One of the music world's best kept secrets is the fact that Stephen Jones is making Babybird records again. After the lo-fi bedroom recordings of the early days, the hit singles of the mid-late 90s, and a brief return in 2010, Jones laid Babybird to rest in 2012, frustrated with the name constantly being associated with misunderstood 1996 smash hit 'You're Gorgeous'. He then became one of the most prolific musicians around, releasing (quite literally) hundreds of albums on Bandcamp under a range of different aliases.But it's hard enough to be heard above all the noise and endless choice that characterises the music scene in this day and age. So the Babybird name has been reprised to give his songs the wings (no pun intended) that they deserve. It's also led to a live return, Jones and his band undertaking a series of raw, defiant gigs just months after he had suffered a heart attack.
And the new material keeps on coming: the latest Babybird release is a double album titled 'Selfies Inside The Coffin', although many of you reading this may never get to hear it. Jones released the songs in demo form on his Bandcamp site, before 50 limited edition CD copies of the album were pre-sold before the album itself was even completed.If this is just the demo of 'I Am Not Here', then just imagine what the finished article will sound like. Beginning as a weird, unsettling spoken word soundscape, it soon grows into a cascade of dreamy chords, progressive loops and echoes of the sprawling atmospheric power that was put to such great effect on Jones' little-known 2014 album 'Ambition Expired'. This can be heard along with some other very promising recordings on Part 1 of the SITC demo sampler, available to listen to and download (name your price) HERE.Another one to add to the growing list of great Babybird tracks.
