Jono McCleery finds "Clarity" in love on skeletal, jazz-influenced new track [Premiere]
25 August 2015, 09:45
| Written by
Charlotte Krol
Do you ever get really jealous of someone's vocals? Their quivering vibrato, their sensual husk, their apparent command over all the components? Step forward, Jono McCleery. His gravelly vocal has been the draw to much of his previous works (debut album Darkest Light and follow-up There Is) and is no less compelling than on his latest track, "Clarity".
Previously a member of the touring One Taste Collective (Little Dragon, Jamie Woon, Nick Mulvey, Portico (Quartet), Kate Tempest), McCleery very much carries the vocal loop experimentations associated with Woon and the jazzy influence of Portico on "Clarity". His gorgeous, dusty voice interweaves between grave strings, gentle jazz brushes and unpredictable guitar lines on a skeletal track that's oddly full of soul. Speaking about the track, which features on his new record Pagodes, McCleery says: "As with most of the songs on Pagodes, Clarity was an attempt to write a song that stood against the themes of winning, possessing, consuming, etc. and present an idea that if we could strip ourselves from all these ego-driven pursuits (and perhaps of our clothes too) and see what's left with someone special, that our time would be better spent. "The love element is also translatable to enlightenment. John Coltrane's A Love Supreme comes to mind, as an everlasting influence. "It's ultimately about seizing the moment, listening to your heart, removing yourself from negative influence, immersing yourself in love, and finding clarity. But also acknowledging the idea that clarity is not something you just flat out achieve or possess, you just get closer to it sometimes. 'The clarity is closer'." Pagodes is released digitally on 2 October and on vinyl 16 October 2015 via IF Music. He plays ElectroWerkz, London to launch the new album on 13 October.
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