Tag: JP Oldfield

JP Oldfield & Deadlight Dance Down The Cellar

I mean, Devizes own contemporary blues throwback, JP is getting bookings, and rightly so. He’s off to Trowbridgeโ€™s Lamb next Saturday for a double-bill with Joe Burke. Likewise our favourite Goth duo Deadlight Dance too, Tim showing me some fetching snaps from Friday night’s gig at Frome’s Tree House. But sometimes it’s nice to play an intimate home gig you DIY, so we’re down The Bear Hotel’s Cellar Bar, reviving a once beloved venue with alternative options to Devizesโ€™ status quoโ€ฆ..

And it was; Nick Fletcher and Tim Emery were on the cobblestones first, attired marvellously macabre with whitewash faces; All Hallows’ Eve comes early for goths, and they don’t require Haribo! Equally terror-fically tenebrous was their set, sublimely shadowy synths, then their gloomy guitar rhythm fragments darkened by Nick’s howling vocals. When they came for air you could hear a pin drop.

Deadlight Dance found my inner-goth and devoured it some years ago, still their show improves like a fine Dracula’s blood-wine ….with age and nightly kills! They worked precisely through several tunes from their three albums, concentrating particularly on Chapter & Verse, last year’s gothic literary inspired outpouring. They sprinkled the set with covers, a synth-driven Cureโ€™s Just Like Heaven, for example, quite different from the acoustic version on their breathtaking homage album, The Wiltshire Gothic.

They finished on their ghostly reverberating post-punk makeover of Heartbreak Hotel, because if you’re a goth duo planning to cover an Elvis Presley song, one about a lonely man jumping from a hotel window is apt. Then they stripped it back for an acoustic wandering through the crowd encore.

Herein lies the connection which made a double-bill of post-punk goth and rootsy blues work; JP Oldfield duties the plaintive projection of original southern blues, often termed gothic. Therein the expression of rural, economically disadvantaged African-American communities, and through his gorgeous bass vocal range, the metallicity of his resonator and pounding suitcase drum, it’s about as authentic as you’re going to get on our local circuit.

Yet if JPโ€™s writing is foreboding and disquietude, in line with its influences, some of the darkest corners of his debut Bouffon wasnโ€™t inclusive at this live show, and replaced by some outstanding, intricate and rightfully resonate guitar-work; plus thereโ€™s always the kazoo and his natural banter to brighten things up.

His latest single polished off an amazing set, No Rest, indeed. It embodies everything progressive about this rising starโ€™s skill and bittersweet panache; a fellow who can hold an audience spellbound despite being, perhaps, an acquired taste. But I challenge anyone critical to stay whilst JP thrusts out House of the Rising Sun, making it his own, as itโ€™s so befitting to his encapsulating style. Yet the broadest evaluation of JP Oldfield is simply that, through his dedication and blossoming experience he continuously improves. It is this then which encourages me to call this gig in, slight in attendees which it unfortunately was as the chills of autumn blast through, the best and most passionate Iโ€™ve seen JP play.

Mind you, I groaned about the weather shift to Nick of Deadlight Dance, who replied with positivity. Apparently, he likes Autumn, I joked, โ€œthatโ€™s because youโ€™re a goth and Iโ€™m a milkman!โ€

I do hope we can find more gigs down the Cellar Bar, and bring it back to its former glory, a sentiment I believe will be reflected by the live music hunters of Devizes.

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Rooks; New Single From M3G

Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward โ€œEโ€) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesy tunesโ€ฆ

by Darren Worrow

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No Rest For JP Oldfield, New Single Out Today

It’s been six months since Devizes-based young blues crooner JP Oldfield released his poignant kazoo-blowing debut EP Bouffon. He’s made numerous appearances across the circuit since and created an impressive following. Today sees him on the next leg of his musical journey, a brand new single aptly titled No Restโ€ฆ..

