StorkMusic

Thanks to Thuy Lan at StorkMusic for this:

"Jon White fronts a one-man band called If This Is a Man.  His digital album, Random Acts of Kindness Have Saved Lives, is now available on bandcamp.

White creates his songs in his makeshift bedroom recording studio, with “…Just me, a pretty battered electric guitar, an acoustic, a bass, piano and an incredibly noisy and slow computer.”  The mellow, complex layering of the tracks are somewhat reminiscent of an Imogen Heap, Pretty Lights and Bon Iver mashup.

At the age of seven or eight, White was captivated by an album called Morning Glory.  At the age of thirteen, the budding musician picked up a guitar and found piano a logical accompaniment.  White also muddled with drums, but says he never was quite so good with them.

The spacey, indie tunes are described by White as “a mix of genres really, slowcore, psychedelic, acoustic folk, electronica, melancholy, indie, 90′s jangley emo with slightly spacey vocals and lyrics.”  A prime example of the crossover genre is ‘Your Old Room.’  The single opens with a simple piano, soon accompanied by a raw, quieter set of vocals.  The piano intensifies deeper into the track, but slows to a set of beats near the middle, showing the complexity and layers of the album.

The lyricism of the unique tracks come from life experience, “I just write about ideas I have and feelings about relationships with people and concepts, they can be a bit philosophical sometimes and a bit romantic sometimes, sad sometimes, hopeful sometimes, it’s not all sort of focused with one aim. I never sort of sit down and go right, I’m gonna write a song about love, or feeling lost or whatever I just write what comes naturally,” says White.

Overall, the tracks off Random Acts of Kindness Have Saved Lives are undoubtedly original.  If This Is a Man offers an alternative soundtrack to your evening, a good record to wind down to.

You can listen to the album on bandcamp and get more information about If This Is a Man on FaceBook and follow his blog here."

http://storkmusic.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/if-this-is-a-man-random-acts-of-kindness-have-saved-lives/

Little update; recently started a new job at Keele so been a bit busy lately, not recorded for a while. Been working on some lyrics for some songs with Ali Ewing (Solarwind) coming together quite nicely, thinking about making just a mini 3 maybe 4 song EP to bring out in a couple of months, and then start work on the next If This Is A Man album. No idea what shape that's going to take yet, but I've got a nice shiny electric mandolin to play with so I'm sure there'll be plenty of that. Hope life is treating you kindly, and thanks for taking an interest.

Peace
Jonathan

By If This Is A Man with No comments

Room Thirteen

Proud to be one of the unsigned picks of the month on Room Thirteen:

"Jon White aka If This Is A Man is a Staffordshire based singer songwriter and his new album was written, performed and recorded in a bedroom over this Summer. The record "Random Acts Of Kindness Have Saved Lives" is described by Jon as mixture of genres from slowcore through psychedelia and folk to electronic and shoegaze. The album is lovely and reminds us a little of Death Cab For Cutie. Check out his stuff at Bandcamp!
http://roomthirteen.com/features/887/Our_Pick_Of_Septembers_Unsign.html

Check out Arks on the same review, some really good songs, quite Radioheady.

Jon

By If This Is A Man with No comments

Binge Cringe Whinge

Cheers to Scott at BCW for the review:

"Year: 2011
Genre: Folk, indie

Random Acts displays a flair for genre-hopping that caught me off guard. Towards the end of the sweet folky opening track Indelible, I was sucker punched when the climax roared in with a choir-like effect. I was wearing a smile when my head snapped back from the recoil though.

From there the album progresses very pleasingly, with the occasional lashing of wild ingredients. Thankfully, despite the electric guitar, the tribal percussions, the radio-style monolgue, the album never loosens its grip on its decidedly homey feel. You never feel too far from the foundation of the songwriting talent – warm acoustic guitar and earnest vocals."

http://bingecringewhinge.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/if-this-is-a-man-random-acts-of-kindness-have-saved-lives/

By If This Is A Man with No comments

The Indie Artist Podcast

Write up in The Indie Artist Podcast, the guys were also good enough to include me in their podcast, episode 5, which you can listen to here:

http://theindieartistpodcast.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/episode-five-god-gave-rock-and-roll-to-you/

