All The Magic Lantern News
Legendary drag queen Lavinia Co-op stars in The Magic Lantern’s stunning new video!
"...delivers the kind of acoustic aspirations that seek reunions & homecomings to those special places both real & imagined with heart."
- Impose Magazine
"...Something very, very special" - Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music
For Fans of...Iron & Wine, Jeff Buckley, Sufjan Stevens
The Magic Lantern - the musical moniker of Jamie Doe - has now shared the beautifully shot video for Lydia, featuring living legend, Lavinia Co-op. Reminiscent of the personal, oblique narrative songs of Elliot Smith and hushed intimacy of Sufjan Stevens, Lydia demonstrates Jamie’s undeniable conviction. The video was directed by Adam Greves and Adam Lawson.
The magic of words...
• The video for Lydia premiered exclusively on Huh and the track originally premiered on Folk Radio UK.
• Lavinia was born in Hackney and trained as a dancer, where she was part of the UK drag troupe, Bloolips.
• Among many other accomplishments, Lavinia was involved in the Gay Liberation Front and starred in Bat for Lashes' video for Laura.
• Lavinia will be performing a solo show about her life at the Southbank Centre in May.
Intricate and wistful, The Magic Lantern returns with a captivating new single…
"... I’ve no doubt that, having heard Lydia, this new album
will live up to expectations..."
- Folk Radio UK
"... truly triumphant..."
- MahoganyA defiantly solo song, The Magic Lantern - the musical moniker of Jamie Doe - chose to record Lydia live in one take. Reminiscent of the personal, oblique narrative songs of Elliot Smith and hushed intimacy of Sufjan Stevens, Lydia demonstrates Jamie’s undeniable conviction.
The magic of words...
• Lydia premiered exclusively on Folk Radio UK.
• The Magic Lantern has received praise from numerous publications including The Guardian, Acoustic Magazine, Mahogany and M Magazine.
• He has also been supported by BBC 6Music ’s Lauren Laverne, Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction and BBC Radio 2’s Jamie Cullum, Mark Radcliffe and Bob Harris among others.
The Magic Lantern reveals video for ‘Holding Hands’!
“...a truly optimistic, triumphant
listen.”
- Mahogany
“...gorgeous...” - M Magazine
“Excellent, intriguing and compelling,
a man to watch.”
- The Guardian
The Magic Lantern, the musical moniker of Jamie Doe, is set to release his latest single Holding Hands on 30th October 2017 via Hectic Eclectic Records.
The video premiered on Mahogany and is now available to stream on The Magic Lantern's YouTube channel.
The audio for Holding Hands premiered on M Magazine and is now available to stream on The Magic Lantern's Soundcloud page.
The single opens with a defiant cry of hope, the lyrics “I’m searching…”, ringing out alone before two saxophones enter, freely weaving around the vocal, at once harmonising and echoing it. This texture builds as a third saxophone joins creating a rich brass warmth through which Doe’s voice glides, effortlessly leaping between the declamatory and the intimate. The band enter with an infectious groove, and we are introduced to the songs’ key metaphor of a flood and the need for creative destruction - “One day, when all this is washed away, some will remain, full of hope in the pouring rain”. The track resolves with the triumph of hope over doubt.
Holding Hands was written during a moment of desperation, Jamie having travelled half way across the world only to run out of road. Strung out and alone, he found himself writing this song for the true love he hoped to meet, as much an act of faith in their existence as a beacon to guide himself home. Originally written for voice and guitar, it was after hearing Bjork’s ‘Anchor Song’ late one night that Jamie decided to arrange the song for saxophone trio. The timbre of the brass, the groove of the band, The Bad Plus style piano solo – it is an arrangement that brings together some of Jamie’s key influences which he describes as “the lyrical directness of folk, the harmonic openness and improvisational freedom of jazz and the craft of great songwriting. It’s a good example of how much more confident I have become as an arranger”.
