Jay Stansfield
Pendle
Original, affecting and a tad bonkers, Jay Stansfield has charmed us with his inventive approach to songwriting.
You only have to visit his website (http://jaystansfield.co.uk) to get a feel of Jay's warmly eccentric songcraft,
wrapped up in a 60s pop sheen.
Heralding from t'other side of Pendle, Jay has been busy as a recording artist for a good many years and has steadily built a bank of great songs on White Label Music since 2011 - backed with some amazing videos - in his fiercely independent fashion.
This culminated in two LPs ...Unwound (a remix album) and Gobstopper, attracting much acclaim and ‘Birth & Death’ which is his third solo album.
In his first three years as a solo artist Jay Stansfield has performed at Liverpool’s ‘Sound City’, supported Dodgy at one of their comeback shows and already performed a huge UK tour promoting his debut album LOVISM featuring vocals from Hannah Hird (Ellie Goulding / The Slow Club) including a support slot with Mike And The Mechanics on the Isle Of Man.
Jay has received frequent airplay in the UK on Amazing Radio and was invited to record a prestigious session for Bella Union boss Simon Raymonde who is a huge fan. UK radio also includes Croydon Radio, AllFM, SevernFM and BBC Introducing in Lancashire and Wales.
Across the water in the US he has been causing a stir on stations such as Hamilton Radio, Scrub Radio, Q-Star and Alan Haber’s PurePop where he has recorded sessions and been interviewed about his career to date.
After having tracks remixed by famous names such as James Atkin (EMF), Nigel Clark (Dodgy) and Martin Carr (The Boo Radley’s) on the remix album UNWOUND, Stansfield released his second original album GOBSTOPPER which presents itself as an empathic exploration into the lives of others with undertones of The Eagles, Ben Folds and his own unique and distinctive northern English style.
Birth & Death is the third album from UK songwriter Jay Stansfield and is a major departure from previous releases.
All recorded in a front room with one microphone, an old Yamaha keyboard, iPad, instruments and whiskey. Convention never suits so this album has been made as a result.
Birth & Death is a concoction of all the music ever listened to over the past 30 years and has elements reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, Mount Eerie, Sparklehorse, Caribou, Sparklehorse, Stereolab, Pink Floyd, Grandaddy, Broadcast & Penguin Cafe Orchestra all blended together into Jay's inimitable style.
An album about the transition we call Life that exists between birth and death. An amalgamation of music absorbed and condensed into 12 tracks focusing on sex, love, social networking, death, loss, breakthroughs, breakdowns and freedom.
QUOTES:
“In my opinion, Jay Stansfield is amongst the most impressive songwriters on the UK popular music scene.
His musical brilliance is unquestioned, however that's not the only ingredient for commercial success today:
He is unquestionably inventive, with moving, clever, insightful songwriting.
I have experienced how dedicated Jay Stansfield is to playing and developing his music. It's an honour for me to contribute to his professional career.” -
Damian Morgan, Spoiltkid Music Booking Agency
"These are beautiful songs, complex songs even, cast as miniature musical epics, grounded in the baroque pop approach of the '60's as seen through a wide angle lens." Alan Haber, PurePop Radio
"Fast becoming one of my favourite artists of the year" - Simon Raymonde, Bella Union
"Jay Stansfield refuses to be drawn into traditional song structures and perfectly demonstrates that good songwriting ignores the boundaries of genre and convention" Chris Chadwick, Fresh on the Net
