Jerome Alexander - acoustic guitars, pianos, glockenspiels, samples, drums, loop pedal, melodica, toy piano, harmonium, voice.
Influences
life, stories, countryside, cities, forests, roadtrips, bonfires, the beach late at night, summer fields, Snowdonian cottages, changing seasons, Peter Broderick, Explosions in the Sky, Yann Tiersen, The Album Leaf, Library Tapes, Beirut, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mono, Ólafur Arnalds, Manyfingers, Eluvium, Arvo Part, Philip Glass...
Sounds Like
- Mixmag
"Message To Bears is the work of young and talented musician, Jerome Alexander. Incorporating acoustic guitars, glockenspiel, drums and sampling, he has created a rather gentle and affecting ep here, that nods to both Jose Gonzalez and Eluvium. There are some moments of uplifitng beauty on "Ep 1", whether it is through a simple guitar melody or the introduction of some light drumming. A collection of folky instrumental acoustic tracks, each song contains something that will make you want to go back for more." - Boring Machines
"From what I've read, and to the best of my knowledge, Message to Bears is only one person, a man from the UK named Jerome Alexander. He seems to be a natural-born instrumentalist, gifted at creating some very emotional, delicate music. The music he's recorded is subtle and beautiful, rich is tone and texture. It's soothing in the purest sense. When I listen, I imagine wide-open landscapes that haven't yet been touched by modern civilization. I suppose that kind of thing only exists in movies, which is rather fitting, because this album could very well be the score to a film. The music itself falls somewhere between EITS and Eluvium. Very guitar based, acoustic finger picking that definitely has its scopes set pretty high.
Luckily, it never fails in its attempt." - Decoy Music
"Electronica that doesn’t make me wince. Instrumentals that do more than float aimlessly looking for a place to roost, or trying to get your attention by flashing and spashing you with isolated and losts sounds. This is just a current, a jet-stream, it moves you - not in the “it moved me to tears” half-emotion. No this is surreal, and dynamic.
There’s no pretense, and it certainly doesn’t sound underground - this is open to the fresh air. Resonating through all sorts of frequencies that I really don’t understand." - Nothing But Green Lights
"But I’ve left the best to last: the wonderful, impressionistic ‘Plane Over Evening Sky’. Again, we get a rapt, concentrated opening statement from the acoustic guitar which then widens almost cinematically with the inclusion of layers of lush guitars. Bells, string washes and even hand claps are subsequently incorporated into the texture to create an almost religious experience." - Oxfordbands.com
Departures "Full length CD album from Jerome aka Message to Bears, Oxfords premiere ambient folker. Here he brings us 10 tracks of his gorgeous acoustic guitar driven melancholy, beginning with the the aptly titled “Running Through Woodland”, the track sets a menacing pace with layers of guitars and cellos. “Hidden Beneath” is driven by a stomping pulse and delightful percussion. Plenty of glock action and viola sweeps, uplifting choral vocals and delicate piano lines, this is Jerome at his finest yet, showcasing a brilliant melodic ability, combining classical instrumentation into a folk/pop structure taking cues from bands such as Explosions in the Sky. This is an album that will leave you speechless every time you listen as you uncover new hidden details, textures and melodies. I couldn’t be prouder to release this.
500 copies on PRO REPLICATED CD (not CDR) housed in an arigato pak, with insert. Hand numbered, each with an individual old photograph and all wrapped in brown paper, hand stamped and tied with string, which perfectly compliments the music."
"Jerome Alexander's (aka Message To Bears) first mini-album got full marks here, and he's done it again on another limited-run, hand-crafted CD. Sparkling acoustic guitars weave around heart-stopping cellos and haunting ambient effects to give the audio equivalent of dew-drops on grass turning into jewels at sunrise. Simply stunning". - Mixmag Magazine
you're crazy. received "Departures" today - and it's by far the most beautiful recording i ever held in my hands; packaging & music - just amazing. thank you so much.
thanks maan :) your music is incredible. i've been trying to find the perfect folk-electronic music for a while now, and you've got it completely right. shall look forward to hear new songs to come :) chris
Thank you. I deeply appreciate your compliments. I've known of you for a while from the ATPR site and the awesome Dead Pilot Records and really love your work.
easy jermoe ski, didnt know you where playing bloom?? big have to try pop along to that, just finished a track i thought you might like, called forestation on my page, first track i made with out the use of samples, kinda of message esk, hope you enjoy peace.
"Departures" arrived this morning :) It's a thing of beauty, both to listen to and look at - nice work! I almost didn't dare open it up in case I could wrap it back up properly!
hey Jerome your music is incredible i love "November" i'm definitely gonna pre-order hope you'll check us out and let us know what you think how are you? :]
- Mixmag
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