Sunspire - Wildflowers (2021) - single

Sunspire is the solo project of Jack Jazrawy-Brown. A Birmingham based songwriter and producer, he combines layers of guitar, synthesiser and vocals to create hazy dream pop and dark, reflective soundscapes. His debut album "Ruins By The Sea'' is set to be released as a cassette on indie label Crafting Room Recordings on May 23rd of this year. Infused with both hook-filled melodies and poetic, emotional lyrics, each song is a highly personal glimpse into a bittersweet experience of a year perhaps not so hopeless after all.

"'Ruins By The Sea' is my first fully produced album, and the culmination of two years of song writing and producing. The first demo for the opening track, 'Sirensong,' was completed in July of 2020 in the midst of the UK's coronavirus lockdown. In comparison to much of the album, this is a rather gloomy track; inspired by myths of sailors lured onto the rocks by the siren's beautiful song, it reflects a collective time of hopelessness in all of our lives. But, as the album progresses a general sense of hope is established - despite the occasional melancholy of the lyrics, I hope that the overall message is one of joy, a reflection of a year perhaps not so full of despair after all.

The album is a serious departure from my first EP, 'Euphoria' (https://craftingroomrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/euphoria) - the lo-fi production and vague lyricism of those songs has been replaced by cleaner, catchier song writing, with new production methods being explored as the album progresses. The inclusion of acoustic guitar on many tracks is a key addition to the sound of the album, and in later songs, I also began to experiment with alternative tunings, most notably my own adaption of Nick Drake's most commonly used open tuning.

Lyrically, this album explores numerous themes - despite the sense of stagnation that 2020 introduced, personally it was a year of change, with a move across the country to the University of Birmingham. A lot of the record deals with the effect of that change, most significantly to relationships with friends and family - while some songs are wistful and reminiscent, there is a continuing sense of joy at life and change taking place, against the odds. Opening up to more personal lyrics has allowed this album to become something intensely meaningful to me personally - a record of the emotions, both painful and uplifting, that I have experienced over the past six months."

SA said: It's wonderful. One the best dreampop albums with male vocals in the last times...
 

 

 https://craftingroomrecordings.bandcamp.com/track/wildflowers