Jose Gonzales - Between Norwegian Coffee and the Dalai Lama

Soft-singing troubadour José González is a man who spaces his words thoughtfully, as if time is as unnecessary as ipods. From listening to his debut album Veneer you wouldn’t get any other impression. Released in Scandinavia in 2003 it wasn’t until 2005 that the rest of the world could finally gush over finding a man who’s feet fit comfortably into those lonely shoes that Nick Drake left under a Pink Moon so many years ago.

With the recent revival of folk and psychedelic folk, hailed sometimes as ‘The New Weird America’, many mellower, previously independent acts are now being vaunted by major labels. This cavalcade of heroes includes Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Sam Beam and a gaggle of other artists that have been dusted off and thrust to attention, despite the fact that most are plodding along a steady course. So for a few reasons José González is captivating - not only is he talented and the owner of a damn fine name to us gringos, but the man has been recognised relatively early on in his promising career.

Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, González has the sound of an organic kind of musician. His deft finger-picked mantras and impressionistic lyrics melt into a hangover-friendly delight that sways as enchantingly as a tree by night. The result is consistently thought-invoking, a lull that focuses upon weary persistence in a dogged world. Almost moaning José repeats that we need hints to keep us on the right track, insisting to keep whispering our mantras, to be brave and save your day, and to not stay in the shade until you reach the grave.

That said, the hushed tone of Veneer is steadfastly sympathetic but not necessarily inciting. José, after all, remembers “in Sweden when I reached a peak, they were playing my song a lot on the radio and television, I was a bit scared”. Clearly he has had to battle the same humanly concerns and the same nerves that prevent most of us from even going to the supermarket in our pyjamas on a weekday.

“At the first shows…when I was really nervous I had to play all the songs two or three times in the same day. I was really really nervous. Sometimes I couldn’t play, I mean, I was shaking.”

Hands up all of those who have supported the Dalai Lama in front of 10,000 people in their home town? Yeah, thought so.

These days it seems that José is trying to take control and snuggle into a comfortable niche between fame and obscurity. On the later end of the spectrum he has found himself faulting promoters for setting one of his performances as background music to a room of ten elderly and dining Norwegians (sigh, how we all hate the elderly and their gummy mouths). One particularly unflattering gig was on a snowy day in a small city in Norway, again, where only one man turned up, and his mind was merely set on a steaming mug of coffee. Though not to wail away on all of you Norwegians, for José recounts that the rest of the tour was unhindered, and that he actually prefers to play the smaller venues of 50-200 people, particularly

“Just going to Norway and Denmark, which are really close, and starting over.” … “For a while I played at bigger venues in Sweden. I like going back to basics.”

Fame has been something necessarily accepted by González. Guitar became more of a recreation and a lost dream whilst studying, only to later be rediscovered and combined with a more lyrical perspective on the world.

“I always start with playing the guitar for a very long time. The melodies come out pretty naturally”…“but the lyrics I need to sit down with a pen and paper. It’s like now…I’m…going…to…write…”

Even from his school days José says that he struggled with expression, and simply feels that lyrics are now something that need to be done for his songs. Suppose that’s the appeal of the instrumental on the Stay in the Shade EP, and also a repertoire of eclectic covers that include Kylie Minogue’s ‘Hand on Your Heart’, Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’, and Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. Divulging, José relates that covers are something funny to do, especially eighties pop songs. He realises that different people see different aspects of music, as with ‘Hand on Your Heart’, where “there was a clash with the lyrics and how the video was filmed. She was dancing around”. Even in his own songs, and with remixes particularly, José realises that sometimes people miss the point. It’s all a matter of considering influences and the context. One remix of ‘Deadweight on Velveteen’ totally missed the harmonies and dynamics, which were surprisingly inspired by the more unusual influence of DJ Shadow. And then…

“There was this one kid who sent me his cd. He had put his vocals on top of mine. That was really really strange.”

Props to the nut-job, you win a trophy. But it’s not hard to credit the other influences on Veneer. From José’s own words the style is a mixture of bands from Tortoise to Cat Power. And as to Nick Drake:

“I think it’s a relevant comparison. I was influenced by him and especially the Pink Moon album. But I mean, I suppose he’s the best know influence that I have. Like, in the way of singing I was very influenced by Geoff Ferina the singer of Karate, and also Songs: Ohia, and his way of singing. And the guitar picking is different from song to song. I suppose that ‘Stay in the Shade’ is very Nick Drake-ish. A song like ‘Remains’, or ‘Love Stains’ isn’t - or even ‘Crosses’.”

At the moment José González is touring and also tinkering with Junip, his synth and drums project. Yay that we can assuredly slaver over more of both band and solo work in the future. Come November we are lucky enough to see a couple of shows at the Northcote Social Club and the Queenscliff Music Festival. For one or two nights we can lend out our copies of Veneer and intimately fondle our ears with this enviable guitarist and singer, who’s style is derivative but not forced or as focused as some might think. The man himself divulges that, after all, “People get lazy”.

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