If the kazoo created a unique identity for Josh, quirking up otherwise darker themes than the novelty songs you’d except the instrument to be found in, this idiosyncratic move may have caused some criticism from traditionalists who simply didn’t get it. Not me, inherent in the belief rules are made to be broken, I’m of the reckoning JP Oldfield is a contemporary rarity, a misunderstood genius finding his feet. A dedicated axemen with an axe to grind, and a singer-songwriter unafraid to explore and expose every detail of the melancholic mind maze in the encapsulating way blues legends did before him.

With this in tow, I’d argue the jukejoint authentic sound created with his haunting grizzly vocal tones, that steel guitar and beaten up suitcase pedal-drum is Marmite. Love it or hate it, JP forged an imitable style, ranging from Cash to Tom Waits and Nick Cave in comparison. I’d draw any critic’s attention to a track like Last Orders, a heart-wrenchingly honest tune which takes on the drunkard’s misery of a relationship break-up in true mellowed delta blues fashion, without kazoo. But hey, now we’ve got No Rest, a level up certainly in production and indicative of all the greatness he’s already achieved; it rocks.

There’s the sombre spiritual blues theme we’ve come to expect, but it’s a foot-stomping pace with a killer rolling riff, kazoo-less yet a perfect balance of everything else JP throws at his music. It’s deliberately raw, perfectly hard-hitting and undoubtedly JP on the best form we’ve ever seen.

In our interview a month short of a year ago, Josh gave me the impression he was something of a perfectionist. A lot of work has gone into this full bodied five minute marvel, and it shows, in its crisp sound, this composition of elements making said perfect balance, and also a enlightening video accompanying it, by Jamie R Hawkinsโ€™ Side Owl Productions. This cones out around 6pm tonight, I’ll add the link to it here, so return after your potato waffles.

The video has a different narrative from the song, rather โ€˜the story of the song;โ€™ a fascinating showcase of JP’s session at Mooncalf Studios, where Nick Beere engineers the kind of tune which we might suggest JP’s feet have been found. We look forward to hearing the other songs from this session in good time, but for now this is plenty to indicate this Devizes bluesman is heading in the right direction. But Nick brought out the best in musicians while I was still doodling boobs on my school rough book!

He’s JP Oldfield, I’m just old, but I know what I like. I could dance barefoot in a barn grasping a bottle of bourbon to this, and when it gets to that irresistible bridge I’ll procrastinate my repent, letting my sins roam free for a day; though I havenโ€™t drawn a boob on a school book for quite some considerable time! 

Recommendations for when Swindon gets Shuffling

Swindon’s annual colossal fundraising event The Shuffle is a testament to local live music, which raises funds for Prospect Hospice. If you’re ever going to spend a weekend in Swindon, believe me, the 11th-14th September is the oneโ€ฆ..

An entirely free stroller festival centred in Old Town; saunter the eight venues at your leisure and discover a wealth of talent, mostly ฤบocally sourced. Pop some cash in the buckets and help raise some funds as Old Town comes alive with the sound of music!

As usual I’m going to be the judge and jury for this piece, and recommend those who I personally know who will deliver great sets to amaze you. But in no way is it an exhaustive list, for there will be many others and sometimes you have to put your little toe into the waters and find acts unbeknown to you, for the surprise element; an event of exploration! Whatever you do discover you can rest assured, every act is cherrypicked by the Shuffle Team, of Ed Dyer, a promoter who knows his stuff, Jamie Hill of Swindon Link, Kelly Adams, Paul โ€˜Pajโ€™ Jellings, Avril Jellings, Linda Gulliford, and Paul Gemmill, all equally as aware of what makes Wiltshire rock.

Thereโ€™s a printed program, online too; I’m working off that. Given the fantasy scenario of having the whole weekend to attend and choose between the huge lineup, hereโ€™s how I would tackle the mammoth task of maximising my experience…….

Without further ado, then, Thursday 11th of September belongs to The Tuppenny on Devizes Road, and the Hop, literally a hop across the road. A clash already, 7:15 at the Hop, Bathโ€™s spacey indie outfit Aqaba kick off proceedings, while Swindon soul singer Chloe Hepburn is at the Tuppenny at half past; tricky disco to begin, but Chloe has been on my must-see list for a while!

