentary aplomb of a sleepy walk threading through familiar streets we’d hum our way, alto, baritone and tenor toward some harmonious end. An effect like some wonderful recollection of one or other of those technicolour movies. Not real for sure, but if you are in the mood…. I would like to acknowledge the influence the writer Marilynne Robinson has had on this work. I would recommend reading any/all of her four novels and also “When I was a Child I Read Books” [Virago, 2012]. This collection of essays include “Austerity as Ideology”, which dissects prevailing economic thinking, and “Open Thy Hand Wide…” which continues with a celebration of liberal thinking as Generosity (and also turned over my received knowledge of Calvinism). Her ability to convey a love of humanity and sense of wonder about the great mystery of existence in her writing has, since I first read a book of hers, found a way into the way I think about my work - not illustrating but meditating upon. “After all, it’s [humankind] debts are only to itself.” (Marilynne Robinson) *from The Book of Ezekiel

At their best, the records of experimental British composer and producer Philip Jeck can make you reimagine the way you hear the world. His first album in five years finds the voices and instruments Jeck once built around slink into the background, ceding instead to an unexpectedly discomfiting vision.