Anyone can be a bedroom producer these days,
but very rarely do the results sound as assured, elaborate and downright infectious
as 'Like What', the debut album from Tim & Jean. Careening exuberantly through
its ten songs, it's a record that effortlessly captures the euphoria of a damn
good party whilst applying the sheen of sun-bleached nostalgia. Quite frankly,
'Like What' makes it impossible to sit still.
Tim Ayre and Jean-Christophe
Capotorto met in Mandurah, a coastal town south of Perth in Western Australia.
Although they'd seen each other around the local music scene, and were well aware
of each other's musical tastes and talents, it wasn't until they ran into each
other on a train station late in 2009 that they talked and decided to get together
to jam out a some ideas.
The boys spent the next couple of days holed up
in Jean's bedroom studio and knocked out a pair of songs, 'Like What 'and 'Come
Around'. They decided to post the latter track on the triple j Unearthed website
and Myspace; the responses immediately started flooding in, including many emails
from inquisitive labels around the globe. At this point, they realised that perhaps
it might be worth taking their collaboration vaguely seriously.
'Come Around'
soon found its way onto triple j's airwaves and beyond, and another track, Veronica,
subsequently followed suit (the titular heroine being a girl from Idaho with whom
Tim had been chatting online).
As triple j Unearthed finalists they won
the opportunity to perform at The Parklife Festival alongside Empire of the Sun's
debut live appearance. The Festival was a mere couple of weeks away when the offer
came in. They obviously needed more than two songs to fill out their set and they
also needed a band to perform them. Following long hours in the studio, where
the music flowed quickly and Tim free styled his vocals they emerged with another
six songs. A band was pulled together and they just about made their first gig.
It
doesn't take long to hear that Tim and Jean clearly know their way around a several
instruments. In previous musical incarnations they had channeled their skills
towards different styles of music - Jean as the guitarist in rock bands and Tim
as an accomplished jazz/blues pianist. Yet their collaboration on 'Like What'
mixes their individual talents, interests and influences and takes off in an entirely
new direction, creating a consummate record that belies the duo's young age (Jean
was just 15 and Tim a couple of years older when they started recording this album).
Elements of funk, soul and rock are fused in chaotic yet masterful fashion, while
expansive and shimmering synth progressions and lead lines, breezy chord stabs,
over-driven guitars and falsetto harmonies bear testament to influences that stretch
from Herbie Hancock and Prince to Tom Petty and Sonic Youth.
Tim and Jean
wrote, produced and recorded the album in Jean's home studio before heading across
to New York City, where they recorded some additional vocals and guitar parts.
Like What was mixed by John O'Mahoney, a crazy Irishman, who had first ventured
to New York to record Rap and Hip Hop in the early '90s before working with David
Bowie, Coldplay, Bob Dylan and Metric.
Word about the pair quickly spread,
and after only two gigs, they found themselves jetting off to the US to showcase
for major record labels in New York and Los Angeles, resulting in a recording
deal offers.
As for that Parklife performance - well, apparently it was
an "interesting" experience. Soon afterwards, the live line-up expanded
and Tim & Jean's touring presence has grown steadily ever since. Over the
last year, the band has been constantly on the road. They have made festival appearances
at Future Music, Splendour in the Grass, Southbound and the Big Day Out, as well
as support slots for Franz Ferdinand, Moby, Two Door Cinema Club, La Roux, Goldfrapp,
Art vs Science as well as completing their own successful headlining tour. Next
on the touring agenda are appearances at The Good Vibrations Festival around the
country in early 2011.
2010 was certainly an eventful year for Tim &
Jean, and 2011 holds the promise of plenty more. But in the end, all the boys
want from this journey is the freedom to indulge their love of music. As the straightforward
band name suggests, it's a simple attitude that's brought them to this point -
they're just two guys who enjoy getting together and jamming. It's not about the
fame or the fortune that may or may not be on offer, it's just a simple desire
to make music. Long may that continue.
Tim Ayre - Vocals and Keyboards |
Jean-Christophe Capotorto - Keyboards and Guitars
www.myspace.com/wearetimandjean
LIKE WHAT is available now.
