Ultimately, it wasn't to be. Drive turned out to be a bigger deal than anyone involved imagined, and
Chromatics' Kill For Love is one of the classiest and most romantic albums of 2012. Lucy Jones speaks to the prolific Johnny Jewel of Chromatics and Glass Candy about his work ethic, religious upbringing and love
Johnny Jewel is the most brazen man in music. Genuinely audacious, without needing to wear a dress made out of chops or a lobster on his head. Or blast the Olympics as “lethal to witness” such as Morrissey, Head Boring Contrarian, did this week. A quick example: Kill for Love starts with a bold cover of Neil Young's 'Into the Black'. The man has cojones.He is also the termite of the music world, almost catching up busy old Sun Ra and Frank Zappa in terms of productivity. When I speak to him, he's working on 200 songs. Soon he will have released four albums (Kill For Love with Chromatics, Themes For An Imaginary Film as Symmetry, Body Work as Glass Candy and the second After Dark compilation out this October). He's probably the only artist involved in four major and active projects, which he tours regularly across the world – Desire, Symmetry, Chromatics and Glass Candy. The songs 'Under Your Spell' and 'Tick of the Clock' featured on, and defined, the greatest soundtrack of the 21st century - Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive - last year. I need a cup of tea and a sit-down just thinking about it.
Kill For Love is the album that will introduce lots of new fans to Jewel. Popularity suggests it's likely to feature on 'Best Of' lists at the end of the year, quite deservedly. It's a series of dystopian lullabies that wax and wane over sometimes seven, eight and even fourteen minutes. See what I mean by brazen? The 'Into the Black' cover is a glory – even for a hardcore Neil Young fan. Cellos, tubular bells, cymbals, shuffle beats, bubbling guitars, synths and crepuscular vocals colour the picture. It's not in the least predictable: on 'Lady', there's a beat which recalls 'Gimme Some More' by Busta Rhymes (Jewel is a hip hop fan). The album is sexy with an undertow of menace and tension; sometimes unsettling, always rich.
Chromatics played in the UK early this year. One show was at Madame JoJos, that sweaty little club in Soho, London. Ruth, the vocalist, was spellbinding. Johnny bobbed up and down, his whole body moving violently with the music, as if his equipment was a defibrillator. We left with glowing faces and gleaming eyeballs to flood the red light district with superlatives.
Jewel has blazed his own path since 1996. He releases all music on his own record label Italians Do It Better. He rarely deals with the media; there was no press release for Kill For Love. He avoids television and the internet. He experiments and reinvents constantly, always trying to be better. He's committed to his music in an unusually intense way. He wouldn't tell me why he covered 'Running Up That Hill' by Kate Bush – “I don't think I'd be able to hold it together” – but it could easily describe his daily routine. He is unique in his level of risk-taking – and so far this ballsy attitude is working out just fine.
Johnny Jewel is the most brazen man in music. Genuinely audacious, without needing to wear a dress made out of chops or a lobster on his head. Or blast the Olympics as “lethal to witness” such as Morrissey, Head Boring Contrarian, did this week. A quick example: Kill for Love starts with a bold cover of Neil Young's 'Into the Black'. The man has cojones.He is also the termite of the music world, almost catching up busy old Sun Ra and Frank Zappa in terms of productivity. When I speak to him, he's working on 200 songs. Soon he will have released four albums (Kill For Love with Chromatics, Themes For An Imaginary Film as Symmetry, Body Work as Glass Candy and the second After Dark compilation out this October). He's probably the only artist involved in four major and active projects, which he tours regularly across the world – Desire, Symmetry, Chromatics and Glass Candy. The songs 'Under Your Spell' and 'Tick of the Clock' featured on, and defined, the greatest soundtrack of the 21st century - Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive - last year. I need a cup of tea and a sit-down just thinking about it.
Kill For Love is the album that will introduce lots of new fans to Jewel. Popularity suggests it's likely to feature on 'Best Of' lists at the end of the year, quite deservedly. It's a series of dystopian lullabies that wax and wane over sometimes seven, eight and even fourteen minutes. See what I mean by brazen? The 'Into the Black' cover is a glory – even for a hardcore Neil Young fan. Cellos, tubular bells, cymbals, shuffle beats, bubbling guitars, synths and crepuscular vocals colour the picture. It's not in the least predictable: on 'Lady', there's a beat which recalls 'Gimme Some More' by Busta Rhymes (Jewel is a hip hop fan). The album is sexy with an undertow of menace and tension; sometimes unsettling, always rich.
Chromatics played in the UK early this year. One show was at Madame JoJos, that sweaty little club in Soho, London. Ruth, the vocalist, was spellbinding. Johnny bobbed up and down, his whole body moving violently with the music, as if his equipment was a defibrillator. We left with glowing faces and gleaming eyeballs to flood the red light district with superlatives.
Jewel has blazed his own path since 1996. He releases all music on his own record label Italians Do It Better. He rarely deals with the media; there was no press release for Kill For Love. He avoids television and the internet. He experiments and reinvents constantly, always trying to be better. He's committed to his music in an unusually intense way. He wouldn't tell me why he covered 'Running Up That Hill' by Kate Bush – “I don't think I'd be able to hold it together” – but it could easily describe his daily routine. He is unique in his level of risk-taking – and so far this ballsy attitude is working out just fine.
