Monday, January 8, 2018

Brooklyn-based songwriter Jeremy Bass preps “The Greatest Fire” featuring players with Iron and Wine, Neko Case, Calexico, DeVotchKa.

Classically-trained guitarist’s latest follows-up to pair of 2015 EPs earning John Lennon Songwriting Competition, UK Songwriting Contest nods.

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Jeremy Bass as photographed by Skyler Smith

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Listen to the title track from The Greatest Fire at Guitar World or at the links below. See the video at Independent Clauses.

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Jeremy Bass – In The Press

“A stunner!” — Sing Out!

“Daring and simple all at the same time.” — Guitar World

“Sparse, delicate. Just the thing to cosy up to while the rain taps at your window.” — BBC Radio 6

“Blends the lessons of classical, bossa nova, and folk.” — Acoustic Guitar

“Beautifully composed.” — MAGNET

“Hope can be heard shining through.” — Exclaim!

“Stark and epic.” — Songwriting Magazine (UK)

“Bursts out of the gate with clever poetry.” — Atwood Magazine

“Devastating lyrics.” — Nooga.com

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NYC! See Jeremy Bass live at Rockwood Music Hall on Sun. Jan 21st for an early (6PM) record release show. RSVP HERE.

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On his upcoming full-length The Greatest Fire (Jan. 19th, Jungle Strut Music), Brooklyn-based songwriter Jeremy Bass is accompanied by equally accomplished players in the form of Nick Luca who has toured and recorded with Iron and Wine, Jon Rauhouse who tours and records with Neko Case, Tom Hagerman of DeVotchKa, Jacob Valenzuela of Calexico, and Joel Graves of Everest, among others.


The pedigree of the players on The Greatest Fire backs up the songwriting quality that saw Bass win two prestigious songwriting awards – the John Lennon Songwriting Competition and the UK Songwriting Contest – for tracks from his previous pair of 2015 EPs. It is interesting to note that while Bass’ world-class turns of phrase are impressive, especially for an emerging songwriter, he actually makes his bones as a classical guitarist.

Bass has logged countless hours mastering the instrument that he was originally trained on in Italy and Spain, and his ascension as a composer ultimately led to The Secret City, the arts organization for which Bass serves as musical director, receiving an Obie Award – off-Broadway theater’s highest honor.

“I wanted this album to be an expression of everything I was capable of, to feature the best songwriting I’ve done to date and to let rock n’ roll shine through the more diverse influences of my previous records,” Bass says.

To that end, while Bass’ voice can be described as a mixture of Paul Simon, Jeff Buckley, and Thom Yorke, you’re now as likely to find walls of distorted guitars and stacked keyboards in his arsenal as you are to find a blend of banjo, ukulele, acoustic guitars and mandolin.

And while his sound bears little resemblance to one of his heroes, Bass relates wholeheartedly to this Tom Waits quote: “I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.” The songs on The Greatest Fire take this idea as gospel, both in ideology and practice.

“I thrive on the interplay between what people think they’re hearing, and the actual content beneath,” Bass explains. “I think that’s where the best songwriting happens.” Bass mentions Hank Williams and Merle Haggard’s outlaw output as examples of this juxtaposition.

The Greatest Fire, the new album by Jeremy Bass is scheduled for release on Jan. 19th, 2018 via Jungle Strut Music. Bass is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Jeremy Bass
The Greatest Fire
(Jungle Strut Music)
Jan. 19th, 2018
  

Track Listing:

01. CA, Plz
02. The Greatest Fire (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3 | VIDEO)
04. (So Glad) Everyone's Happy
04. 1,000 Yrs
05. ‘Till the Summer Ends
06. Halfway Sane
07. Trees for the Forest (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
08. (theme music for a desert lightning storm)
09. Like Flowers for a Funeral
10. We Will Be You

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Jeremy Bass Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


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