Jamie Woon - Mirrorwriting

Sweet-voiced troubadour Jamie Woon has released with Moonwriting an album held together almost entirely by subtlety. Alongside James Blake, Woon represented the more demure, subdued and pensive side of the BBC's sounds short list. Some balance, against all the young female theatrics (Clare Maguire) and slightly pedantic überpop (Jessie J). His current single 'Lady Luck' is all about that. The video shows the pensive singer, being driven around town, lost in thoughts. Being carried away by the anonimity of city life. Debut Single 'Night Air' shares a similar distant vibe. One third smooth dub-beats, one third irrestistible dance-track and one third Woon's gorgeous, soulful voice was one of the highlights of early 2011 and a light fixture in the dark, cold times associated with those horrible end of winter weeks.

 

Let's get one thing straight though. Woon is all too often pushed into the post-dub box, while in fact that is not really the sound he is after. Or more accurate, it's a far too narrow description. In reality, he ranges from dubstep influences over soul to even R&B. It's a conscious choice, the singer explained in interviews, seen as how for it works so much better with his smooth, warm voice. The son of British folf singer Mae McKenna grew up in a musical environment, but after graduating from the BRIT School, he took his time to find his place, meanwhile supporting Amy Winehouse, among other things. The result of that is that at 28, he is able to present a debut that reflects not only his undisputable talents as a singer-songwriter, but also a certain degree of maturity he would not have had 5 years ago. Jamie Woon is one who stands out in the crowd, without explicity standing out in the crowd, or trying to. In a sense, it's a very old-fashioned approachIf James Blake is the posterboy for the 2011 post-dubstep generation, then Jamie Woon is much the same for a rekindled neo-soul generation. 

Tracklist
1. Night Air
2. Street
3. Lady Luck
4. Shoulda
5. Middle
6. Spirits
7. Echoes
8. Spiral
9. TMRW
10. Secondbreath
11. Gravity
12. Waterfront