Sometimes things are worth waiting for. Jack Grace originally wanted to record this EP in the winter of 2016; but due to touring commitments with other acts he just couldn’t find the time to give it the full attention it deserves, so as a taster “Blindside” was recorded and released as a single. In January 2017 Jack and his band won the Bournemouth’s “Skirmish” battle of the bands beating top Christchurch band Sirpico by a whisker.
After this the band were clearly on a high; so in February they finally found some time and booked a cottage in Devon out in the middle of nowhere, with the focus on getting the new Ep recorded. They literally would start recording after breakfast at about 11am. Record until about 3pm, then have lunch, then record until 8pm, have dinner, then start recording again until about 3am, go to bed then start all over again the next day. It sounds rather intense but it worked well for them. So after 5 days of solid recording, it worked out that they recorded around one track a day.
Jack went into the studio at the start of April and tracked all the lead vocals in one session over 9 hours. At this point Jack wanted to experiment with using samples and more digital ìweirdnessî, manipulating sounds and really pushing the sound of the EP into the more experimental territories. He got ‘Niko Battistini’ whoís one of his best friends outside of a music environment, plus he has worked with him in other projects so he knew that they would have a good working relationship. With various amounts of help from the rest of members of the band and trips to the studio in Surrey, the record was finally finished in July of 2017.
It was around this time Jack started having some of his own personal struggles with mental health. Things that came so natural to him became a real struggle. He found he retreated away from playing live and only did 4 shows over the whole of that summer. After this, he sensibly decided he was going to take time away from music and concentre on his health. With help from his beloved and supportive parents, along with some really good friends, the cloud began to shift and he started performing again. One thing that really helped was spending time with the great musicians like Izzie Yardley, Jack Francis and Charlie Hole who are so passionate about music that Jack started feeling better about his own music, he started to find he was wanting to do more shows and finally release the shelved EP.
The Ep ended up as a six-track affair, which also includes a short interlude and is to be finally released at a special show at the prestigious Shelley Theatre in Boscombe on the 27th July. As you can imagine a lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into the production and recording of it. I am sure that it is a relief to finally see it released by all concerned.
I have followed Jack’s musical career with much interest over the years and seen him struggle to make a mark despite a colossal amount of effort. This recording brings together some of his best work to date. His music is unique and is taken from some of the deepest parts of his soul and you can tell he truly believes in the music he is creating. The vocals are at times awe-inspiring and the guitar work just reaches and melodically pulls you in loads of different directions. Jack has surrounded himself with a host of truly awesome musicians, all who complement and understand where he is trying to take his sound. I dare anyone to listen to this and faiL to be moved by the emotional and sheer quality of the music.
Track Listing
3rd
Swirls
Blindside
Tremble and Pause
Interlude
As You Lie
Polar
The band features
Jack Grace – Vocals/Guitar
Christian Evans – Guitar
Philip John – Bass
Niko Battistini – Drums
Joe Smith – Keyboards
Links
http://jackgracemusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/jackgracemusic
Words by David Chinery (Chinners).
