José González
Subscribe
X

Get the latest from Beat

José González

jose.jpg

“There is a big kitchen I write in, with a window that looks out into my backyard,” González coughs down the phone. He’s just finished breakfast, and by the sounds he is in the midst of a winter cold; the conversation is punctuated by harsh coughing and snuffling. “But it’s quite empty out there. Sometimes instead I’ll find myself at the front of the house, open the door and just look out onto the street: watch as everything passes by, watch the day. Then I have to try and sit back down and try writing. I get distracted, and find myself watching YouTube videos instead.”

Speaking with a singer of González’s ilk, one whose lyrics and bittersweet instrumentation give such a strong sense of thoughtfulness and accessibility, you can never anticipate how closely their music will match the person behind it. There’s always a mask, but how firmly affixed it is can take time to understand. González is a pleasant yet reluctant conversationalist, and though he takes great and clear pride in his recent work, it’s very evident he would rather skip the whole publicity wagon altogether.

“When I’ve been writing Vestiges & Claws, I’ve been informed by the first albums, but I’ve consciously been [finding] inspiration from new areas. Three other songs on the album, Stories We Tell, What Will, After Glow, are more inspired by Western African guitar playing, [and] some Latin American influences. And of course there’s Simon & Garfunkel, who I had listened to when I very first started playing acoustic guitar. But what I find myself listening to today is much more electronic,” he laughs a little sheepishly.

They’re some wide-ranging influences, and it’ll be interesting to see what his long-term fans think of this latest direction (especially given this is the first album which features solely original material). The reception of his songs is something that he’s happy to removed from, however early reviews of the record have left him chuckling.

“There was one review where the writer kept talking about how the song Leaf Off is all about death,” he laughs, “and to me it’s pretty uplifting. She kept referring to the light mentioned in the song like it was the light at the end of the tunnel, and how I think about death so much. It was pretty gloomy. It was like they thought I’d released my graveyard album. If I had to describe it myself,” he pauses, and suddenly sounds quite uncomfortable. “I would describe it as guitar and vocals. I don’t usually like to talk about myself so much. With interviews, I have some short-cuts. I can mention Simon & Garfunkel, that’s usually enough for them. I usually leave it up to other people to describe my music.”

Given he’d mentioned Simon & Garfunkel not three minutes earlier, I’m not sure what to make of this revelation. I certainly respect the desire not to corral one particular meaning on a song – I agree that is the province of the listener more so than the artist – but turning to other fields of interests meets a similar hesitation. González studied as a biochemist, and you can’t help but hope there’s some bewildering and esoteric connection between this background and his music – how spectacular would it be to learn that Heartbeats was composed according to the molecular rhythms of an actual human heart? Sadly, the two disciplines are quite removed. The fascination in biochemistry has not waned however, and is a field González still follows, if not to the same level of commitment.

“In the sense of going back to university or reconnecting with study, no. But in the sense of being interested in science in general, the broad range of areas where there is much happening right now. It’s almost more interesting than ever. So many things to be excited by, but I don’t have the time to really follow it all. Too many obligations. I always find myself getting interested in new science, though, before I get distracted and start following some other [aspect] instead.”

I can now hear voices in the background, and it is clear González is hoping to wrap things up. It has been an unusual though friendly chat, and before finishing I ask what he does between those rare times he’s not recording, writing, touring or collaborating.

“I enjoy hanging out with friends, having a beer, talking. I like running in the forest. When I’m alone and I have a day off, there’s always something I’d like to watch or read. But mostly a lot of hanging with friends and drinking beer.”

Amen to that.

BY ADAM NORRIS