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Inspired by the space and depth of compositions by the likes of Brian Eno and Terry Riley mixed in alongside the vocal layering of Judee Sill, the groove of TNT-era Tortoise and the songwriting approach of John Marytn and Nick Drake, the album was recorded at Joe’s home in Sussex and on location using a hybrid of analogue and digital recording. Joe says of the process “the songs are profoundly embellished by the talents of many musicians I admire and are fortunate to call friends. I mostly created the skeleton of each song at home and then redacted parts until it was ready to bring to the guest instrumentalists’ space. There, they heard the project for the first time and were limited to two or three takes, enough to capture the essence of their initial reaction. Like a sonic archaeologist, I revisited the sessions later and edited the passes with the aim to expose buried artefacts and present the player honestly.”
As well as other artists, Joe was also inspired by the Sussex coast and the South Downs. Joe says “walking the ancient chalk hills and imagining the life and geological forces that created the landscape gets me every time. Closer to sea level you can witness similar processes happening on a different size and time scale. The calming effect of the sea is a constant reminder that everything comes in waves.”
Personnel:
Andrew Stuart-Buttle - Violin, Viola on tracks 1 & 9.
Juan Espiga - Percussion on track 3.
Leonie Evans - Vocals on track 9.
Fred Hills - Drums on track 4 & 9.
Adam Johnson - Drums on tracks 1, 2, 6 & 8.
Guy Jones - Flute on tracks 4 & 6.
Martyn Lillyman - Percussion on track 3.
Louis Pavlo - Piano on tracks, 1, 8 & 9 + vocals on track 5.
Lorenzo Prati - Saxophone on track 7.
Joe Woodham - Vocals, Guitars, Moog Synthesizer, Bass, Double Bass on all tracks.
Credits:
Songs & production by Joe Woodham.
Recorded on location and at Seagull Cottage, Saltdean and Echo Zoo, Eastbourne.
Mixed and mastered by Joe Woodham.
Released by None More Records.
Like a Saxon Offering to the Marsh
// An Epochal Echo
The second single from 'Weathered People'
Side A
Drums by Adam Johnson
Flute by Guy Jones
Side B
Sax by Lorenzo Prati
None More Records present Weathered People, the second album on NMR from experimental singer-songwriter Joe Woodham. Building and evolving from his previous record Worldwide Weather, Weathered People was inspired by a continuing fascination with the weather and pondering on the effect it has on us collectively. The album explores themes of psychology, wellbeing, spirituality, geology and deep time whilst always trying to be grounded and rooted by nature.
Weathered People is an exercise in echoic memory. An anti-myopic dedication. Thoughts and ramblings from a 35 year old, father, husband, musician, amateur meteorologist, disillusioned heritage revivalist, an ancient assembly of selections and decisions that were told a long time ago they were born too late.
I step into disintegration, on the shore of new and old.
Like a Saxon offering to the marsh.
WORLDWIDE WEATHER
[None More Records 2023]
A lo-fi foley adventure. Featuring wailing guitars aboard hypnotic tape loops, gale force bass VI and squally seagulls.
Searching for hidden signals in the shipping forecast…
“…the magical ‘Spring Tides’ builds from a Laraaji-like heavenly introduction into a slow forward momentum of beautiful slowcore and shoegaze…” - Monolith Cocktail.
“If you’re after something close to original Fripp/Eno… this is pretty close and worthy of repeated listens” - Gerry Hectic
“With a sound like Ben Watt or Robert Wyatt glimpsed through the wrong end of a pollen-dusted telescope, Joe Woodham’s ‘Worldwide Weather’ provides an opportunity to understand our ultimate impermanence and irrelevance in the face of nature” - Alistair Fitchett / Caught by the River
BBC6 Music The Huey Show ‘Meat of the Week’ (01/07/2023)