8pm at the Hop, Sebastain and Me is a deffo, but youโ€™ve only a quarter of an hour to drink up and catch the amazing Joli Soul at the Tuppenny. Again, I would be wearing out the traffic lights or flipping a coin. Iโ€™m unaware of all the headliners from there at both fantastic venues, yet the Tuppeny seems more funky soul and jazz while the Hop is indie, so it would be whether I packed my jazz hat or not!

Friday 12th September again is at The Hop, The Vic aptly on Victoria Road, and the Castle on Prospect Hill. Easy picking to begin with, itโ€™s our favourite Marlboroughโ€™s goth duo Deadlight Dance, on at 7:15 at the Castle.

In fact, Iโ€™d feel inclined to stay at the Castle unless Iโ€™m feeling like Dora the Explorer (which is surprisingly common for me!) as after a new one on me, Loophole, the amazing mod/new wave/britop cover band, whoโ€™ve just begun recording originals, Static Moves is on at 8:45, followed by Black Hats, new to me but promising something skanking, and SN Dubstation, who as the name suggest is Swindonโ€™s premier contemporary reggae export. The Hop is mostly folk on Friday, the Vic is indie-punk-rock and the Castle is alternative and reggae. If I was to fancy venturing off to The Vic, it would be at 10pm for Viduals, an emerging indie rock band who play it hard!

Saturday 13th then, when reality checks in, for this is the only day Iโ€™m likely to be able to make it up to Swindon for realz! You can get a bus from Devizes, you know, they run late now!

All guns blazing, The Tuppenny and the Pulpit rule the daytime, from 2pm until dinnertime, and The Hop, The Castle and the Beehive on Prospect Hill take the evening shift.

The great Jim Blair starts at the Pulpit, a new venue to me, but hey, Chippenham singer-songwriter Harmony Asia plays at 3:15 and thatโ€™s simply unmissable in my honest opinion. Oh but oh, Iโ€™ve heard so much good stuff about Swindonโ€™s pop star Kate X, who is on at The Tuppenny at 3:30, and seriously recommend her too!

Shedric and David Corringan at the Pulpit are two Iโ€™d love to see, and Swindonโ€™s answer to Dylan, the incredible Jol Rose is a must-see at 5:30, but dammit, at the Tuppenny has Emma Doupe at 5pm, followed by the freshest indie-pop fellow I simply must touch base with, Weather at 5:45pm. Ed Dyer, what are you putting me through here, or has Swindon got free cloning booths on every street corner now? Weโ€™re a little behind the times in Devizes!!

Saturday evening, and right, and Iโ€™ve made my mind up about how to attack this, though itโ€™s always subject to change. Bit of cheese, sir? At the Castle from 7:15 with Calneโ€™s comedy rock band The Real Cheesemakers is tempting, Gromit, but thereโ€™s a young Melksham band called Between the Lines on at 7pm at The Hop. I cannot lie, these winners of Take the Stage I wanted to play the Music Awards, for while they weren’t nominated, they should have been and I wanted folk to know why. Iโ€™m heading that way and will report on my findings, hopefully bring them to Devizes by hook or by crook!

The Hop continues with lots worth exploring, Iโ€™ve heard particularly good electronica things about The Crystal Wolf Project, there at 9:15, and Iโ€™ve seen headliners Trunk who will ram the place with devoted fans. But look, The Beehive might be my final Saturday resting place. Dulcet Tones at 8pm, then Bristolโ€™s Hannah-Rose Platt; look, just read my album review HERE and youโ€™ll understand this is without doubt a must. And, double-whammy, she is preceded by one of my all time favourite Swindon bands ever, the dark twisted country of Concrete Prairie. Always a must, especially at the Beehive at 9:30pm; save me a quarter of an inch to squeeze into, somewhere near the Tardis.

