Heute veröffentlicht die Indieband NEØV ihr neues Album Picture Of A Good Life. Gekrönt wird es von einem Gemälde von JAMES F JOHNSTON, der der einen oder dem anderen als Musiker bei GALLON DRUNK und als einer der BAD SEEDS von NICK CAVE bekannt sein dürfte. Exklusiv für Popmonitor erzählt er hier, worum es ihm bei dem Gemälde ging:
With the painting I was trying to capture the feel of a found photograph, an old professional portrait photograph, maybe something from the 20s or 30s. The hope they convey, someone at their best, although we know nothing about their lives, and what subsequently happened to them. The title „Piano Player“ was almost arbitrary, but seemed to fit with the look of someone lost in music, lost in their dreams. It’s an open story. A pianist in a bar; an orchestra; a teacher? Someone hoping to be captured at their best, for a moment.
NEØV-Frontmann ANSSI NEUVONEN ergänzt:
I got familiar with James F Johnston’s paintings a couple of years ago when we were signing a recording deal with Clouds Hill. Songs from his excellent solo album ’The Starless Room‘ were featured on a playlist introducing music produced by Clouds Hill owner Johann Scheerer, and thereby I came across James‘ paintings. James was kind enough to let us go through his paintings and use one of them as a cover for our album ‘Picture of a Good Life’. I think James’ paintings are full of expressive feel and they are not easy to interpret, which adds a special kind of depth to them. Our album’s theme, picture of a good life, is a vague theme to start with: chasing a picture of a good life is a timeless paradox, we’re all surrounded by pictures of good life and we’re presenting pictures of our own lives. But after all, are we chasing a picture of a certain type of human in ourselves and in others? ‚Piano Player‘ works superbly as a visual crystallisation for this theme. And I like the androgyny in it.
NEØV
Picture Of A Good Life
(Clouds Hill)
VÖ: 15.01.2021
www.neovband.com | James F Johnston auf Instagram
