Jandek
Jandek is an American musician believed to live in or the immediate area around Houston , Texas . Since 1978 he has released over 40 albums of experimental, folk - and blues- influenced music, all on his (presumably) own label called Corwood Industries, without ever revealing biographical details or his true identity.
Jandek never appeared publicly until 2004 and only a few journalists have managed to talk to him. There is no regular distribution of his records, just a PO Box address in Houston. In 2004 he performed for the first time, completely unannounced, at a music festival in Glasgow . Since then there have been a few more concerts, mainly in Great Britain and the USA, but also in Belgium and Helsinki , without the veil of anonymity being completely lifted. It only seems certain that Jandek's real name is Sterling R. Smith, must have been born around 1950 and lives and works in Houston (but possibly not from there). Some concerts have now been released on CDs and DVDs .
Jandek's music is difficult to classify: The songs hardly have a conventional structure and most closely resemble free jazz or folk improvisations , without, however, making any specific reference to any musical style. The lyrics, usually presented in a kind of spoken chant, are stylistically comparable to the lyrics of blues or country songs, but also contain biblical allusions, other songs seem pure nonsense and Dada texts.
Despite the seclusion of Jandek and the isolated character of his music, he has achieved a certain level of notoriety in the American underground: Kurt Cobain and Will Oldham quoted him, musicians from Sonic Youth , Wilco and Tortoise have recorded cover versions of Jandek songs or are with them occurred to him, a widely acclaimed documentary - Jandek on Corwood - dealt with the myth surrounding himself.
Discography
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Web links
- CorwoodIndustries.com website of the label
- A Guide to Jandek by Seth Tisue (discography, texts and further materials)
- Jandek on Corwood , a documentary
- JANDEK: The Great Disconnect by Irwin Chusid , excerpt from the book Songs In The Key Of Z on the Zine Lowest Common Denominator by WFMU
- Article from Texas Monthly magazine ( October 12, 1999 memento on the Internet Archive ) from 1999
- Jandek at Discogs (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jandek |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Smith, Sterling Richard (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 20th century |