London born and bred singer-songwriter Jake Morley lifted the lid on his new single The Manual. The sound is a mesh of alt-pop and indie, with lots of adept guitar-playing strewn throughout. His forthcoming album of the same title is slated for release on Sandwich Records. We had an opportunity to throw some questions at Morley to see how he rolls with the punches. And man does he roll.
CRAVE: Strange Loop is your opening single for your new LP The Manual. What exactly is the Strange Loop? And how did you come to deciding this is the song that we run with first?
Jake Morley: What came first, the chicken or the egg? That’s a strange loop. There’s no answer, just a puddle where your brain was. They only exist as ideas, or in pictures like Escher’s staircase, because they are logically impossible.
In some ways that makes them even more powerful, because they’re still so recognizable. Life seems full of things that we do over and over and over again that don’t get us anywhere.
Jake Morley debuts new single The Manual. Photo courtesy of Jake Morley.
The album is a mixture of tones and textures and certainly runs the gamut of emotive listening. Where did you pull this songbook from? How long has The Manual been in the making?
The Manual was all about clock making. Patiently building and refining each part in a mad Steve Jobs kind of way. I’d had enough of ‘singer-songwriter emotions’ and wanted to make an intelligent record about ideas because ideas seemed purer, more worthy. I started questioning everything and the more I questioned the more emotional the material became. In the end, I gave into it, stopped fighting and it became an album about self-discovery, self-liberation, that kind of thing. It took forever, and I’m not in a hurry to write that way again, but I’m really pleased with it.
What’s your creative process like? A beer, a pen and paper and a guitar? Holing up in a studio until you emerge with an album? Or is it necessary to really plunge yourself through a gauntlet of both positive and negative experiences to flesh out the kind of storytelling you have on The Manual?
I’ve written songs to have fun, I’ve written songs to be liked and I’ve written songs to try to take a serious look at things. I once wrote a musical about zombies invading Victorian London! I like every phase being different because you learn something new each time.
The Manual was all about the plunge through the gauntlet – three months were spent only writing lyrics to a duet with my subconscious. Haha, it seems crazy now. My next record will be different I hope. The beer, pen, and paper sounds nice.
Imagine you’re on a deserted island with only 3 items. What would they be and why?
An upright piano – because it’s the ultimate musical instrument
A meditation manual – pretty much your only hope for dealing with the isolation
A mosquito net because I fucking hate mosquitos
Imagine you’re in the middle of the big city. How do you get away from it all to get to that fantastic deserted island and create?
Nah mate I’m a Londoner, don’t have to imagine! But also I don’t want to get away from anything and we don’t have to be on a deserted island to be creative. Reality is pressing at every moment and it’s equally real in Finchley as it is on Easter Island and Mount Kilimanjaro. Distraction is the main issue for me – a little helps spark creative ideas, too much means never finishing them.
London-based singer-songwriter Jake Morley.
If your music is a dish what does The Manual taste like? If it’s a fabric you wear what does it feel like? If it’s a cologne or a perfume, it’s smell? And lastly, give it a color.
Hmm hard questions and everyone sees these things differently. To me, The Manual feels like an 11-course meal with matching wines or an elaborate wedding dress. I don’t know much about colognes or perfumes but something with a lot of ingredients. Maybe a deep, dark blue color? But someone else might hear it as Rice Krispies in their pajamas and that’s cool too.
Who is Jake Morley? in one brilliantly thought up buzzword.
A Singer-Longwriter
When and where can fans and newbies alike see you?
I tour the UK in November with a full band, playing in Manchester, Kendal, Birmingham, Bristol and London. You can get tickets at http://www.jakemorley.com.
