On putting together his series of Grand Gestures albums, mainman Jan Burnett seems to have an endless supply of vocalists to front the ever-changing ‘collective’. Emma Pollock, RM Hubbert, Jill O’Sullivan, Calamateur and comedian Sanjeev Kohli are among those who’ve answered the call to provide lyrics for the Spare Snare frontman’s electronica experiments and all appeared on the ensemble’s first two releases.
Add to that contributions from ‘new’ faces such as former Hipsway man Grahame Skinner, and 80s chart star Gary Clark (of Danny Wilson fame), and you can see why Burnett’s spare room / kitchen / bathroom project has been gathering momentum. The initial contact that led to Clark’s contribution was made over the wires to his then-home in LA, but another performer had less far to travel as Burnett explains:
“Nina is my daughter, and over the first two albums she has been doing the introduction to the records.
“She’s comfortable around a microphone, aged 8; however for this track I recorded her describing a vivid nightmare, on my mobile phone.
“I always expected the vocal on this track to be a narrative of some kind, whether it be poetry or cut up speech.
“Definitely a nod to Alex Patterson and The Orb – Alex has played the track with Sanjeev Kohli – ‘I Wonder What Chris De Burgh Is Doing Right Now’ a few times in his DJ sets.”
‘Third’ is released on 19th December but is available for pre-order (with limited edition Grand Gestures pencil!) here.
Nina Burnett photo by Graeme Ogston.
You can hear other tracks from the album, as recently featured on Glasgow Podcart and ManicPopThrills,TThe album is preceded by a single, ‘The World Will Break Your Heart’ featuring Gary Clark, out on December 1st, premiered at jockrock.org.
listen to baby GG! http://t.co/EVrBWEZPFr
RT @TheShyRetirers: Is This Music?: The Grand Gestures – http://t.co/WbaqKoB1dA
Another exclusive preview.
Featuring Nina Burnett.
http://t.co/yqZUsualuL