Talking To...Jim Moray
There has been a buzz about Jim Moray to take the opening paragraph of his website, At the age of 21 Jim Moray was hailed "…the greatest leap forward in folk for 30 years" (Neil McCormack,The Daily Telegraph) and "the most significant musician since Bob Dylan to decide that the folk idiom is the perfect vehicle for his musical adventures" (Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald). Amongst other extravagant claims, his debut album 'Sweet England' was called "the most significant new development in English folk music since Fairport Convention's Liege and Leif." (Nigel Williamson, Uncut) and "a revolutionary experience" (Nige Tassell, HMV Choice). Critics worldwide fell over themselves to tip Moray for great things. is evidence enough to show the shadow of destiny that Jim has been living under.
Yet despite this, or perhaps because of it, Jim has managed to find the freedom to keep delivering innovative folk albums. More than that he's actively partaken in the great debates about folk music. He can be found on the messageboards, chatting with folk fans up and down the country, bringing the opinion of a performer to the discussions.
Earlier this year Jim Moray launched his most recent album, "Low Culture" to great acclaim and discussion around the title. The trash novel covers, designed by David Owen to illustrate the song titles, added to a sense that there was much more to this album than just the music.
I was really pleased when Jim Moray accepted an invitation to be the next artist in our "Talking To…" series
#J=Jim Moray #N=Neil King
#N From the moment you look at the cover of the new album, you know it's going to be a different sort of folk album. Before we dive into the album it's self, how did the cover and the internal artwork for the album come about?
#J A lot of its David's(Owen) ideas. I always have a strong idea about the cover but I'm not the best person to deliver it, so I tend to be pretty hands off. It's the way I've done all my covers. We talk about it and throw ideas around and then I let them get on with it.
I'd previously worked with a David and David. This was a chance to work with someone new. I like to let people do their job, it gives me time to explore mine.
#N I like the way it sort of captures an older feel, but at the same time puts it into a contemporary setting. It's really catches the spirit of the album, you aren't totally sure what you're going to get. At least the first couple of times
#J I'm not sure that's a totally deliberate thing. I think my albums tend to sit just outside of what everyone else is doing.
One of the reasons I like listening to a Jim Moray album is that you know where the foundations are, but you don't know where the building is going. You can see the layout on the ground, but haven't seen the plans for what they're going to put on top.
#J That's way and I don't think I can stress this enough, it's not premeditated, I don't set out with a plan.
For me it's very much a journey, you start off in one place, you have a rough idea of where you want to end up and when you've got enough songs for an album, you put it out.
#N How do you find the songs for your journey? Are you a sit down in Cecil Sharp House type?
#J I wish I was. I envy people that can do that. As it is, songs tend to find me. I encounter them along the way. I might hear a song in a folk club or someone will send a song to me. Occasionally I'll find a song in a book. I don't generally go looking for them.
I used to in the past, but I often find that I don't have enough hours in the day to hunt for them.
#N And there's some great songs that have found you and not all from the dim and distant past. You've got an Andy Partridge song, "All You Pretty Girls" on the album. He's one of the forgotten greats of songwriting and it's not been that long.
#J He's sort of what I was talking about. He's a proper songwriter. I don't think he would think of himself s either a pop writer or a folk writer. He writes songs and those songs have a way of finding people. He writes to express whatever it is he wants to express and everything feels almost effortless. He just seems to let it come out and it doesn't feel as if there's an agenda there and that's probably the key to it.
The song found us as one we used to play a lot in the car as we went from place to place.
#N It also sits in the album like it's supposed to be there. It's earnt it's place alongside the songs that have been played for years, the same with "3 Black Feathers", the Bella Hardy song and the most recently written. They all interlock as if they were supposed to have been together.
#J I hope so. You always want to produce something that is coherent.
#N Then it's almost like you take that base and layer Jim Moray over the top with the ideas and the approach. It's something that feels natural.
#J I think that's because it is natural. It's not a contrived premeditated idea. I didn't approach the album thinking, 'I'll put some rap on this one.' I did want to do some work with Bubbz and then when I heard the song Lucy Wan, it all seemed to fall into place.
I did it because it excited me and it was something that I really wanted to try. It wasn't done because I felt it might get people talking. I hope it does sound natural because that's how it developed.
#N Again, it was one of those things that was unexpected, the first time around. It immediately stops you and makes you think, but pretty quickly it's just part of the song and feels like it should be there. The life that's inside the song, rather than what the song's about
#J It's exactly that. It's about the songs and making that specific moment right. An album is a moment in time. It's a record in a literal sense. Each album represents a period of time and then you move on. Then you need to decide when you are going to let people have their next peak through the window.