New instrumental album "Background for Astronauts" out via Island House Recordings out now only on bandcamp.
John Harrison’s music as jphono1 runs the range from psychedelic rock to elegant folk to improvised drone (with Ben Felton, in Tacoma Park) to beat-driven electronics. But seldom has he shown off the latter as fully and fitly as he does on his latest album, a satellite array of electronic moods and memory machines for every occasion—coming up or coming down, getting stoked or getting stoned, gazing out or gazing in.
John’s eclectic music is united less by genre than by a certain sensibility, one that’s gentle and wistful, melancholy yet hopeful, warmhearted and a little groovy, and all of these threads sparkle in the tapestry of Background for Astronauts. “F 100” is an earth rise seen from the moon, minuscule and monumental. “Cascade” is a curvy banger in slow motion, the synth and guitar lines like cold drops of mercury sliding down the implacable beat. “STJI” blends rippling keys, minimalist guitar and banjo, and boom-bap drums into a dew-splashed study in cheerful yearning. “July 4th” exposes nocturnal electro-pop to photosynthesis until it marvelously mutates. And that’s just the first half.
Combining touches of shoegaze, glitch, ambient, trip-hop, and cinematic scores—Air’s Virgin Suicides soundtrack is a big influence—Background for Astronauts floats at the threshold between spontaneity and composition where guitars, basses, and drum machines react with their MIDI counterparts. “I’m a rock and roll guy, so I just like playing instruments,” says John, who, on “M Roy,” pays anthemic tribute to the experimental guitarist Roy Montgomery. "I like using computer stuff and other tools that can provide ease and perfection, but I always want the element of human involvement to be heard and experienced"?
This element activates the album’s supple, glowing grids. It’s in the un-quantized flexibility of the timing, the character of the chord changes, and the honesty of the expression, which celebrates what people can do with machines rather than what machines do themselves. “Repetition, patience, and simplicity of layers,” John says, reflecting on the values of these eight songs. “Oftentimes, I don’t think there’s a focal point, and you could still add a dominant solo element on top. I decided not to do that. It started feeling forced when I tried to make them more than what they were becoming.”
The result is a record of transfixing vibes that, in their thoughtful absences, seek to leave plenty of room for the listener—no solos, no big climaxes, just subtle feelings painted in space. John, as it happens, is also an excellent and prolific painter whose work often features little astronauts bravely exploring fields of texture and color. Sometimes, before he puts in the figures, he stops to admire the grounds. “I connect with them,” he explains, “but inevitably I don’t feel confident enough to keep them that way. These songs are kind of like those painted backgrounds, and I got more confident in the album when I made that connection.”
The secret’s that there’s nothing missing—the astronaut is you.
—Brian Howe (Pitchfork, INDY Week)
John’s eclectic music is united less by genre than by a certain sensibility, one that’s gentle and wistful, melancholy yet hopeful, warmhearted and a little groovy, and all of these threads sparkle in the tapestry of Background for Astronauts. “F 100” is an earth rise seen from the moon, minuscule and monumental. “Cascade” is a curvy banger in slow motion, the synth and guitar lines like cold drops of mercury sliding down the implacable beat. “STJI” blends rippling keys, minimalist guitar and banjo, and boom-bap drums into a dew-splashed study in cheerful yearning. “July 4th” exposes nocturnal electro-pop to photosynthesis until it marvelously mutates. And that’s just the first half.
Combining touches of shoegaze, glitch, ambient, trip-hop, and cinematic scores—Air’s Virgin Suicides soundtrack is a big influence—Background for Astronauts floats at the threshold between spontaneity and composition where guitars, basses, and drum machines react with their MIDI counterparts. “I’m a rock and roll guy, so I just like playing instruments,” says John, who, on “M Roy,” pays anthemic tribute to the experimental guitarist Roy Montgomery. "I like using computer stuff and other tools that can provide ease and perfection, but I always want the element of human involvement to be heard and experienced"?
