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Thomas Denver Jonsson.
Solid Eyes & Muddy Water: A Talk with Thomas
Denver Jonsson
Time
there is time for them all
the light was shining and the band was playing low
Some music reaches us like a long distance call, coming in muffled
but clear enough to get into us. Swedish singer-songwriter Thomas
Denver Jonsson comes across the wires just like that, an acquaintance
half remembered from your travels, someone you had one of those
conversations with that stay with you for a lifetime. Even meeting
him for the first time there’s enormous warmth, a good kind of
familiarity, a handshake in song that makes you feel instantly less
alone. Drawing from the deep wells of Will Oldham, Neil Young and
‘60s Bob Dylan, Jonsson crafts quiet dirt road hymns for victims
& murderers, crushed ladybugs & pale angels.
From the first time I heard Jonsson’s fractured, beautiful voice on
late night radio on through his first EP, the wonderful folksy Topeka
Twins mini-album (done with fellow Swede Bjorn Kleinhenz, himself a
new voice to keep an ear out for) and onto to his first full length, Hope
To Her, there’s something indefinable that draws me in again
& again. Much of his catalog feels like an oblique variation on
the mood struck by Bob Dylan’s “Every Grain of Sand”, places where
hope and fear coexist without tension. Within the comfortable folds
are shadows and that shading, that private mystery inspires our own
investigation.
Talking about his debut, Jonsson says, “I guess the reason why Hope
To Her became the record it did was because I had some strange
feelings that I had to deal with. Some years ago I was prescribed
medication for depression, but I couldn't really handle them the way
I should have. I had some complications and some of them are still
following me.”
He continues, “Dark and strange feelings can really make you afraid.
I guess the worst part of it is that it's coming from inside you and
you can't control it. I came to realize one day that some of those
feelings wouldn't let me go so I had to accept them. I have to stop
being afraid if I want to move on with my life. I'm working on that,
I have faith in what I'm doing and I'm doing better and better.”
Don’t know if the aftermath will ever count in the end
Don't sure if the breathing is a consequence or the start
Don't know if everybody feels this way
But do whatever you want to do with me
His band, the September Sunrise, consistently grab your ear with a
style that’s anything but intrusive. They add a powerful presence to
his songs but do so without drawing attention away from the tunes, a
presence felt like the breeze or sunlight on your skin.
“I wanted a warm sound with a lot of soul and dynamics,” comments
Jonsson. “It’s hard to explain any better really than I wanted the
September Sunrise to sound more or less the way they do. I think
they're great and they have been an essential part of my success this
last year.”
“The forming of September Sunrise was one thing leading to another,”
he explains. “First my signing to Kite Recordings was planned to
result in an acoustic 4-track EP where Carl Edlom was going to back
me up with some guitar playing. Then, Fredrik Wilde came along with
some slide guitar upon that. And once we added those instruments we
all got the feeling that the music was lacking something, it needed a
full band. Fredrik plays with Henric Strömberg and Tomas Lindberg in
another band, a lovely rock act called The Higher Elevations, and
after some persuasion I had my bass player and my drummer and The
September Sunrise was formed. The pieces were put together and the
record that first was meant to be a low-key acoustic EP became my
debut album featuring this band.”
Thomas has seen the evolution of his music by working with these
gifted musicians, the nuance that comes from collaboration. “Sometime
when I write I have the band in mind but most of the time I'll write
songs just for me acoustic and then I present it for the band and
they can add their brilliance to the existing song,” states Jonsson.
“I guess I want to write songs that are so good they can almost stand
for themselves. If a song is working great with just guitar and a
voice, it's often a good sign they will become really great with a
carefully measured arrangement.”
No pain, no fear, no hunger
takes place in that peaceful valley
where the angels above, are sending their love
their snow white wings counts us in
Another influence on his work was the Topeka Twins sessions, a
project that might reform when either of the songsters have more
time.
“My thought about The Topeka record was to do a really nice low-key
record with influences from old American folk music and religious
country. Later I came to notice how important the work with the
Topeka record was for the making of Hope To Her. I doubt
that tracks like Black & Blue and Road Runner would have been
written without the influence of Topeka. It's like it brought me the
last touch of country charm that was needed,” states Jonsson.
And the flowers built a shelter
and the stick in my heart
growin' bigger by the day
And it's oh, so quiet in here
'cept some furious sounds from the haze
For a young artist, it’s natural to wear one’s influences on their
sleeve. Jonsson is no exception in this respect but manages to still
come out with a sound that’s his own.
“I guess Will Oldham is the artist that is most important to the
music I do. He's such a great artist and songwriter. For the album, I
guess Will Oldham together with Gram Parsons and Beach Boys are the
leading and most important influences. Those are artists are
completely devoted to their vision. Will, Gram and the Beach Boys
also have a tremendous feeling for melodies and how to perform them.
The melodies are so important. A great melody makes the song's whole
spirit go straight into the listener's heart.”
He also cites Townes Van Zandt and Rosie Thomas as influences.
Jonsson toured around Sweden with Thomas and alt-folk icon Damien Jurado
at the end of last year. As people are exposed to his music one can
only imagine that the list of admirers and acoustic compatriots will
grow especially once Jonsson makes his way onto U.S. stages. Work has
already begun on his next album. He tells us, “I'm writing a lot of
songs right now to my next album that has the working title ‘Dreams
at the film club’. I think the next album will be a little rougher,
if Hope To Her had a lot of country charm in it, I think
Dreams at the film club will hold more of a city feeling. I hear more
piano and female vocals. It'll be great.”
Thomas Denver Jonsson website
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