Jay Jay Johanson Survey

This whole Jay Jay Johanson thing started with a friend who asked me if I could buy him the last J.J. Johanson’s CD (The Long Term physical effects..), and, since I trusted this particular friend’s eclectic musical tastes, I decided to give it a try.

And the cruise of absolutely owing everything he has ever produced started. This tasteful combination of diverse laid-down depressive weary vocals with the electronic freedom of combining everything from salsa/jazz/electro beats is the best mixture of music I have yet to encounter in my melodic journeys. Jay Jay Johanson still features as my second listen in last.fm dashboard (right after Sigur Ros I suppose)

Let’s start with his first release “Whiskey” (1997):

A very Portishead-like drum and scratches arrangement starts in “It Hurts Me So” mixed with the most soothing/deranging / narcoleptic voice that comes from this particular Swede body, a very interesting combination between old school blues with modern beats (Frank Sinatra inflections). Basically, Jay Jay stated that when he came to the studio to record this album, he had no idea how he was going to sing, so these are just reflections of his search for a singing voice. Another weary ghost-like flute arrives on the next track, beautifully screening the diversity of Jay Jay’s musical mastery, with “So Tell the Girls that I am Back in Town” who has actually a more upbeat feel to it (but the same deep voice). An instant classic is “The girl I love is gone”. My favorite track is “I’m older now” I guess, which features an idiotic verse like “I’m older now, much older now, much older than I was when i was young” – this is so nonsensical that it makes perfect sense – laid layers in Brian Eno style, combined with the subterranean obscure voice of Jay Jay. “Mana Mana Mana Mana” again returns to the feel-good mood, with absolutely orgasmic pitchy voices laid over another beautiful layer combined with waa-waa guitar strings.

With the next release “Tatoo”, Jay Jay turns his musical perception towards a more jazzy/latino feel – you can feel it from the first sexy trumpet bulging in on “Even In The Darkest Hour” until the very ending of electric pianos in the erotic “The Sly Seducer”.
I think “Quel Dommage” is my favorite track – we have a salsa beat with subtle strings and high hats thumbing your ear. Jay Jay only tickles the microphone with his voice, no screaming, no strain, just a fabulous falsetto voice that doesn’t sound stressed but rather comforting and enwrapping. The piano tune of “Murderans” is further developed into
”Milan, Madrid, Chicago, Paris” who has the same type of erotic feel, for some reason it reminds me of Milene Farmer’s greatest beginnings – with the sudden voice going from low to high. “Lychee” certainly foreshadows Jay Jay’s latest change of style – dark trip-hop with depressing lyrics. “She’s Mine But I’m Not Hers” turns the rhythm into idm, but subtly, making it rather a support than the center of the track. And the French Paris-rainy-days accordions load up the track with a vast delight of sound.. ”Sunshine of your smile” features an electronically modified voice that I don’t necessarily enjoy but certainly the bass-induced rhythm is nice. “Jay Jay Johanson” is one of the highlights – a sexy French woman’s voice puts questions and Jay Jay answers. Lovely. You can get a glimpse of Jay’s multicultural breed. “A Letter to Lulu May” has an American theme song feel to it.

In 2000 the interest of Jay Jay’s assorted music taste turn towards dark trip hop – beginning with a robotic voice, kicks in the heart melting “Alone again” – a ballad to loneliness with electrified rhythms and a deeper voice and tormenting high hats. Powerful beats go along in “Anywhere, anytime”, again with the same dirty electro feel, the beautiful “Believe in us” , and then – “Escape” – one of my favorite tracks: “On a mountain up north, I will build a small house, made out of wood stone and etc.” again trip hoppish high hats and a haunting voice that evokes the most lonely loneliness ever. “Far Away” is another beautiful soul ripper, based on a piano theme, and Jay Jay goes into his deep voice again, “Humiliation” features the same electronic voice modulation, another haunting rhythm, piano, drums and lingering bass. “Poison” is absolutely the darkest Jay Jay ever, trip hop filled with electronic guitars, pianos and upfront bass.

And say hello to “Antenna” an electroclash retro classic – hard beats from the 80s, man! at their fullest – and don’t get me wrong, I hardly get into this kind of music – disco has never been my thing but damn Jay Jay does it fine, careful never to slip into the dreadful redundancy of most of the music of this genre, and always keeping the sadness and darkness from his previous albums – “I want some fun” is great – trumpets and a sadness that’s so tough to portray in electroclash, but this time it comes out as evocative and contemplative. “Automatic lover” is totally Modern Talking- awful in its own brilliance. Actually “Wonderful Combat” is my favorite Jay Jay’s song ever – there’s just something about the drop of the first rhythm and the alertness of the drums that goes in perfect symbiosis with Jay Jay’s sexiest voice ever.

“Rush” from 2002 keeps the same “Antenna” bend towards electroclash – the highlight of the album: “Another Nite Another Love” – disco at its best – suggestive and a reminder of the golden age of the disco times – dominant electronic guitar strings on the background.

“The Long Term Physical Effects” are certainly a return to the dark trip hop phase, Jay Jay drops the electroclash for a while and focuses on a fusion of jazz, trip hop, latino induced beats and downtempo goodness – “She Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” is the choice for the single. It’s just another album of non-skippers – the orgasmic “Rocks In My Pockets” features noisy alert rhythm and subtle strings coming up on the chorus. The song is just amazing, it reinvents itself every time the chorus ends and Jay Jay starts again with the lyrics. “As Good as It Gets” features the same type of claustrophobic darkness, even if Jay Jay ironically claims at the beginning of the track “such a funny little song / that I heard you hum at night” – “Breaking Glass” and “New Year’s Eve” are both heartbreaking and sorrowful while “Tell me When the party’s over” is an apogee of loneliness – choirs and evocative guitar. “Peculiar” is another seemingly childish song in the same category of “A Letter to Lulu Mae.”

One never gets tired of listening to Jay Jay Johanson’s amazing discography. His choice of elements from different cultures and eras is utterly fantastic and never falls into the boring blends that usually appear nowadays on the music scene.