Brisbane lo fi electro sounds fiend expands his palette and delivers a diverse album of beats and beauty
Album: synesthesia
Artist: Jamie
Released: May 6 2022
One of the unexpected things I have found running a record label is that I have a certain familial feeling and concern for the artists and bands on the label. Somewhat like I have for my own offspring - wanting to let them be and find their own way through the world yet ready to help if called for.
Jamie Barneveld is from Brisbane, Australia and was one of the first acts to join Blowtorch in 2019 after I heard his lo fi, whispered rap poems on Soundcloud. They struck a chord with me immediately. He described himself at the time as a low fidelity, alternative RnB/indie sunflower sprouted from the soil of the Instagram scene. His first album psychosis reflected this before a more troubled period in his life resulted in a much harder sound on second album Son Of A Glitch in October 2020. And then nothing for nearly a year.
I wouldn't say I was worried about him but every so often I'd wonder what he was up and my infrequent attempts to communicate went unanswered.
Fast forward to September 2021, and an email arrives out of nowhere containing a track called sweet noises. Turns out he's been off the grid with no phone and his Instagram account (our method of communication) gone. And also back to making the kind of brilliant lo-fi, trippy beat poems which are like a cross between Brian Eno and Massive Attack.
Delighted to hear from him, I was even more thrilled when I heard the new material. sweet noises is about the sounds his girlfriend makes when she's asleep but cloying and sickly it is not. It's just well sweet. The new album synesthesia contains 21 tracks which encompass a range going form this via experimental techno, dance beats to a guitar led song for his mother. It's an extraordinary achievement and one which will reward you many times over.
Sounds abound on this album - industrial clangs, snatches of speech, odd samples, trippy typewriters (I think) and they are all bound together with his lo fi beats and an unerring sense of melody. And a knack of delivering just what a receptive collection of synapses are asking for.
He has also expanded out into upbeat dancefloor ready bangers. One of our favourite is 9 which is pure melodic electro pop. The album closer enough comes over like an Aussie Sampha; moon (2018) is all trippy ambience whereas testosterone is an out there experiment. Really you should just head over to your streaming platform of choice and listen, possibly with a psychedelic of your choice.
We urge you to jump into his lysergic, lo fi world and let his noises drown out the world for a while.
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sweet noises appears on this Blowtorch Records vinyl compilation album
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