After that Iโ€™m anyoneโ€™s cheap date! Maybe Iโ€™d check out the Castle, as itโ€™s downhill and looking like hard rock underfoot with Lucky Number Seven coming the most personally recommended, at 9:30pm and followed by Modern Evils.

Then thereโ€™s Sunday 14th September, doesnโ€™t Swindon Shuffle know when to stop?! Wowzers it gets better; The Pulpit, Tuppenny and Beehive are up for your attention. Daytime, 1pm at the Tuppeny for Plummie Racket, stay there for Sienna Wileman and youโ€™ll be glad you did. But pop across to the Pulpit for 2:15 where Devizes is represented by our most excellent blues crooner and kazoo blasting JP Oldfield. I love this guy; Devizes man-hug!

Itโ€™s a Chippenham takeover from then at The Pulpit, Mexican Dave Iโ€™d recommend at 3pm, but M3G is a must and one of my personal favourite singer-songwriters on the local scene right now. Just prior to M3G though, be very tempted to nip back to the Tuppenny at 3:15 when Richard Wileman and Amy Fry do their thing, and thatโ€™s worth its weight in gold. 

Across to the Beehive for the finale to what looks like another unforgettable Shuffle, 6pm, Canuteโ€™s Plastic Army is unmissable, and so too is Joe Kelly & the Royal Pharmacy at 7:30pm.

No forgoing the fringe events, a Shuffle quiz night at the Beehive on Wednesday 10th, the Shuffle Community Ceilidh with The Cowshed Ceilidh Collective Saturday night at Eastcott Community Centre from 7pm, and open vinyl DJ sessions at The Prospect Hospice Book & Music Shop on Victoria Road, each day midday till 4pm.

Then, youโ€™ve only got to wait until the end of January for the Shuffleโ€™s winter version Swinterfest! Swindon Shuffle is a whoโ€™s who of local music, a convention and an institution, a fundraiser like no other, and you wonโ€™t even have to navigate the Magic Roundabout, pinky promise!

Info about Swindon Shuffle and full line-up HERE

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JP Oldfield Meets The Devil’s Doorbell at the Cellar Bar

To suggest I’m knowledgeable about the music of the 1920s because I lived through the era is plain cheeky, though I wouldn’t put it past you! I like to think I know just enough to hold my own in a drunken waffle on the subject. Such is that Jellylegs Johnson suggested a resurgence of 1920s jazz was pending, to which I agreed, or at least I would appreciate it if it was soโ€ฆ.

Cos I love digging to discover the roots of music, although I cannot be certain a gig of the era resembled what occurred down the Bear’s Cellar Bar last night, even if it was labelled thus, but it was an entertaining night for sure. This much is guaranteed whenever The Devil’s Doorbell has moored nearby.

Yeah, that’s right, I said The Cellar Bar, that central cobblestoned cosy dungeon which holds as many fond memories for Devizions than it does history. It feels great to be down there, as it’s been a while, and this sentiment is shared with the modest audience.

Backstory to why we’re here goes, after our interview with Devizesโ€™ rising star of kazoo-blowing, suitcase drumming idiosyncratic delta blues, JP Oldfield, he landed a gig at Chippenham’s Old Road Tavern supporting the bonkers jazz skiffle duo and boaterโ€™s royalty of double-entendres, Devil’s Doorbell.

Being he was unaware of them at the time, I assured Josh he was in apt company. For if JP’s style is quirky, Nipper, a freewheeling James Baskett/George Formby crossover, and Jellylegs Johnson in sequined hot pants, feathered flapper girl headband and marigolds, audaciously but not impudently salvage long-lost rags, nuggets of bebop and gypsy jazz with tenor ukuleles, a kazzumpet, and Jellylegs on a bass handmade from a washtub and broom handleโ€ฆ and that’s beyond averagely quirky!

It’s also a hard act for anyone to follow, as the agenda was switched for Nipper and Jellylegs to open the show JP Oldfield had arranged. They rang the doorbell for surety, with their unique cheeky tunes and banter, which Jellylegs told me afterwards are often assumed to be of their own pen, rather than outrageous long-lost 78s of a golden jazz era. It’s always a pleasure to hear them play, and so playful with the circus-cabaret they are, it’s infectious.

