Editorial Reviews Jon’s first release, Through the Walls, often linked to the likes of Nick Drake or "Pink Floyd in a Coffee house" (as one reviewer put it), pulled together a niche following in both the US and UK. Music journalists and fans alike seemed surprised and refreshed to hear such innovation and lush arrangements coming from a songwriter who was born and raised in Texas country. Most notably, Jon recorded that album completely alone; he performed and recorded all of the instruments within a six week spell of isolation. As he says, "there were no clocks, no phones, no computer craziness, no distractions; just my demons and songs."
Music Review:
Music Review
Silbelius, Elgar: Violin Concertos
Spaced Out V.3: Outtakes & Spacecakes [Original recording remastered] [Import]
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10, Stravinsky: Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra [Import]
That Great Love Sound [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]
About the Artist
With the release of his second album, Seemingly Dreamingly, Jon Simons continues to cultivate a cult following of fans drawn to music that transcends such modern inventions as the quick hook or the fashion show. The sound is undoubtedly mellow – sometimes melancholy – but the messages encoded between the notes are far from subdued. This is not an album that jams, wails, or rocks; let’s just say that Jon’s music is best appreciated after a night on the town, when the mind is seeking asylum from the loud machines of the city. Both the lyrics and the aural atmosphere seem designed to bring the listener into a fresh space.
Album Description
Seemingly Dreamingly was released on November 5, 2002 by Boulder based Antara Records. Featuring ten new original songs, it seems to pick up where Jon’s last album left off. The mellow aesthetics, lush vocal harmonies, and Jon’s musicianship on many different instruments, remains as a consistency, but this time around Jon invited some of his friends along; among them are Josh Zarbo (of Spoon), Tim Dittmar (of Bo Bud Greene), and Laura Phelan (of Golden Arm Trio). Such textures as cello, vibraphone, and female backing vocals, help to give the soundscape a lush and spacious vibe.