J:dead presents HAUNT (Interview+Review)

J:dead is the solo project from Jay Taylor, live drummer of EBM/Synthpop bands such as Tactical Sekt, Tyske Ludder and Harmjoy. For the last 16 years Jay has frequented many stages across the world performing in his own signature style of aggressive, hard hitting acoustic noise to the forefront of electronic acts. Now, with the creation of J:dead, there is an opportunity to show his ability in developing music which is at the core and drive behind his musical ambitions.

J:dead is whatever it needs to be: without labels, stereotypes, scene driven boxes or goals other than to inspire others. J:dead’s ambition is to make others feel alive by listening and feeling the creation of someone losing themselves.

The first release from J:dead (HAUNT), is a reflection on how we can try to push our own thoughts, actions and emotions down. However, we all know these never rot in the ground; they always come back to HAUNT you.

HAUNT is available for free download. Bancamp page here

Expect to hear and see from J:dead more as the first album is expected to be released in Spring 2020

Review:

This track has a very addictive quality to it. The metronomic nature of the beat is both enticing and enticing as it almost brings around a sense of dissociation as you continue to listen. This is ironically a strangely euphoric feeling in contrast to its dark meaning and ambience. Several times I have found myself singing this out of nowhere, or listening to it on repeat without realising how fast the time is going. There is indeed the personal turmoil and almost supernatural element to the tone it creates and is one hell of an impressive opening for Jay to introduce J:dead with. Though a slow tempo song, it would never go amiss on a more chilled vibe dance floor amongst the older, slower goth classics. It is a perfect balance between old and new synthetic crafts that will bend your ear to its enthralling melody time and again.

Interview:

Q: You’ve described HAUNT as hidden thoughts and actions coming back to haunt people. How is that reflected in what we see in the video and i s there more meaning to it beyond this as there is obviously a form of covetous conflict between the two characters?

A: Yes the video is strongly linked to the song and I particularly didnt want to release a video of me/a band playing for this track. The item in which the characters are searching for within the video is representing the thought, emotion, behaviour etc that you have tried to hide away without actually dealing with it. The conflict within the video represents greed, as I strongly believe that sometimes we dont know what we truly want hence why we bury these things. The symbol that moves from the item to the characters is the final evolution and represents that when these things come back to Haunt us they either come in different forms or become part of us. In this instance this is shown as the tattoo on my wrist.

Q: J:Dead already sounds like a project that wont have one set sound of style is that right? And if so, what kind of an album can we expect to hear?

A: You are right the album wont follow the same line as Haunt. Im 3/4 of the way through the album and at the moment Haunt is probably one of the darker tracks. There are quite a few which are more upbeat in their feel and others which are more emotional. Don't get me wrong, all will sound like what i want J:dead to be but it will be a mixture of what inspires me within the music style I want to portray. The album will be 8 tracks long and released in Spring next year all being well.