Here you will find some work of artists I've recorded and produced, including my other projects and bands, like Glass Mountain and The boats. I've never been just one musician, and have always been excited by a wide range of musical styles, especially experimental post rock music.
I am also a music journalist from time to time and you can read some of my articles I wrote for Faster Louder by following the link below, and you will also find a few scattered between productions articles that were not printed.
In May 2010 I moved from Melbourne to London, but I am now based in Berlin, Germany.
So have a look, have a listen and contact me at jonabyron@gmail.com if you have any questions.
River of Time is a track I recorded of 'Our Blanket Skies' (Matthias F. Brasch) with one condenser microphone in Matthias's apartment in Berlin, July 2010.
Who is Matthias F. Brasch apart from being a friend?
Well...
He is a songwriter and lives in kreuzberg. this is in Berlin.
He likes folk hymns, hum-along-choruses and the swing of the old musicals.
He loves uku lilli.
He talks to a monster in his bed.
He's hopelessly in love with a vampire and knows a child who desires to ride on a magic red balloon.
In his "painted world" he watches life "with a laughing and a crying eye", cause he knows that we're all sailors on the river of time and will have to pass one day.
On 12 April 1961, Solviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagari became the first man to travel into space, launching to orbit aboard the Vostok 3KA-3. During his flight, Gagarin famously whistled the tune "The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows"
Around the same sources claimed that Gagarin, during his space flight, had made the comment, "I don't see any God up here." However, no such words appear in the verbatim record of Gagarin's conversations with the Earth during the spaceflight. In a 2006 interview a close friend of Gagarin, Colonel Valentin Petrov, stated that Gagarin never said such words, and that the phrase originated from Nikita Khrushchev's speech at the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, where the anti-religious propaganda was discussed. In a certain context Khrushchev said, "Gagarin flew into space, but didn't see any God there". Colonel Petrov also said that Gagarin had been baptised into the Orthodox Church as a child."The Earth is blue…How wonderful. It is amazing". —Gagarin, to ground control.
On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard piloted the Freedom 7 mission and became the second person, and the first American to travel into space. He was launched by a Redstone rocket, and unlike Gagarin's 108 minute orbital flight, Shepard stayed on a ballistic trajectory suborbital flight—a flight which carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles and to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missile Range. Unlike Gagari, whose flight was strictly automatic, Shepard had some control of Freedom 7, spacecraft attitude in particular. The launch, return from space and subsequent collection by helicopter were seen live on television by millions.On his successful return to Earth, Shepard was celebrated as a national hero, honored with parades in Washington, New York and Los Angeles and meeting President John F. Kennedy. Shortly before the launch, Shepard said to himself: "Don't fuck up, Shepard..." This quote was reported as "Dear Lord, please don't let me fuck up" in The Right Stuff, though Shepard confirmed this as a misquote. Regardless, the latter quote has since become known among aviators as "Shepard's Prayer."
Behind The Music
'The Astronaut' was an untitled lost song for a few years, originally recorded in January 2007 as part of the boats 'Segundo' sessions, however the track did not fit with the mood of the other existing album material and so it was scrapped. In 2010 it has been beautifully revived with new overdubs and a new mix by band member and producer Jona Byron and thus given a new dimension. It is a dense track, complete with electronic sounds and electric piano, and the signature guitar sounds that is the boats. Possibly more experimental in it's production, yet not too far removed from 'Seize The Stars and Turn Them To Cinders' from the up and coming 'Segundo' album. Just as band member Nick Conolly had a heavy production hand in the debut albumLos Musicos Perdidos, Byron takes production and mixing control with the boats latest offerings. This gives each boats album a unique sound as the band continue to evolve and explore the outer reaches of instrumental post rock and improvisation. 'The Astronaut' is now available as part of volume 15 of The Silent Ballet Compilation Series, released digitally through Lost Children Netlabel, and available for free download to all Silent Ballet readers via archive.org and legaltorrents.com. The Silent Ballet digital series aims to promote various types of musicians, bringing together what SB consider to be some of the more exciting and interesting acts on the instrumental/experimental scene. To download the The Silent Ballet: Volume XIV including the new boats track, click here or for non HTML pages visit www.thesilentballet.com for more info and check the boats myspace page www.myspace.com/theboatsmusic and official web site www.theboats.net
Enjoy this new free download and please respect copyright laws.