Born in Australia, before moving to the UK at 12, Jamie began performing as The Magic Lantern while studying philosophy in Bristol where he met and performed alongside friends This Is The Kit, Rozi Plain and Rachael Dadd. Moving to London in 2007, Jamie expanded The Magic Lantern into a quintet of friends and together they evolved a transporting sound, inspired by the immediacy of Jamie’s lyrics and lilting melodies and a shared love of improvised music. A debut album with the quintet was released in 2011 before Jamie returned to his solo roots with an intimate second album in 2014. The Magic Lantern has received praise from numerous publications including The Guardian, Acoustic Magazine and Folk Radio UK as well as BBC 6Music’s Lauren Laverne, Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction and BBC Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe and Bob Harris among others. His third album, To The Islands from which Holding Hands is taken, sees The Magic Lantern return with a new ensemble drawn from London’s thriving jazz scene, exploring memory and hope in a world of near constant uncertainty.
With Holding Hands, The Magic Lantern is ready to introduce further listeners to his bittersweet, beautiful sound.
Holding Hands is out on 30th October 2017 via Hectic Eclectic Records.
Introducing… The Magic Lantern!
“...gorgeous...” - M Magazine
“Excellent, intriguing and compelling, a man to watch.”
- The Guardian
The Magic Lantern, the musical moniker of Jamie Doe, is set to release his latest single Holding Hands on 30th October 2017 via Hectic Eclectic Records.
Holding Hands premiered on M Magazine and is now available to stream on The Magic Lantern's Soundcloud page.
The single opens with a defiant cry of hope, the lyrics “I’m searching…”, ringing out alone before two saxophones enter, freely weaving around the vocal, at once harmonising and echoing it. This texture builds as a third saxophone joins creating a rich brass warmth through which Doe’s voice glides, effortlessly leaping between the declamatory and the intimate. The band enter with an infectious groove, and we are introduced to the songs’ key metaphor of a flood and the need for creative destruction - “One day, when all this is washed away, some will remain, full of hope in the pouring rain”. The track resolves with the triumph of hope over doubt.
Holding Hands was written during a moment of desperation, Jamie having travelled half way across the world only to run out of road. Strung out and alone, he found himself writing this song for the true love he hoped to meet, as much an act of faith in their existence as a beacon to guide himself home. Originally written for voice and guitar, it was after hearing Bjork’s ‘Anchor Song’ late one night that Jamie decided to arrange the song for saxophone trio. The timbre of the brass, the groove of the band, The Bad Plus style piano solo – it is an arrangement that brings together some of Jamie’s key influences which he describes as “the lyrical directness of folk, the harmonic openness and improvisational freedom of jazz and the craft of great songwriting. It’s a good example of how much more confident I have become as an arranger”.
Born in Australia, before moving to the UK at 12, Jamie began performing as The Magic Lantern while studying philosophy in Bristol where he met and performed alongside friends This Is The Kit, Rozi Plain and Rachael Dadd. Moving to London in 2007, Jamie expanded The Magic Lantern into a quintet of friends and together they evolved a transporting sound, inspired by the immediacy of Jamie’s lyrics and lilting melodies and a shared love of improvised music. A debut album with the quintet was released in 2011 before Jamie returned to his solo roots with an intimate second album in 2014. The Magic Lantern has received praise from numerous publications including The Guardian, Acoustic Magazine and Folk Radio UK as well as BBC 6Music’s Lauren Laverne, Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction and BBC Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe and Bob Harris among others. His third album, To The Islands from which Holding Hands is taken, sees The Magic Lantern return with a new ensemble drawn from London’s thriving jazz scene, exploring memory and hope in a world of near constant uncertainty.
With Holding Hands, The Magic Lantern is ready to introduce further listeners to his bittersweet, beautiful sound.
Holding Hands is out on 30th October 2017 via Hectic Eclectic Records.