JP contends with more sombre moods versus a need to be jocular, but his ability to find that perfect balance is his unique spin on delta blues, that and using a kazoo where a harmonica is usually positioned, and both are something blossoming with each gig. His masterwork to date, The Ghost of Spring-heeled Jack is the verification of this balance.

I don’t believe confidence was ever an issue for JP, but that’s grown too, and he proficiently pulled a stunning set of originals and rare covers, neatly chosen to compliment those of his own labour; Tainted Love perhaps not so rare, but with added kazoo, welcomed!

Though on this occasion JP proved he’s no one trick pony as he turned to harmonica for a song, and excused himself for any amateur delivery of it, which was unnecessary as it was sublimely done. As was his entire set.

If we fondly reviewed his debut EP last month, JP Oldfield astutely replicated the magic on stage and guided the crowd to his chosen mood. Likewise, we fondly reviewed Devil’s Doorbell live recording from Trowbridgeโ€™s Pump a couple of years ago, and their excellent stage presence sticks like mud. Two acts, complimenting in a manner others might find it tricky to do, makes for an entertaining night, which it was, and back in the Tin Pan Alley days of yore, of course instruments were handmade or secondhand, salvaged from wherever they could be sourced.

Maybe a gig in the 1920s wouldn’t have been so different to this after all, as both JP and the Devil’s Doorbell are authentic enough and value the retrospection, and when sprinkled with this fun element, does it even matter?!

Bouffon! JP Oldfieldโ€™s Debut EP in Review

Once the demonic entity Spring-Heeled Jack entered folklore it became subject to many books and plays, diluting the once real threat of this Victorian bogeyman into a mockery of mass hysteria and hoaxes. If our local upcoming blues soloist JP Oldfield is resurrecting the legend as an opening to his forthcoming debut EP, Bouffon, the trackโ€™s haunting ambience is broken by the usage of his kazoo, implementing the very vaudeville element of satire the albumโ€™s title reflectsโ€ฆ.

Bouffon, being a French theatrical term for a performance of mockery, much like a jester becomes subtly apt once youโ€™ve listened, but thereโ€™s deeper prose at work. โ€œI threw a lot of names around in my head for this project but nothing seemed to fit,โ€ Josh told me, โ€œI wanted a name that summed up everything that these songs, my style, stood for. As such Bouffon, I think, is an unexpected title for my debut EP but I’ve never really seemed toย  like following the mould with any of this musical stuff and despite at first I rejected the idea, it sat in the back of my mind and wouldn’t go away.โ€

In a town where blues is taken extremely seriously my initial reaction to this EP was โ€œthere he goes again, blowing that kazoo when traditionally there should be a harmonica!โ€ But it soon dawned on me, this, and his beaten up suitcase pedal-drum looking like a juke joint throwout, is all part of the unique and idiosyncratic approach JP Oldfield has forged, and its originality works wonders.ย ย 

If thereโ€™s one notable eccentric kazoo-blowing duo on the local circuit itโ€™s Devilโ€™s Doorbell, who Josh supported at Chippenhamโ€™s Old Road Tavern. But whereas those crazy boaters with ukulele and washtub bass rely solely on the jaunty and jocular, thereโ€™s a much deeper tenet to JP Oldfield, richly layered, psychologically.

โ€œTo me a Bouffon clown holds a mirror up to the audience,โ€ Josh explained, โ€œat times it can be hard to look at, deeply sad, and presents you with things you’d rather not face, but in the end it doesn’t pull its punches, and allows for anything to be possible, a blank space where youโ€™re truly free to explore. I really resonate with the idea of this. I’ve always enjoyed the strange, quirky and unlovable. Elements of this have bled far enough into my music to feel a need to name my debut after it.โ€

The second tune asks this directly, if the singer has the blues, as if the melancholic disposition of blues is an affliction the doctor can diagnose. But three tunes in and weโ€™re blessed with such melancholy, Last Orders is a gorgeous ballad to vainly justifying alcoholism. Magpie which follows delves much deeper in its narrative.

