Gothic Theatre
Jose Gonzalez
2003. His achingly emotional melodies and thought-provoking lyrics – all sung in perfect, crystalline English – combine in a manner at once familiar (think Nick Drake, Tim Buckley, Will Oldham) and subtly exotic (shades of Brazilian Tropicalia – early Silvio Rodríguez, Cuban Nueva Trova). His songs are so timeless – you feel like they’ve always been around – yet there’s a clean freshness to José’s music that makes repeated listening an endlessly revivifying delight.
Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1978, José was bought up in a house that teemed with all kinds of music. His Argentine-born father’s natural taste for Latin American music was only rivalled by a penchant for American and UK pop classics — and the eclecticism rubbed off on his young son. After these fledgling dalliances, José followed his own path, initially playing bass in Black Flag-inspired rock combo Back Against The Wall, before flirting with hardcore in Gothenburg’s Renascence and dipping into indie rock with the unlikely sounding Only If You Call Me Jonathan… But these rites of passage only led him back to the voice and six-string, and, after a series of lessons in classical guitar, the beginnings of a very personal style. Vocally, José admits to the influence of some appropriately intimate-toned forebears: Eliot Smith, Geoff Farina and Songs:Ohia’s Jason Molina among them. He’s also happy to point out the positive effect on his music instilled by listening to such disparate artists as Cat Power, Tortoise and Joy Division.
After these tasteful and diverse influences had done their work, José’s rise was meteoric. After untrammelled Scandinavian success in 2004, José signed to London-based indie Peacefrog, releasing his UK debut, the EP Crosses, in February ‘05. Press hosannas and some jaw-dropping, heartstring-tugging UK shows set off the proverbial buzz and by the time the debut album Veneer was released in April, word had spread like wildfire. With the press salivating, radio went into meltdown, with more plays on BBC Radio 1 than a play-listed record! Sessions were recorded for everybody from XFM’s John Kennedy to Radio 4’s Loose Ends and there was also a rapturous live session for Radio 1’s Zane Lowe that culminated in a wondrously singular reading of Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’.
Touring in support of the album, Jose reinforced his magnetic qualities, tantalising his live following with another magnificent make-over — Kylie’s ‘Hand on your Heart’, which has to be heard to be believed. By the time he embarked on another major UK tour in February ’06, Jose had capped twelve months of incredible live shows including a support slot to the Dalai Lama in Sweden – which may just have pipped other bills shared with the likes of Arcade Fire and Juana Molina…
Meanwhile, another cover, ‘Heartbeats’ (originally by Swedish band The Knife and a Veneer highlight) was gaining wide UK currency thanks to its use in the high profile Sony Bravia TV campaign, helping usher it into the upper echelons of the UK chart in January 2006 (it was even a ringtone Number One!). José’ played ‘Heartbeats’ on Top Of The Pops in January and was the subject of a Channel 4 TV documentary titled Orchestra Of One in early February.
Still full of energy, José is currently hunkered down with his other project, the band Junip, working with a premier league UK production duo (details to be unveiled in the very near future). The words ‘world’, ‘his’ and ‘oyster’ spring to mind…
