“The last surviving frontier in music today.” – Human FM
Jake Edwards’ music fuses an eclectic, guitar based folktronica, bleak country existentialism and dark-core blues with a body of undeniably vivid & disturbing songs exploring murder, isolation, desolation and spiritual retribution. Songs that shine a hard light on the nature of man; on fate, love, life and death, and a sound that seems ever restless in pursuit of singularity. His influences include Son House, Coltrane, Kirk, Gesualdo, Faust, and Townes Van Zandt; Paul Auster, Steinbeck,William Beckford, and Mark Z. Danielewski; Ernst, Braque and Tinguely – a who’s who of artistic iconoclasts, outcasts, madmen and libertines.
“Mash the Snarks”
Edwards was nearly born in the air fleeing Zanzibar for Ghana where his early life was spent in an upturned rusty, yellow, snake and reptile filled boat, at a sawmill in the hills – something which has clearly influenced his writing with an incantatory, mesmeric resonance and an African shamanism- a place filled with a curious mix of music, instruments, reptiles and snakes. He learnt the art of longbow archery at around five years old and built his first guitar aged five - a hollow bodied flying V; because playing the violin wasn’t his idea of fun – and proceeded to teach himself.
Edwards was also assistant to the Fossoyeur in a historic French graveyard when he first began writing songs at the age of thirteen. Edwards later moved to the Surrey “Delta” soaked in the rock music fallout from 60′s and 70′s luminaries, and cut his teeth playing in private studios with world class musicians, some of them legends. When the local guitarist is Eric Clapton you’ve got to work hard to keep up.
Surrey Delta White Blues
“In 1990 I joined ‘The Organisation’ & supported The Beautiful People (including Robin Goodridge of Bush) and began to record blues instrumentals with Adey Lunn (Hawkwind), spent years hanging out in studios around the Surrey ‘Delta’ and South London, as well as helping build a few too. I bumped into alot of legendary guitarists; Eric, Jeff, Trower, they were everywhere.”
New York Brit Punk Shoe Gazers Elvis The Beatles and Beefheart
In 1995 he travelled to New York to play with a U.S. Pop group as well as playing with a hard edged Brit-punk group from a needle infested, post industrial shithole at the end of the decade; “Great” rock and pop groups that lost out on every deal to the nearest bunch of fly-by-night shoe-gazing pretty boys. “We listened to Elvis’ Sun Sessions, Beefheart and The Beatles.”
“Greed, Alcoholism and Betrayal”
Characters appear in the dust and drift through his songs like haggard cadavers in the intoxicating and strange pursuit of truth where gritty realism – greed, alcoholism and betrayal – collide with epic themes, voodoo surrealism, the sinister ghosts of Gettysburg and an unnerving and vengeful mysticism. Through the often complex and twisted poetry of a series of murders and revelations his songs blend a heady and unnerving violence with the frightening cryptography of the landscape.
“‘Ain’t nothing but dust”
Edwards has spent the last five years exploring the New Zealand landscape often living an itinerant life on the margins of New Zealand society; floors, sofas, garages, rehearsal spaces, vans, sheds, lock-ups, sunrooms, and even a few houses. Most of his songs were written in isolation across the south island; mighty rivers, cloud piercing mountains, canyons, plains and isolation fill their pages. He says he has been “…eking a marginal living in the poverty stricken nowhere of his own myth”.
“Multi Platinum, Live Television, Jonah Lomu, Rare Star Guitars”
Recently Jake Edwards has worked with a multi-Platinum selling artist on a rock-pop single release as well as perform on National Television Live and his songs have been covered and performed at the National Museum.
Jake Edwards is online editor / curator for Rare Star Guitars, the John Marks collection of guitar timepieces. This unique guitar collection features vintage guitars owned by Eric Clapton, David Bowie, George Harrison, Richie Sambora, Elliot Easton, Sonny Bono and Gary Moore.
So why not visit the website or SUBSCRIBE and be the first to get your Rare Star Guitar fix before everyone else!
Jake’s guitar playing together with drummer Dan Smart is also featured in the brand new 2011 international Rugby console game “Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge” – released this year in New Zealand to coincide with the 2011 RWC Rugby World Cup victory!
Recent performances include live to air radio and blues rock concerts – the highlight of which, Edwards says was playing with Darren Watson one of New Zealand’s most highly regarded performers and blues musicians. In his spare time Jake Edwards plays music.
“I learnt more about music jamming with everyone at Kenny Jones’studio (The Who, The Small Faces, The Faces, The Law) than you could learn in twenty years. I virtually lived there for a few years with Dylan. I also played and worked with numerous other acts such as Mondo Cane and a whole bunch I can’t remember.” Edwards is leaving for southern France to write, document rogue architecture and to continue to record his music in the Catalan mountains.
Current guitars, amplifiers and effects pedals:
’93 Fender Stratocaster plus with replacement neck
Award Session Sessionette (left)
Award Session Stockton (right) simulates original AC15
Unspecified distortion emulators
Line 6 Delay
Clean Boost
Loopstation
Crafter steel travel guitar
60′s Hohner arch top (slide)
Old guitars, amplifiers and effects pedals:
’88 Fender Stratocaster Plus
Ultra heavy shoulder killer Les Paul copy
Fender twin x 2
Peavey Deuce VT
Dimension C
Unnamed 17″ middle cabinet
Zoom 9030
Zoom 8050 controller
Music Man 130 212
Cry Baby / Morley Wah Wah
Marshalls
…plus a load more old & wrecked, rusty, battered old relics.
All content © Jake Edwards. All lyrics, music, words copyright Jake Edwards.