โ€œA lot of people associate me with lively suitcase drum playing, jazz chord kazoo mania,โ€ Josh expressed, โ€œand I get it, but that’s not the only side to my music and I would be doing myself a disservice if that was all that I recorded. All my songs are dark but sometimes it needs to bubble up fully to the surface and see the light of day.โ€

He examples the two as those which โ€˜really fill out the point of the recordings.โ€™ โ€œLast Orders is a deep dive into my previous alcohol abuse and really aims to look behind the curtain on the inner workings of a lonely alcoholic. Magpie is a story told from the point of view of a child whose parents have just lost a baby and the confusion that comes from that as the parent’s attempt to hide and dress up the truth. It was actually written in half an hour, the afternoon before hitting the studio, when I put it down on tape it was only the fifth time I ever played it. I had the lyric sheet in front of me and sat real close to the microphone. We did it in one take, the studio went silent and we all seemed to be in agreement that despite it not being perfect, it was exactly the take we needed for that song.โ€

I suggest, in its rawness, Magpie is the most emotionally driven track on the album, the song an audience will take away with them. Though achieving the balance is key here. When we first met for an interview, the topic rested mainly on his powerful basso vocal range, likening him to Cash or Leonard Cohen, and while Josh should pursue this angle in his recording, his live show wouldnโ€™t be the same without the more kazoo blowing mockery of his macabre topics. For the finale Josh pulls in all resources. By title and topic, Satanโ€™s Bar one could imagine weโ€™re off in a similar style as Last Orders and Magpie, but no, mate, itโ€™s jump blues and off he goes with that kazoo again! I suppose, solving the dilemma on how to go out, Satanโ€™s Bar has both sides to JP Oldfield covered nicely.ย 

If I tend to relate baritones to Jim Morrison, and his ability to induce his crowd hypnotically, (taking into account their probable intoxication!), one can suggest JP Oldfield has a similar commanding voice, and thatโ€™s a high compliment, but deserved on the strength of this EP alone.

Oliver Stone projected this well in his 1991 biopic, though those who knew Morrison criticised his persona as deeper layered than that which was represented. They claimed while Morrison was the unbalanced and sometimes vexatious character portrayed, that Stone missed his more playful and humorous side. Josh undoubtedly has the capacity and skill to mesmerise a crowd, like Riders on the Storm, yet if those middle tracks on the EP proves this, the beginning and end ones suggest his favourite Doors track might be the more gamesome Alabama Song, showing Morrison to the way to the next whiskey bar.

Bouffon is released on 25th February 2025, it certainly wonโ€™t disappoint his live fans. With this original balance of melancholic delta blues with a sense of vaudeville satire, thereโ€™s deep personal reflection versus folklore and contemporary narrative, all encompassing and blended superbly.ย 

When I first heard Josh perform, I figured this needed the kind of guided hand only the legend Nick Beere at Mooncalf Studios could master. Coincidentally I bumped into him the weekend after Josh sent the album, and Nick not only confirmed he had recorded it, but agreed the kazoo and all JP Olfieldโ€™s gubbings were all part of the uniqueness of the act. 

โ€œNick’s not only very knowledgeable but also a great guy,โ€ Josh finished on. โ€œWe’d met a couple of times before, at open mics, and he already had a fairly good idea of what I sounded like. I left the production side completely in his hands, he’s the master, I just make the sound. It was the first time Nick had ever recorded a kazoo and a suitcase so I was happy to be the first!โ€

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Devizes Winter Festival This Friday and More!

Whoโ€™s ready for walking in the winter wonderland?! Devizes sets to magically transform into a winter wonderland this Friday when The Winter Festival and Lanternโ€ฆ

Snow White Delight: Panto at The Wharf

Treated to a sneaky dress rehearsal of this year’s pantomime at Devizesโ€™ one and only Wharf Theatre last night, if forced to sum it upโ€ฆ

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