Denis Jones signed to the independent record label Humble Soul in 2006.

'humdrum virtue' is Denis Jones's debut album, due for release in April 2007. It is the culmination of a journey that has taken Denis from his North West roots to London, Sweden, Berlin and back to Manchester, playing alongside such diverse acts as Coco Rosie, Ella Guru, Steve Tilston, Bent, Bone Box, Okkervil River, The Boats, Merz, Jack Rose and Chris Corsano. During this time he has forged a truly unique style, informed by an eclectic breadth of artists ranging from traditional songwriters like Nick Drake and Tim Buckley, via Bjork and Radiohead to experimental luminaries Herbert and Four Tet, a style that has been described as "One World era John Martyn mixed with Tunng and re-assembled through a basic channel filter".

'humdrum virtue' covers the range of Denis's output from the intimate acoustic beauty of "Four Water" to the multi-layered loops of "One Loop" and "Beginning", via the Waits-like blues monster track "£10 of Electricity", which features the powerhouse rhythm section of Jon Thorne, Luke Flowers and Paddy Steer. The album perfectly captures precious snapshots from an artist who has already proved his credentials as a live performer, with looped acoustic complexity straying from the chaotic to the sublime, always hypnotic and completely engaging. At a time when the loop pedal has become almost ubiquitous, Denis Jones effortlessly rewrites the rules and then breaks them again, bemusing and beguiling the audience, weaving a complex spell of beatboxed rhythms, samples and staccato guitars, over which his plaintive vocal glides with complex and heartfelt emotion. And what might be missed in the heat of one of these utterly compelling live performances becomes unavoidably evident on the album: a lyrical depth that is the equal of the instrumental wizardry, delivering storytelling in the grand folk tradition with a twist of Northern irony.

Teaming up with Humble Soul was the final piece in the jigsaw for Denis: at last he had found a label that shared his vision of pushing the boundaries, both with the music itself and with the packaging. Denis's self-designed and assembled industrial CD case uses carefully selected materials and processes which perfectly and intriguingly mirror the arrangements of the eight tracks on the CD; when you've finally recovered from falling in love with the packaging, put on the CD and prepare to be seduced all over again...

Track listing:
1. one loop
2. two slumber
3. third song
4. four water
5. five papers
6. £10 of electricity
7. 17
8. beginning.

Discography

humdrum Virtue (April 2007, Cat. no: HS107)

External links

Denis Jones Official Website

Denis Jones on MySpace

Denis Jones on Humble Soul