J2
- Story by Damien
Justin Broadrick and Jarboe give birth to the lush soundscapes of J2
When two outsider music legends came together, the results were never going to be anything less than stellar. Indeed, the recently released record from ex-Swans chanteuse Jarboe and Godflesh/Jesu mastermind Justin K. Broadrick is a rare example of a collaboration that expands the musicians’ creative possibilities rather than shutting them down. More than just the sum of its parts, J2 exists where conventional songwriting dissolves into a sea of pure sound. Or as Jarboe herself so eloquently puts it, “exploration into total sound over the parameters of traditional song structure.”
Like Bathory playing a live show or Dave Mustaine rejoining Metallica, J2 is the realization of one of those fantasy football-style band member daydreams that play with the infinity of the impossible. Unlike winning the lottery, however, half the fun’s in the fact that it’ll never happen. But this has happened and the reality of J2 doesn’t disappoint, Broadrick’s expansive tonal palette adding shadows, light and an at times engulfing immensity to Jarboe’s skeletal compositions.
“Initially, Jarboe approached me to produce this record,” explains Broadrick. “They are her songs, basically. The material she presented me with was still in the bare bones stage, so I literally fleshed things out by expanding upon her melodies and doing everything I could to build a wall behind her voice.”
Given the inroads that Jarboe has made into the notoriously male-orientated rock scene, she continues to produce work which could only be that of a woman, and J2—despite Broadrick’s interventions—is avowedly of the fairer sex. As for how they got together, the lady may well have had her introduction to the mercurial microcosm that is Jesu documented in these very pages.
“I became aware of Justin’s work upon the first Godflesh album release,” she recalls, “[but] a few years ago, I did a blindfold listening test for Decibel and one of the tracks given to me was Jesu.”
To say that her praise was glowing would be a triumph of understatement.
“Nine minutes and 33 seconds of bliss,” she gushed back in June ’05. “This has a Swans vibe with the keys and heavy bass and monolithic weight and mantra-like use of delay. Excellent bass frequency. I want to sing textured choral vocals to this. I give them a crown. Close my eyes and bow my head. Bravo.”
Godflesh’s debut, meanwhile, emerged in 1988 and was directly inspired by Swans’ stern and intimidating presence.
“I first became aware of Jarboe’s work via the Swans albums Holy Money and Public Castration Is a Good Idea,” recalls Broadrick. “Both had a huge impact upon me. Swans’ earlier career left an indelible mark upon me and most likely always will.”
In many ways an obvious pairing, there’s an emotional intensity in their work that unites them, crossing paths that always seemed destined to cross. With Michael Gira out of the picture, Jarboe’s quest for opposite energy has seen her work with artists as diverse as Neurosis, Byla and, of course, the coterie of talent that peppered The Men Album. J2, therefore, finds itself amongst some extremely distinguished company and it’s a credit to the creators that they do so with such power and passion.
“Giving Jarboe’s voice and songs some sort of justice was an aim for me,” states Broadrick. “I wanted to approach this in a very musical and open-ended fashion, concentrating on texture and subtlety to some extent. Whether I accomplished this or not is hard to say at this stage. It takes me a long amount of time to fully digest what I work so closely with. I need a year’s distance minimum to see something clearly and make those sorts of judgements.”
Jarboe’s motivation in all this was simpler still.
“To collaborate with Justin and to open that door,” she explains. “A successful and exciting collaboration with an artist whom I hold in high esteem. It involved analysis, deconstruction, reconstruction and ultimately trust. It is for me about the tribe. Defining that tribe is a personal experience. It encompasses many types of music. I embrace diversification.”
When Jarboe joined Swans in 1985, the band was embarking on a slow crawl away from the sonic edifices of their early material towards a less oppressive, song-oriented sound. As their career drew to a close, however, the process began to reverse as structure gave way to drones, dirges and washes of ambience. It wasn’t Filth, but it sure wasn’t The Burning World either. Similarly, both Jarboe and Broadrick have increasingly explored avenues devoid of predictable verse/chorus conventions and where mantra and hypnotic repetition form the only discernible patterns. J2 aren’t ambient but it’s bound together by ambience, and atmosphere is as important in the six tracks as notes or chords.
“It’s both sound exploration and a vehicle for Jarboe’s songs,” reckons Broadrick.
“To me, there isn’t a difference, really,” adds Jarboe.
Staging J2, however, is not currently in the cards. Although Jarboe is ambiguous on the subject (“I like open doors” and “Expect the unexpected”), Broadrick is somewhat more skeptical.
“I’m not sure if that would be possible,” he ponders. “Playing these songs live could be a compromise. Logistically it would be close to impossible. I added many layers, which in turn would mean needing many other musicians to flesh it out satisfactorily.”
“I would like to see another J2 come to fruition in the future,” concludes Jarboe.
Just don’t leave it another 20 years, eh?
