Richard Anthony Jay - Imperfect Beauty

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3...according to our Ant on Thu 30 Jun, 2011.

From what I can gather this is the second album from contemporary classical composer Richard Anthony Jay who fuses these classical components with small flourishes of electronica to mighty fine effect. Aptly assisted by a team playing strings, Cor Anglais, Clarinet, Cello, Flute, guitar and drums. Richard is clearly a talented composer; whether it's his piano passages on or the emotionally charged strings of 'The Tailor' it's clear that he really composes from the heart here. After some time being disillusioned with being a musician he seems to have channeled his frustrations and emotions into a very lovely and heartfelt album brimming with melancholy instrumentals. 'Going Solo' is a particularly beautiful track that recalls the likes of Peter Green and I guess to some extent perhaps Max Richter. Most pleasant indeed.

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"Jay successfully crafts an album of great instrumental dexterity and narrative prowess that should easily enchant admirers. Recommended for fans of Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi, and Olafur Arnalds" - The Silent Ballet

“Richard Anthony Jay is hard to pin down, in musical terms. His music is a mix of classical chillout, modern classical and ambient chamber” - Bob Jones, Classic FM Following on from his 2009 debut album „This Is What I Live For, which featured Grammy-winner Davy Spillane (Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Van Morrison) and members of the Hallé orchestra, Richard's second release, "Imperfect Beauty", further develops his blend of contemporary and classical music, and again sees the composer teaming up with the Hallé orchestra (Britain's longest-established professional symphony orchestra), whose musicianship brings Richard‟s intricate compositions to life. From the tranquil surroundings of his studio in rural Somerset, Richard, writing, arranging and producing all the tracks himself, has again crafted an album centered around live players rather than synths and computers - a relative rarity for modern albums.

"Contemporary, intricate and haunting ... features an impressive roll-call of guest musicians" - MUSO magazine

There can‟t be many composers who‟ve been heard on stations as diverse as Kiss, BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and 6 Music, but with his unique brand of classical fusion, Richard Anthony Jay is one such composer. Influenced by the likes of Michael Nyman, Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil and Henry Mancini, Richard began his musical career at the age of 16, working as a sound engineer in numerous studios. Wanting to focus more on the music and less on the technology, he quickly made the transition from engineer to producer and songwriter, and has since worked across many different genres. Signed to Universal, his music has also been used in movie trailers, and shows like NCIS, The Culture Show and even Formula One Grand Prix.

As someone who taught himself everything he knew about music, working with trained musicians for the new album presented some challenges when Richard realised he hadn't taught himself how to read and write music notation! Recording sessions with the Manchester-based Hallé players were conducted remotely, Richard with a stack of music theory textbooks never far from his side! One of the most popular tracks from the album, „The Tailor‟, has evolved into a short film, shot on the streets of Bath where Richard lived whilst writing some of the album.

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