Joseph Arthur

Like his benefactor, Peter Gabriel, Joseph Arthur uses musical technology as an artistic tool, as a way to reveal emotions and the undercurrents of the highly personal and introspective topics of his art. Technology wielded by his hand doesn’t feel cold or sterile, but rich and visceral, ripe with life force.

As on his recordings, Joseph Arthur created a sound in concert that was high-tech but low-fi, full of the buzzes and hums of the electronics of the processed and distorted instruments. With recorded-on-the-spot tape loops that he used to back himself, his concert was a live mixing session in front of an audience. Watching him become wrapped up in these sonic manipulations so that he appeared at times to have forgotten his audience, it was easy to imagine him spending long hours alone mastering the technology that he uses to illuminate the dark corners of his psyche.

Via his tape loops, seamless between-song interludes in which he actively played nothing at all allowed him to move from guitar to piano on "Eyes On My Back" without a cessation of sound. His knob-fiddling led from the discordant "Prison" to a howling, psychedelic feedback maelstrom worthy of Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix before it receded and then segued into the urgent "Exhausted."

As sad tales of broken relationships devastated by departure, and perhaps death or suicide, the songs of Joseph Arthur speak of pain that has left their characters beset by disturbing visions, haunted by ghosts, and teetering on the brink of emotional breakdown. Although recrimination, guilt, loneliness, and angst are prevalent themes, his songs work as cathartic exorcisms, grasping attempts at comprehension, empathetic missives and prayers for redemption. With the lyrical melodicism of his music and the gentle compassion in his voice, Arthur imbued his songs with a haunting beauty that leavened the bleakness and brought to them an implicit, cautious hopefulness. The dreamy and lethargic set-closing "Invisible Hands" perfectly condensed these qualities and represented the essence of Arthur’s music.

Hopefulness became more explicit at the end of the intense performance during "Speed Of Light" in which Arthur dispelled some of the gloom as he sang:

-Shug

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