Segundo
A long standing project that I have been working on (for what seems forever) is the next boats album, aptly titled 'Segundo' (that's second in Spanish). It's not unusual for band members to take on recording or mixing roles with their own music, however, it can lead to a laborious long haul as you try and step away from it or try and hear it differently. After nearly 3 years I'm in the final mixing stages, and we're hunting for a label to release this epic little monster.
Segundo
The album was recorded by Stuart Seear at JMC Audio, way back in the summer of 2006 and 2007, (in December and January to be precise) and recorded on what turned out to be two of the hottest days on record here in Victoria. Fortunately we were in an air conditioned studio drinking beer and Stuart was more or less pressing record and sitting back as we (mostly) improvised long spontaneous jams, and some of the loudest most intense music we had created as a band to that date. On the second session I came to the band with some more structured arrangements and parts, such as the start of 'Seize The Stars And Turn Them To Cinders' and 'All These Fires Are For You', but the majority of the two sessions was still improvised, as it still is today, cause that's what we do best.
The boats are an atmospheric, dynamic and a beautifully improvised instrumental experience, creating sonic sketches of looped guitars, piano, bass and drums... conjuring up moments of Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, The Necks, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Ennio Morricone, Set Fire to Flames, Dirty Three...while at the same time remaining truly unique in their delivery. Often being described as surf-rock, post-rock and even 'the new jazz'. The boats have released two independent EPs, and delivered their debut album 'Los Musicos Perdidos' in 2007. Currently the band prepare to release a concept EP inspired by the pioneers of space exploration, the new song 'The Astronaut' is also included in volume 15 of The Silent Ballet Compilation Series available for download. The second and long awaited full length record 'Segundo' will be out late this year or early 2011.
The new single from Australian Melbourne ambient artist Heidi Elva, 'The Saviour', explores a more intimate side of trip hop. Heidi and I began working on the track during April in Melbourne, and I am the first Producer she has surrendered to creatively. However, lady Elva is a woman who knows what she likes and wants, right down to the track's loose spacious groove and subtle electronica. Most of the instrumental ideas such as my iPhone and guitars etc I added during production and shaped the song's structure. We simply began with Heidi's harp riff, the beat, and I played bass and guitars on the track and also created the extended mix, which is both our favourite version. A bass heavy (so no need to crank the bass on your stereo) ambient trip hop tune I'm extremely happy with.
Produced, recorded and mixed by Jona Byron at The Sound Zoo. Mastered by Adam Dempsey at Deluxe Mastering in Melbourne. The on-line single is now released through Vitamin, and you can read the label press release here and also buy the track.
Young and rising singer songstress Ellen Kibble usually spawns emotive folk ballads not too far removed from early Jewel or emulating moments of early Cat Power. She is by all means, a sensitive singer songwriter and an artist I would regard as a tightrope walker between commercially viable and indie alternative. And here, with her new song Weatherboard (I produced, recorded and mixed) she walks a slightly darker road. The song leads the listener down a walk to the gallows for what could be a dead man walking theme, the bluesy guitar riff and thumping distant drums paints out a southern American lynching of an innocent man, or something along those lines. This was my vision as soon as she played me the song on her guitar. It's a haunting and swampy tune, especially when turned up loud and Ellen almost whispers the dramatic story as if she's told it one too many times before, as some signature boats sounding guitars hang in the distance, humid, like the mood of the summer air, while the growing crash of drums punctuate each step towards the man's final moment. The song has film soundtrack written all over it.
Visit her Myspace and preview the tracks below. Her new CD 'The Cavalry' is available at her gigs and by contacting her at ellenkibble@gmail.com.
Listen to Weatherboard by Ellen Kibble. Engineered & Produced by Jona Byron and Hatstand, engineered and mixed by Pete Uhlenbruch, mastered by Jona Byron.