"So when I write these things I do as much research as I can, I check the band’s facebook, they’re tumblr, maybe stalk a few tweets. I’ll read past interviews or even see what other reviewers thought…sometimes bands have all this stuff, sometimes I have to do more with less…while reading up on If This Is A Man, I stumbled across several review sites, but was disappointed to see they only really take the time to write 50-100 words on any given artist. They blurb it. So simple. So concise. And in the end people are still checking out the album’s blurbed on. Maybe I’m wasting everyone’s time with these long reviews, making more work out of a relatively simple concept…if I am I apologize…I suppose if you’re not into it though then you wouldn’t be here, so apology rescinded(except to Jon White of ITIAM, apologies for venting when I should be reviewing). But anyway, If This Is A Man marks The Indie Artist Podcast‘s first international submission, what a monumental occasion! The project is a solo endeavor of Jon White from Staffordshire, whose 8/9/11 release “Random Acts of Kindness Have Saved Lives” is a 9-song shoegaze/psycha/indie release, showcasing ethereal guitar work and White’s subtle vocal style. I really respect the fact that he performed and recorded the whole thing, I’ve done the lonesome bedroom recording thing, and there are definitely moments that make you feel like you’re slowly going crazy. White does well though, in creating a very distinct sound for himself. I think the vocals on the album, while setting him apart, could use a little work, not so much with the way he sings them but in the production; a little more volume, a little less effect. The foundation is there and I can see the dream-like quality of them, but I think they miss the mark just a bit. He also manages to incorporate a large mix of guitar/piano/bass/synth and software base instruments throughout the album, giving it a nice full feel, while staying musically engaging. This production method works perfectly on the track “Networking”, which replaces White’s vocals with samples from the 1976 film Network. The album is undeniably centered on a very specific production sensibility and at times I find myself wishing for a little more variety, but overall If This Is A Man is definitely worth a listen, and I’m interested to see what he does with his next album."

http://theindieartistpodcast.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/if-this-is-a-man-pondhopper/

By If This Is A Man with No comments

Polar Sunspots

Today's pick on Polar Sunspots:

"Dreamy, genre hopping release from England. Takes influence from various genres, including shoegaze, folk, psychedelica, slowcore and ambient. You can expect to hear some electronic elements too. If This Is A Man manages to do this whilst still remaining cohesive – no easy feat as you can probably guess! Really heartfelt and emotional album. Highly recommended."

http://polarsunspots.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/if-this-is-a-man-random-acts-of-kindness-have-saved-lives/

By If This Is A Man with No comments

Sethmol Album Review

Thanks to Ian Witzel for this review on Sethmol

"A somber reel of psychedelic guitar strings is cast into the pond of the soul. Tiny ripples break the surface and cascade outward, sending a solemn vibration to the senses. The sound waves lure positive organisms to the air and repel all negativity, creating a submerged cocoon of safety.

If This Is a Man are giving new definition to the word slowcore. They learned from the masters like Low and Red House Painters and added shoegaze influences to send us down a swirling vortex of beautiful sound. Subtle echos and kaleidoscopic guitar manipulations flutter about the brain, breaking the emotional dams we have built for ourselves. The vocals are soothing and consolatory but at times they become obtrusive and too present. When this happens a barrier is put between the mind and the music and you do not get the full experience.

Random Acts of Kindness Have Saved Lives . The title is very fitting. This album is a bandage for the broken heart, a blanket for a frozen body. Listen to this when your soul is ready to scream and give up and somewhere among the guitar strums and piano strikes you will find the strength to keep going."

Standout Track: Nostalgic

Rating: 4 stars 

http://sethmol.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/review-if-this-is-a-man-random-acts-of-kindness-have-saved-lives/

By If This Is A Man with No comments

Networking Review

Review of Networking in Indie Music News:

 

Hello Independent Music readers/fans. I went on a bit of a rant the other day. Basically I really appreciate music when musicians spend so much time creating magical boxes of emotion. Then you get artists like Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black who work on segments of money making toblerone that the popular public indulge on. Well guess what? I don’t like toblerone or Justin Bieber…….that’s all I wanted to say; I feel like a preacher……hail mercy!

In other news – I got an email from a man that goes by the name of……If This Is A Man; sounds like a stunt double for James Bond – 011. Anyway I’m going to review his single – Networking – to try and entice people to log-out of Facebook and read this review; that’s as optimistic as George Bush running an ice-cream van, providing the masses with propaganda that his ice-cream is the best. That would probably happen. Before we begin, have a listen to the single….alright?

Networking – social deprivation. Listening to this track you would probably enjoy it more on a bike riding through the slums of democracy/UK. The track talks about society and how it has changed and developed into a ball of technology and ruined communication as a whole.  To be honest what he says is true and I’m left feeling quite annoyed. Wait a minute as I run outside and tell the world…………don’t worry I’m not that mental. What I should say is listen to the track while you’re on Facebook.

Rate: 9/10

Daniel Thomas

http://indiemusicnews.info/single-review-if-this-is-a-man-networking/

By If This Is A Man with No comments