Born in Liverpool and based in Manchester, electronic psych folk artist Jane Weaver is – and has practically always been – steeped in the ether of musical history.
From her early 90s Britpop project to her current female folk minded record label Bird, Weaver has long been part of a musical family that includes Badly Drawn Boy, (her partner) Andy Votel, doves, Elbow and Cate Le Bon. Recently, Coldplay sampled her vocals for a track on their latest album.
I had a chance to see see Weaver perform with a handful of talented psych folk artists a couple years ago at Cinefamily for a Spring Equinox celebration during which she played a song that absolutely mesmerized me. Alone on her keyboard playing along to a slow, loping locked groove record, I didn’t recognize it from any of her previous records. Something about “a soul.”
It was sad and perfectly lovely and amazing.
A few weeks ago, I went to an event where Votel was live-scoring a crazy Polish sci-fi kid’s film and afterwards he was playing records in the theatre. I was in the bathroom when I suddenly heard, this familiar, haunting melody which caused me to bolt out of the bathroom. “What is this?! I know this!!”
Votel showed me a copy of Weaver’s latest album, The Silver Globe. “Don’t Take My Soul.”
Produced by musical wizard and all around badass David Holmes and featuring an all-star cast of players (including members of doves, B.C. Camplight and a member of Australian prog legends Cybotron) The Silver Globe is an extraordinary siren call and arguably her masterpiece.
It comes out at the end of September on her Bird imprint and is about as unique and bewitching an album as you’ll hear this year.