Jack Barnett is an acoustic singer/songwriter based in Cardiff, and has just released his debut EP Keeping Time.
The EP is the result of a years work with producer Arran Strange, and is a must for anyone who loves melody led, ethereal folk-like, acoustic music.
We asked Jack if he could give us a Track By Track breakdown of the EP.
Winter
When producer Arran Strange and I first decided to work together this was the first song that I wrote and we took into the studio. We recorded one version and then re-recorded it again about a year after, once we had gotten used to working with one another and I had developed a clearer sound and style. It was the first song I had written on an acoustic in around two years and one of my favorites for that reason. Winter was the first track from the EP to be released partly because it was the first one written but also because it’s probably the most widely accessible track on the EP.
Dreams
For this track I worked quite a lot on the melodies involved and it was one of the tracks that we recorded and then re-worked. Revisiting the track was well worth doing as we developed new ideas and completely changed the feel of the original recording and what we were left with worked so much better.
Rain came down
This is the shortest track and the most folk influenced track on the EP. The track builds with instruments layering on top of one another rhythmically while the vocals carry on repeating the main line of the track. I wanted to keep this track quite simple musically to work with the simple structure.
Sixth
This track made it onto the EP with its working title, and was probably one of the most worked on tracks that we did. We begun with one riff and the vocals and started fleshing it out a little with reverse guitars and backing vocals, then carried on doing that until we developed a full soundscape.
10am
10am is the most complex vocally. While we recording I wanted to layer more and more vocals to create a much thicker sound. What I like is the track starts simply with just guitar and vocals and then when the backing vocals come in they completely take over and change the feel of the track.
Swim
Lyrically Swim is my favorite track on the EP, and probably one of my favorites when I’m playing live. It is the last track on the EP as it’s the softest and works as a nice closing track.
You can pick up the EP from here as a pay what you want.
