PALE JAY Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Low End Love Songs is the latest record from bucket-hatted, red-ballied soul and funk multi-instrumentalist Pale Jay. The songwriter and crooner aims for a square lot of humility (although his talents might in some respect leave him without need of it) on this new nine-tracker, musing on personal transformation and maturation through the simmering one, two-steps of retro soul and pop production. Commanding an impressive instrumental nostalgia - filtered, detuned, sustained Hammonds; high-tamed drum hits; boosted piano solos; organic bass layers serving a scooped-out headroom in which Jay's jellied vocals can neatly fit - this record plays out like the sonic equivalent of a time-flecked painting, not shunning but embracing opportunities for moments of absentia and mystery, formally spurring us to ask the central question, "who is he? where is he from? what next?".

Review: Well on from his startling 2021 debut 'The Celestial Suite', Los Angeles' neo soul production maestro Pale Jay has since gone on to proffer many a 7" record, of which 'In Your Corner' is the latest treat to feast your ears. Both shorn ahead of time from his latest LP, Bewilderment, 'In Your Corner' and 'Bewilderment' are pensive retro soul falsettoers, both of which feature Jay's own, longing vocals, and evince a mood of being caught in between two difficult paths in life. The A uplifts with its surrounded Hammonds and righteous get-through-it lyrics, concerning self-discovery amid self-judgment. The B-side, by contrast, tells the story of the disintegration of a family, and skews more lo-fi, vintage hip-hop.

Review: Pale Jay's latest LP Bewilderment spawns two more treasure here on this new and essential 7" from Karma Chief Records. Up first is an Afro-beat tinged cut, 'In Your Corner' with a subtly uplifting rhythm although listen deeper and you'll get locked in to the lyrics which detail an internal struggle for self-acceptance. On the flip is the album title cut which showcase Jay's signature sounds - silky falsetto over soulful harmonies and dusty hip-hop beats. This one also tell a story, this time about the breakdown of a family and the journey into self that ensues.

Review: British singer and producer Pale Jay procures his debut EP 'The Celestial Suite': a body of work rooted in the unconscious, one which is said to reflect a deep connection between the artist and his musical guides: be they Donny Hathaway, J Dilla or Khruangbin. Deploying a fragile falsetto floating over dusty beats and serene strings - all glued together by ageless arrangements - Jay's image is one of a hidden, but deeply longing sensitivity, which works rather well with his semi-anonymous, balaclava'd red visage.