Brighton based multi-instrumentalist John J. Presley dropped his latest long-player ‘Chaos And Calypso’, via God Unknown Records last October and now is set to open up his UK headline tour in support of the platter with a date at The Prince Albert in Brighton.
The tour dates are as follows:
January
31st The Prince Albert – Brighton
February
1st Edge Of The Wedge – Portsmouth
4th Strings Bar & Venue – Isle Of White
9th Ramsgate Music Hall – Ramsgate
22nd Adelphi – Hull
23rd The Golden Lion – Todmorden
24th Le Pub – Newport
25th Hare & Hounds – Birmingham
‘Chaos And Calypso’ featured the first new music from Presley since his debut album ‘As The Night Draws In’ in 2019 and the vinyl only lockdown release ‘Albany Sessions’, which were both released to great acclaim, with Q Magazine calling the album “…a bold, striking debut” and a nearly perfect review in Rolling Stone France. Presley’s music is hard to categorise but that is its strength – from folk blues noir moments to tasteful post rock walls of sound, – classic songwriting to improvised, experimental moments, Presley is constantly creating a tapestry that will engage, challenge and inspire.
Presley played guitar, bass and pedal steel on the record and is an in-demand player too – Nadine Shah, Duke Garwood, Laura-Mary Carter, Juanita Stein and Smoke Fairies have all had him join their line ups.
A diary piece that echoes a period of ill health, of spiralling vertigo and misdiagnoses, ‘Chaos And Calypso’ showed Presley’s trademark guitar tone in full effect with enough space in the mix to weave in a new palette of textures from drum machines and synths throughout. The album’s first single ‘Sinnerman’ featured The Invisible’s Tom Herbert (a hugely respected player on the London Jazz scene with Shabaka Hutchings, Beth Orton’s band, London Brew (with Shabaka) etc) on double bass and was recorded with Ian Davenport at Courtyard Studios with additional vocals come from Laura-Mary Carter (Blood Red Shoes).
Across the album’s twelve tracks, Presley tackled a wide breadth of musical and lyrical themes throughout the vast landscape of ‘Chaos And Calypso’. There’s ‘Sea Of Deserters’ with its utter dissatisfaction felt at the current political climate; “The utter disgust and frustration in the powers that be. Sheer entitlement of some individuals, and the mess many have left behind for future generations. Selfish, unparalleled, uneducated greed,” John stated, and you can clearly hear the raw frustration in his voice. The anger is amplified by the squealing clarinet and soaring horns by legendary British musician Terry Edwards (who has performed with a great variety of artists, including PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Gallon Drunk, Lydia Lunch, Tom Waits etc).
Then there’s ‘Hold The Ties’, which finds Presley following a stream of consciousness, recorded late one night at Courtyard in a trance like state, the song and feeling swollen in the moment, with some beautiful double bass playing again by The Invisible’s Tom Herbert.
‘Into The Fire’ again demonstrates Presley’s musical dexterity, inspired by his long drives through the Sussex Downs to London, the song was recorded live with John playing pedal steel and singing at the same time. “I love the ambiguity and resonance of a pedal steel, it’s a serene instrument,” he said.
The album closes with ‘The Sequel’, a song that John said is “All about hypocrites. I’ve encountered a few in recent years. Preaching one thing and really living another.” He expressed this annoyance by trying to create the most jagged and distorted sound he could generate with an amp and fuzz box. It’s an earth-shattering end to an album that successfully takes the listener on a thrilling trip of feelings and sounds on the ‘Chaos And Calypso’.
‘Chaos And Calypso’ tracklisting:
‘Silhouettes’
‘Sinnerman’
‘Sea Of Deserters’
‘Gold’
‘Those Three Words’
‘Delicate Thread’
‘Hold The Ties’
‘Into The Fire’
‘The Sequel’
Find the album HERE and tickets for his Brighton concert can be purchased HERE or HERE.
www.instagram.com/johnjpresley
