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Telephone Jim Jesus - "Things"
Oakland's George Chadwick, aka Telephone Jim Jesus, grew up in New London, New Hampshire. The folks at anticon call the place "snowy," and you could say the same for his lovely, Baudelaire-riffing sophomore solo album Anywhere Out Of The Everything. The record includes cameos from Pedestrian, Why?, Bomarr, Alias, Odd Nosdam and Doseone, among others, but is also peopled with the ghosts of a longterm relationship: Amidst the beats, guest voices, and lush forward momentum, the fuzzy transmissions rattle with a melancholic underpin. On non-album track "Things," Chadwick stitches together a Gothic-leaning instrumental, a gorgeous, spectral tune that opens in near silence and debuts with this Drop.
Can you give us a little background on "Things"? "Things" was made during an emotional period in early 2005, shortly after a break up from an eight-year relationship. I used sounds from a children's music education record where they played single notes on instruments to identify the sounds. I sampled several instruments and created my own little orchestration. I felt like it was a strong expression of the sadness and rollercoaster emotions that I was experiencing at the time. It was originally going to be on the album, but then seemed too long and slow to fit the pace. It was created about the same time as "Featherfall"* on the album and could be a sister song, from a period when I was making more orchestral music and focusing on melodies more than other things.
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*For some contrast/compare, you can hear "Featherfall" at MySpace. Then keep on exploring.
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