John J. Presley releases new single ‘Silhouettes’ today!
11th September 2023Brighton based multi-instrumentalist John J. Presley returns with a new single through God Unknown Records. Titled ‘Silhouettes’, it follows a period of activity in May of this year where John broke a three-year hiatus with the brooding, hypnotic single ‘Sinnerman’ (a collaboration with friend Laura-Marty Carter from Blood Red Shoes), and live shows with Radiohead’s Philip Selway and Gaz Coombes (Supergrass).
‘Silhouettes’ is culled from Presley’s forthcoming new album ‘Chaos and Calypso’, due October 20th through God Unknown Records. Easing in with a low-slung, bluesy strut that draws from the same lifeblood as the Stones ‘Sympathy For The Devil’, ‘Silhouettes’ detonates into bursts of jarring guitar noise before it simmers back down again, ebbing and flowing through different sonic moods and rhythms. It’s the perfect illustration of where John J. Presley is coming from both sonically and lyrically.
“Silhouettes is about a marker in time, where you feel able to recreate the mold, to stand tall and be justified; to know that your gut was telling you the right thing all along,” explains John. “It’s quite freeing actually. The chorus is a call and response of ‘we come alone, we leave alone’ – a comment by an in-law relative from generations gone; how we arrive in this world alone and leave alone. I can’t work out if that’s deeply moving or in fact quite lonely. Either way, it paints a powerful image. Overall, the song is about your own story, your identity, and your purpose. I really wanted horns on this record and asked Terry Edwards to lay some down – he knew exactly what was needed. The horns represent the power of realization. The wild, justified, excitement that emancipation brings once you stand tall.”
Presley’s debut album ‘As The Night Draws In’ was released in 2019 and was followed by the vinyl-only lockdown release ‘Albany Sessions’, which were both released to great acclaim, with Q Magazine calling the album ‘…a bold, striking debut’ and a nearly perfect review in Rolling Stone France. Presley’s music is hard to categorize but that is its strength – from folk blues noir moments to tasteful post-rock walls of sound, – classic songwriting to improvised, experimental moments, Presley is constantly creating a tapestry that will engage, challenge, and inspire.The debut LP ‘As The Night Draws In’ had broad support across the board from Radio 1’s Jack Saunders to John Kennedy at Radio X; Cerys Mathews and Bad Seed Jim Sclavunos – who also invited John in for an album playback on his Soho Radio show.
Presley plays guitar, bass, and pedal steel on the new record and is an in-demand player too – Nadine Shah, Duke Garwood, Laura-Mary Carter, Juanita Stein and Smoke Fairies have all had him join their lineups.
‘Chaos and Calypso’ album launch show is confirmed for October 18th at Third Man Records, Blue Basement in Soho, London. Tickets HERE:
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