This element activates the album’s supple, glowing grids. It’s in the un-quantized flexibility of the timing, the character of the chord changes, and the honesty of the expression, which celebrates what people can do with machines rather than what machines do themselves. “Repetition, patience, and simplicity of layers,” John says, reflecting on the values of these eight songs. “Oftentimes, I don’t think there’s a focal point, and you could still add a dominant solo element on top. I decided not to do that. It started feeling forced when I tried to make them more than what they were becoming.”
The result is a record of transfixing vibes that, in their thoughtful absences, seek to leave plenty of room for the listener—no solos, no big climaxes, just subtle feelings painted in space. John, as it happens, is also an excellent and prolific painter whose work often features little astronauts bravely exploring fields of texture and color. Sometimes, before he puts in the figures, he stops to admire the grounds. “I connect with them,” he explains, “but inevitably I don’t feel confident enough to keep them that way. These songs are kind of like those painted backgrounds, and I got more confident in the album when I made that connection.”
The secret’s that there’s nothing missing—the astronaut is you.
—Brian Howe (Pitchfork, INDY Week)
"Cascade" video by Kellen Smith
"I listened to this for the first time while driving along a country road, so the image of constant motion was burned in, and the synth seemed like a perfect way to play with shots in motion and the feeling of fading memories of good times. All the footage was shot in Northern California and southern Oregon on a 26ish year old camcorder."
"I listened to this for the first time while driving along a country road, so the image of constant motion was burned in, and the synth seemed like a perfect way to play with shots in motion and the feeling of fading memories of good times. All the footage was shot in Northern California and southern Oregon on a 26ish year old camcorder."
New J1 instrumental song "Bugalow Evening" on this benefit compilation album. All proceeds from this volume will be donated to Amnesty International USA, supporting its ongoing human rights advocacy and global justice work.
"Gifted Ruins" is out everywhere.
Listen/Share/Purchase
Listen/Share/Purchase
Interview with Blank Tapes.....covers a lot of ground including chatting about the new album "Gifted Ruins"
"Gifted Ruins" album review from The Third Eye
Two new songs on this double single release!
Listen/Share/Purchase
Listen/Share/Purchase
New year and a new J1 album. Beats, loops, samples, live playing all chopped and sliced to create this one. From the beginning I've always incorporated these elements in all the albums I've been a part of but this is the first album entirely composed of only those elements. Available as a digital download or as a 12" one sided clear lathe cut with cover insert.
Grateful to have had two albums appear on some notable releases of 2024.
Walter Magazine
Indyweek
Record Crates United
Thanks for listening.....join me on instagram for the latest J1 situations....cheers.
Walter Magazine
Indyweek
Record Crates United
Thanks for listening.....join me on instagram for the latest J1 situations....cheers.
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On December 6th 2023 Nathan Golub (pedal steel) and I (acoustic guitar, keyboard) decided to get in a room together and see what happens if we had no plan and improvised some sounds together. A few minutes before Nathan arrived I set up a microphone in the corner of the studio so we could listen back to hear what this collaboration sounded like. We improvised in two sessions that evening. A few days later upon listening back we realized that we both connected heavily with the second composition. We decided we’d like to share it. Two friends with one microphone set off to explore some space in the improvised jam “Land Rover”
The new album "We All Belong To Something Else" is out now.
These songs came at me quick in fall of 2022. Worked closely with longtime pal Alan Weatherhead (Sparklehorse, Magnolia Electric Company) to figure out this albums path. Turns out the path was to ask a bunch of other pals to come play and sing with me.
My hope is you are able to find some time and take a listen. If you do and you connect with it in any way......thank you for that connection.
These songs came at me quick in fall of 2022. Worked closely with longtime pal Alan Weatherhead (Sparklehorse, Magnolia Electric Company) to figure out this albums path. Turns out the path was to ask a bunch of other pals to come play and sing with me.
My hope is you are able to find some time and take a listen. If you do and you connect with it in any way......thank you for that connection.
Live living room acoustic performances at "Live From The Nest"
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North Carolina-based psychedelic artist, Jphono1, gave us a little sample today of what to expect from his upcoming LP, We All Belong to Something Else, by releasing a colorfully abstract video for the record’s leading single,
“Switchblade Comb.”
Video Premier over at Record Crates United
“Switchblade Comb.”
Video Premier over at Record Crates United
