JON REDFERN
is back with immense
new album
WU WEI
## 'A truly remarkable voice'
Justin Meldal-Johnsen - Nine Inch Nails, Jeff Beck, Air
A semi-biopic reference to his childhood growing up in a shoddy yet stimulating Brighton UK, and the retro-futuristic musical influences of the 1980s.
Expect - Gushing Blade-runner synths, modernly twisted with dark electric beats, esoteric lyrics and Jon's 'ever beautiful' acoustic-folk vocals.
WU-WEI is currently ‘in the mix’ with Paul Norris, the Grammy award-winning chief engineer at world-renowned Metropolis studios - Here’s a sneak peek of the WU-WEI sound……
Demo clip of album track
Jon Redfern
Q&A
So, what have you been up to these last 15 years?
I'm glad I left music back in 2008 and for so long, I wanted to marry and get on with my life, you know, all this waiting around, and touring, and feeling sick, I didn't believe in myself and believe I could make ends meet this way. I went from music into a job in IT in the finance sector. When I started I wasn't technically minded, but I thought, I can do anything I want, so I did. My main doubt was leaving my identity as a musician, but I soon realised that was the problem and what was making me miserable. So I got on with it!
Why are you (now) making a new album?
It was by accident, I met and became good friends with bass player Mark Saunders (ex-Florence and Machine), and he sparked this whole thing off by leaving guitar strings on the kitchen table. I was helped by an entrepreneur who had seen me play live a while ago, he stepped in to get involved with creating an album and has since become a mentor and good friend.
What’s the concept?
Being a parent is like reliving your childhood all over again, in its minute detail, all the highs and lows! It's about growing up in the 1980's, in Brighton, but somehow it's brought into focus through the eyes of my kids. There is a dystopian future and a merging of realities. Yep, I know
What kind of sound should we expect?
I think it turned out varied and melodic. The genre is between Rock, Electronica, Pop or Alt but could be any category here. There are some nice synths and keys doing a lot of work, trying to make the best of the sounds and balance, wanting to make a record unexpected musically and about melody/mood and rhythm in equal measure. I was inspired by artists I listened to when I was young, Herbie Hancock, Vangelis, Tears for Fears, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Talk Talk but I think there's probably a lot of other stuff there too that I'm not aware of.
Tell us about some of your (musical, spiritual) influences here.
I moved out of home when I was 15, I was doing a lot of drugs, a year or so later, I had a very bad trip that changed me permanently! During a year of recovery, I started using the ancient Chinese classic the 'I-Ching'. It made me pay attention. I started learning guitar a year or two earlier and making music was a passion. It's always helped me expand into a space of my own, because I love the process, it's always an end in itself.