Jane Weaver turns up to our interview in a Stockport restaurant carrying a plastic bag stuffed with albums. They are all old, the worse for wear – she’s taking them to be professionally cleaned later – and obscure: the closest the bag’s contents comes to mainstream is a compilation of soundtrack music from the 80s films of nouvelle vague director Eric Rohmer. “The music from the scenes set in discos or parties,” she nods. “Really good. Eighties, French, synthesisers. Some of it sounds a bit like Air.”
This appears to have a similar style to Jane Weaver’s work. Throughout the last decade, she has put out a series of highly praised albums, each one taking a different creative direction from the last. They have incorporated elements of acid folk, space rock, haunting and atmospheric electronic experimentation, mesmerizing instrumentals reminiscent of krautrock, and lively pop, all influenced by various obscure inspirations that showcase her diverse tastes and extensive exploration of niche records. Even her latest album, Flock, which has a glittery and pop-oriented sound, was reportedly inspired by a fascination with “Lebanese torch songs and Australian punk.” She is the type of artist who makes comments like, “I became fascinated with 80s Russian aerobics music,” similar to how others might mention being obsessed with the latest Noah Kahan single.
The latest album released by the artist, titled “Love in Constant Spectacle,” maintains a consistent theme throughout. The cover design was influenced by the 1973 film “Belladonna of Sadness,” known for its controversial depiction of medieval France and its exploration of topics such as sexism and corruption. Despite its artistic merit, the film was a commercial failure and resulted in the studio’s bankruptcy. The music on the album also deviates from the artist’s previous works, which she had self-produced. This time, she collaborated with John Parish, who usually works with musician PJ Harvey, in Bristol. The resulting sound is a departure from the bright and vibrant style of her previous album, “Flock,” and features a heavier emphasis on guitar and elements of folk music. This may come as a surprise to some, as the artist had previously abandoned her folk sound over a decade ago, feeling constrained by the expectations placed on female musicians who played the acoustic guitar. She explains that this change in direction is a rebellion against her own previous work, as well as society’s tendency to place labels and boundaries on artists.
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Additionally, the work was created and documented during her father’s critical illness. She describes her struggle with lingering grief over the past five years. Her father passed away in August. She reached out to John, seeking a change of scenery and a break from Manchester in hopes of inspiration. Her production process involves devoting three years to an album and the studio is conveniently located near her home. She may have unconsciously needed assistance this time around.
The title, according to Weaver, is inspired by searching for positive things in unexpected places. She now realizes that during a rough period last year, she spent a lot of time gazing out the window in the morning at the birds in the trees. Observing the simple things in nature, such as patterns or indications that everything is alright, taught her the importance of continuing to live and appreciate these things. Weaver describes the final outcome as more honest and vulnerable, although she acknowledges that such descriptions are subjective. She intentionally “scrambled” her lyrics by rearranging and reorganizing words in text documents and running songs through Google Translate multiple times – first into a foreign language and then back into English – until they had the feel of “subtitles in a French movie, where if you know a little bit of French, you realize they don’t actually match what’s being said.”
She advises against writing too much about yourself. Instead, she prefers to focus on crafting scenarios and characters and giving them distinctive attributes.
One critic has described Weaver’s work as being in a “hermetically sealed” world. While her music has had some crossover success – such as Coldplay sampling her track Silver Chord on their album Ghost Stories and her songs being featured in TV shows and movies – she mainly operates in her own musical universe. The image of her being somewhat isolated as an artist is reinforced by the fact that she runs her own business and travels with her band to perform, even if it means making a long journey down the west coast of the US. She has also spoken about the negative impact of Brexit on underground musicians in terms of touring Europe.
Although she is on the roster of Fire, she also operates her own label called Bird. The label focuses solely on female artists, many of whom were rescued by Weaver from being forgotten. She curated a night at Jarvis Cocker’s Meltdown festival in 2007, dedicated to “the Lost Ladies of Folk”. This included performances by lesser-known late 60s singer-songwriters Bonnie Dobson, Wendy Flower, and Susan Christie, as well as Cate Le Bon and a heavily pregnant Weaver. She explains that the inspiration for starting the label came from watching her female friends drop out of music while her male peers flourished. She declares, “No, we must continue, we must succeed!”
This particular approach is likely influenced by Weaver’s early experiences: a tumultuous series of disappointments, tragedies, and difficult interactions with the music industry. Her first band, Kill Laura, a Britpop group, had a difficult relationship with a major record label. After the band’s breakup, she was signed as a solo artist by the label owned by Rob Gretton, manager of New Order. Unfortunately, Gretton passed away suddenly from a heart attack before her album could be released. She was then offered a solo contract by another major label, but it was rescinded right before her showcase performance for them due to being deemed “too uncomfortable” in light of the recent events.
During the early 2000s, the vocalist of the band Misty Dixon, known for their blend of psychedelic and folky sounds, was involved in the vibrant artistic community of Manchester centered around the record label Twisted Nerve, co-founded by Badly Drawn Boy and Weaver’s partner, musician/DJ/graphic designer Andy Votel. As the band was wrapping up their first album, their guitarist Dave Tyack went missing while on a hiking trip in Corsica. The band searched for him, driving around in a Twingo rental car, putting up posters, talking to the police, and visiting bars in remote villages. In these bars, they encountered tough men with missing teeth wearing necklaces with gold machine guns hanging from them. Despite the uncertainty, they held onto hope that Tyack was still alive since he was only in his early 20s and had recently been seen at a friend’s wedding. However, in 2004, it was confirmed that Tyack had tragically fallen to his death.
After parting ways, Weaver continued her solo career and gained critical acclaim for her album The Fallen By Watchbird in 2010. The album was accompanied by a book of fairytales written by Weaver herself. She describes her indie breakthrough as coming with her 2014 album The Silver Globe, which featured cosmic and synth-heavy sounds. Weaver considers this album a return to the music she grew up listening to. As a resident of Widnes, she had to actively search for different types of people and found a diverse group of alternative individuals during her time in sixth form. She credits her exposure to bands like Gong, the Pink Fairies, and Hawkwind to this discovery. Weaver also became involved in the free-festival movement, which often involved traveling to events in a beat up Datsun with fellow festival-goers residing in double-decker buses. While she found the experience exciting and utopian in some ways, it also had its harsh realities.
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While on a recent vacation, Weaver’s reflection on her upbringing in Widnes was prompted by reading about the history of metal. She recalls purchasing Iron Maiden’s Run to the Hills as her first single, although she believes her second may have been by Kim Wilde. In her teenage group, there were many metal enthusiasts and they often attended concerts of bands like Slayer and Metallica together. Weaver has been entertaining the idea of creating a heavy metal album, but ultimately feels doubtful about her ability to successfully execute the intricate guitar shredding often associated with the genre.
Before moving on to her next project, she needs to figure out how she will perform Love in Constant Spectacle live. This involves planning for post-production, considering costumes, and collaborating with film-makers for visual elements. In the past, she has taken on unconventional gigs, such as performing her 2019 album Loops in the Secret Society entirely by herself, using vinyl dubplates, turntables, and synthesizers for improvisation. However, Love in Constant Spectacle presents a new challenge as it does not fit into the genre of atmospheric space rock.
However, she possesses some Jane Weaver-esque concepts, derived from a recent journey into the unknown. “I’ve noticed that many of the modern Christian churches in America utilize spectacular LED light displays in their services. It seems to be a popular trend over there.”
She appears to be voicing her thoughts. “It could also be portable. We could bring it in the van. I might consider that.”
Source: theguardian.com