I've known Toni D. Mellow now almost 7 years. She's not only the lead singer of one of my projects 'Glass Mountain' but is also an extremely talented visual artist and a unique singer/songstress in her own right, sometimes hailed as a young Australian Gillian Welch or even a young Marianne Faithful. It's not just the fact that the girl's voice sounds far older than her own years (often at times echoing a mature Nina Simone) but it's more the sense that those who hear her music are captured by something authentic and raw. Toni rarely records lead vocal overdubs when it comes to her solo music (unlike in Glass Mountain) and usually will sing and play the song live, and I only ever have to stick a mic in front of her and she nails it in one or two takes. I've recorded many many hours of Toni's music over the years and have collaborated with her on her songs, but I have never been instantly moved to tears after a take, however I was when we laid down her song 'Chalice' (recorded 28th October 2009). The song is not all that sad to listen to, or devastating (and trust me, she has written and recorded some devastating stuff) but there is such a sincerity behind the lyrics and delivery in the take that you are left in silent contemplation and need to hit replay as the track runs at a short 2:32 minutes. The track certainly has an alt country swing to it, and she wears her influences proudly on her sleeve, yet there is an impact felt here that is a bit like peeling away the layers of an onion, emotively speaking. I added a little bit of simple banjo ukelele, and Toni added some backing vocals but that's all it needed. Layering this song with instrument after instrument would dilute the song of it's simple power. 'Chalice' is a complimentary AAC 320 kbps download on Soundcloud, so enjoy!
'Arc Of Sparrow' was recorded in early 2008 while I was living in St Kilda. It became one of my favourite tracks of hers and I asked her if she would like to include it as a Glass Mountain song, she said yes and I went ahead and made the video clip below for it while I was visiting family in Perth, Western Australia. However, Toni eventually felt that the song was much too personal to her, so I respectfully pulled it from the Glass Mountain set.
The dark and brooding 'Stop The Rain' was recorded in 2007 at a friend's house. This particular track was recorded live to a mini disc recorder as Toni improvised the song on piano. Out of all the amazing tracks on her independently released 'Fire In The Desert' (short run made in 2006) this was the one local radio Triple R played more than the others, and it was the most spontaneously recorded.
In October 2006 we were all standing in the corner of one of Fitzroy's most popular watering holes, The Empress Hotel; a heritage establishment for countless Melbourne artist's. A shy young woman with wild blonde hair, ripped stockings, army boots and a long black dress nervously graced the stage holding a beautifully worn Cole Clark acoustic guitar. My friends prepared themselves for an angsty serve of Difranco flavoured girl power tunes full of bitter resentment and harsh attacking vocals, but as soon as Toni opened her mouth I could see the mouths drop around me, because it was not girl grunge which emerged, but the sweet haunting sound of country blues from the deep American south. We could have been listening to Memphis Mini star crossed with Gillian Welch, and there wasn't anything strictly blues or folk about it, it was traditional, yet alternative, and most importantly, utterly heartbreaking, whether she was playing a Nina Simone song or one of her own, her voice wept into the microphone.
Toni has a distinct voice, timeless, often bringing grown men to tears. As with most authentic artists who are troubled souls, Toni sings from her gut and not only means every damn word she spills from her mouth, but feels and lives it. Toni has an effect on people, and draws people in with her eyes, her passion and most importantly, her voice. A voice that you will often mistake for Janis Joplin when she wails, a voice that is ready to shatter and break glass but also able to lull the hardest heart. Listening to Toni d. Mellow it's hard to believe that she's only 24 years of age, but then again, this was a girl who was winning over judges and musicians at the age of 16. Toni has played with the likes of Clare Bowditch, Jen Cloher, Renee Geyer, Mia Dyson, Ember Swift, and Serena Ryder to name a few and she has received praise and support among fellow musicians. Maybe Toni is an old soul, haunted and beautiful, but whatever the magic is that she possesses, the artist lives within her blood and she wants nothing more than to express her laments. Toni is also a very talented artist and has been producing striking charcoal and oil pieces for many years now. She is currently piecing together her long awaited album and is in search of management and new shows to play. One thing is for sure, this talented young lady deserves to be noticed.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 08:15PM 
Matthias F. Brasch
