Jamie Woon.
I’ve been obsessed with this guy’s music ever since I played a modest show at a local library, where after my set, my friend’s older brother told me chords I was strumming reminded him of “Spirals” by Jamie Woon.
I was offended; why the hell would I want to hear that chords I thought were original to me and my personality were already out there elsewhere? Especially coming fresh off a stage where I was experiencing all kinds of emotions in front of people.
But if there’s an element about me that shines through, it’s that I have respect for others when they have things they want to share with me, and I have an undying curiosity that will get me to go home and look for “Spirals” on YouTube.
And what I heard was beyond unreal- probably ‘the’ song I would want playing if there were a beautiful, sophisticated lady in the room with me, lit by those black standing lamps with the semi-spheres diffusing light upwards, her in a black dress, glasses of red wine in hand, on a black leather couch next to one another, staring into each other’s eyes and getting ready for that magical kiss that turns into passion, yeah..
That’s this song right here.
Click on the words ‘this song’ and go right into that vision.
It didn’t end with Spirals though.
I heard a style that was so polished and well-articulated, yet at the same time, I had to think Jamie had a knack for experimenting just given by his choice of chords and how he accented his percussion while strumming and playing licks.
I picked right up on that vibe- I checked out related YouTube links, including this one for “Spirits”.
He did it again- this time turning his voice, mouth, and larynx into his instruments through a looper and echoes, reverbs, and delays. I was blown away by his technique and yet again by his style, leaving the video feeling inspired and like my spirit could fly free and towards its calling.
Somehow this small adventure into a new artist’s territory turned into listening to all of Mirrorwriting, and finding songs unpublished on the album by him on the net.
This is definitely a musician I would be looking forward to working with, when I manage to get to that level of recognition, given I can compose and evolve my sound to that point.
Clearly, this post isn’t here for nothing- if you’ve read it then you have more than enough incentive to retrace these steps and listen to Jamie Woon.