Denis Jones is a self-taught guitarist and songwriter from Lancashire, UK. Having begun his musical life as a singer songwriter in the classic UK mould of the likes of John Martyn, he has over the last three years developed a show-stopping live performance based around the core of his exceptional and unique guitar-playing style and rich, soulful voice. Utilising a loop station and all manner of samplers and effects, Denis creates vast, complex orchestrations of beat-box rhythms, multi-layered vocals and other-wordly sounds which veer from subtle heart-wrenching folk and blues to heavy bass-driven electronica.
Denis has collaborated with many high profile artists from all over Europe, including a track with Dusseldorf artist Kemo which was included on Marcus Intelex’s Fabric Live 35 compilation. He has also worked with John Ellis and Luke Flowers (Cinematic Orchestra), Jon Thorne (Lamb) and Henry Da Massa (Micah P Hinson), all of whom appear on Denis’s recordings. He has played all over Europe, as far afield as Lithuania,
Georgia and Croatia, as well as festival shows in the UK including Secret Garden Party (after a personal invite from BBC Radio 1 DJ Eddy Temple-Morris), Glastonbury, End of The Road, Great Escape, Big Chill and Futuresonic. He has supported Amp Fiddler at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Efterklang at Bush Hall, Chris Corsano, Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid and many more.
His performance at Futuresonic in May 2008 has resulted in an invitation for Denis to be one of only three musicians on the new Futuresonic artist development program, FuturesFamily, which will include a specially curated performance at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester for 2009’s Futuresonic festival.
Denis’s debut album, Humdrum Virtue, was released in 2007 in a unique limited edition industrial packaging, designed by Denis himself, selling out rapidly and leading to the re-issue of the album in a slightly more conventional, but still striking packaging. Tracks from the album have been included on compilations in Europe and Canada. A second album is almost complete and there are plans for more collaboration projects involving the
musicians Denis has worked with from Manchester, Germany and Lithuania.
REVIEWS
“scuzzy Mancunian blues at it’s richest and, most intriguing.”
The Guardian
“logical, eardrum-massaging, heart-stirring sonic harmony”
Drowned In Sound
“There’s something about his willingness to experiment, his bravery and
risk-taking that makes him stand slightly aside from the now dissolving world of folktronica”
Just listening to your most recently uploaded tunes, impressive I must say!
Hopefully I can make one of your Band on the Wall gigs, I haven't been there yet and I'm curious to see what it looks like now that they've reopened it. Also, I want a copy of your new album as soon as you've finished it! I'm particularly looking forward to hearing 'Sometimes', I love that song. I also owe you a pint, sir...
Tickets SELLING FAST! £7 adv avaliable from (more on the door): wegottickets.com seetickets.com Ticketline Picadilly Records
Grouper (US) has her latest – Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill – of three albums on Type Records. She has also been involved in collaborative releases, contributing a track to Xiu Xiu’s Remixed & Covered and four tracks to a split release with Inca Ore. Her other contemporaries are Belong, Growing, Tim Hecker, Windy & Carl and Atlas Sound.
Jasper TX (Sweden), with a hefty back-catalogue of releases on labels such as Miasmah, and collaborations with buddy Machinefabriek, is an essential domestic appliance in the household of conceptual music. He is comparable to artists Fennesz, Sigur Ros, Múm and Tape.
Intricate and atmospheric songsmith, Danny Saul (UK) performs with different combinations of musicians, making each gig a unique event. His forthcoming release is "Harsh, Final", and he also performs with Greg Haines as Liondialer.
Fieldhead (UK) music delights in tape hiss, bleak landscapes and decaying analogue loops. He is also a member of The Declining Winter and Glissando. His debut album, "They Shook Hands for Hours" is released soon on Home Assembly.
Trespassers William (Seattle, US) are the duo of Matt Brown and Anna-Lynne Williams. "Subliminally sublime and pragmatically perfect, you would have to possess an ashtray for a heart not to feel this coursing through your soul" (DSD Music Magazine). A new EP, The Natural Order of Things, is set to be released on Gizeh Records. They will make a church performance with special guests.
Glissando (Sheffield, UK) “have the kind of atmosphere that can captivate and relax in equal measure- never before has tranquillity sounded so urgent. While track lengths of over 10 minutes may fail to hold the attention of the ADHD sufferers among us, with patience it plays like a majestic dream. And it's one you'll never want to wake up from." NME
Operations (Chris Anderson) is a Manchester based conceptual music producer and sound artist. He performs and records with an array of analog synths and effects, reel-to-reel tape and casette players, and guitars. Followers of Tim Hecker, Slowdive, Fennesz, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Stephen O'Malley, Type and 12K Records will surely nod in approval.
Hey there Denis, my names Karl :) Just wanted to stop by and tell you that i love your music and 'Humdrum Virtue' is an absolutly amazing album! Have you confirmed to play this 'Love Music Hate Racism' gig that George and many others are organizing? I've been to see you a couple of times now.. you've actually played with my band (SAY) a few times now.. you're so interesting live... i'd love to see you play again sometime soon. I set up the myspace page for the LMHR gig the other day and i've just put you as 'TBC'.. do you know if you'll be able to do it yet?
It was great to hear your music in the night & day last night! you have a very original sound, I really enjoyed it :] and thanks for signing my cd too!
How Nice! Vilnius Vilnius Vilnius Who is organizing? I could try to find some gig for us in those days... you could see Fused live, too... Hope everything is well, even if not pleasant, we all know how to turn dirty into clean, right? We'll have a first official self-made music video presentation next week, which makes me incredibly excited. I'll attach a poster, but not for promotional purposes, it should be an intrigue... Ciao!
