La inspiración fundamental del cantante JBM en su cabaña

JBM (Jesse Marchant)

JBM is the performing name of Jesse Marchant, a Montreal-born and raised singer-songwriter who has spent most of his adult life living in LA and New York. Trained on classical guitar from an early age, he began writing music and lyrics only a few years ago and recorded his first album in Henry Hirsch's church studio in Hudson NY which he self-released in early 2009. He currently lives alternately in Brooklyn and his family's country cabin in Lake Clear, NY where he does a lot of his creative work when not on tour.

It’s quite common to hear of stories about people who have taken their modest belongings, and trekked into the wilderness, often in search of their own salvation in the shape of a log cabin in the depths of the woods. These brave individuals would stay for months and months to finally emerge with something great, some kind of art. Often a collection of songs. These characters are praised as noble artists, rejecting the very human need for others to posture themselves to receive and channel creativity only found in the very quiet of themselves.

And gosh, do they ever make the rest of us distracted, frenzied few look bad. I blame Bon Iver, along with the rest of those mysterious songwriters who hide in hibernation. Regardless of what I think, there is no denying the magical happenings that occur behind a closed wooden door. JBM is one of those, Jesse Marchant to be exact. He’s got these beautiful songs that are self-reflective and quiet. Below are some of his songs recorded for a recent Daytrotter session:

Vinyl LP - Sealed

About Stray Ashes by JBM:

Despite feeling disillusioned, drained, and disconnected after an intense year of touring, Brooklyn-based recording artist Jesse Marchant, a.k.a. JBM, felt an insatiable need quietly gestating. After a much needed break, he relocated to a remote cabin in the Catskills and started the long process of writing and recording Stray Ashes, his followup to 2010's Not Even in July. Like a twilight journey through canyons, with noctilucent clouds on the horizon, these songs flow with refined grace and raw force. 

Rather than starting with an acoustic guitar and vocals, Marchant experimented with drums and loops of electric guitar melodies. As the winter progressed, he continued this process until the song structures emerged. To record he relocated to a large log house next to a frozen lake inhabited by hundreds of geese in upstate New York, where he recorded everything but the vocals. He then moved to the city temporarily where he wandered the streets listening to the instrumentals and writing lyrics.

Next, John Congleton joined the project for additional recording and mixing. Congleton's contributions help to define a sonic space throughout Stray Ashes that perfectly cradles Jesse's earnest vocals, as do the additional performances of McKenzie Smith (of Midlake, Drums), and Macey Taylor (of A.A. Bondy, Bass) on several tracks, which were recorded by Congleton in his Texas studio. The gauzy sonic blanket Marchant and Congleton have created provides a foundation for the mysterious collection of songs on Stray Ashes.

We don't have to fully understand them to be moved by these shining beacons guiding us through a mellifluous fog. Propelled by Marchant's voice, songs like "Winter Ghosts" and "Keeping Up" seem to effortlessly fill the room with an addictive somber haze, while Marchant seems to implore us to return to something true and meaningful on other standouts like "Ferry" and "Only Now."

JBM - "On Fire On A Tightrope" by UNKNWN from Western Vinyl on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/35472921

http://www.jambase.com/Artists/68736/JBM/Bio 

http://www.friendswithbotharms.com/2009/11/page/2/

http://isabellnwedin.blogspot.com.es/2009/08/jbm-jesse-marchant.html