Today, Orange County native Jon Arman released his debut album Jon Arman in the Black Forest. The former Badfeet frontman worked with Producer/Musician Aaron K. Landers to arrange and record the album in Santa Ana and the haunted Black Star Canyon. While Black Forest retains Arman’s signature style of sun-soaked, surf-stained, garage rock ethos, the album makes strides into new territory as a chronicle of his own coming-of-age. Hinting influence of Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Dan Auerbach (Black Keys), Black Forest takes leaps into blues, soul and pop.
The songs are deeply personal and normally I would be scared shitless singing them or even putting them out into the ether. Something changed in the recording process and more at the end of it. I stopped caring about being cool. Observing music and especially live I started realizing that I was incredibly selfesh and that is why I did not have confidence. –Jon Arman
In reference to the album as a whole, the songs are Jon’s, but the ‘sound’ is mine. But then in retrospect, the sound isn’t really ‘mine’ either. If it’s a surfrock/bluesy/hiphop/electrofunk vibe that people can identify, then that’s something that I’ve inherited from my environment.
Producer Forest Black’s own meticulously crafted contributions to the album complement Jon’s ideas with refreshing song arrangements.
What I brought to this record was not a sound achieved by technical expertise, but by first: Listening to Jon’s voice, particularly his melody and phrasing. Then I composed drum and bass grooves, fancying myself as the RZA, producing a John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band session. –Forest Black
Jon Arman in the Black Forest is available on Amazon and iTunes now. Also, Stream/Download single “Mojo Back” below and check out the David Helman-directed video for “Killa Killa Criminal”. Jon and his musical entourage, the Devil’s Gravy, will be announcing live dates soon.
MOJO BACK by JonArman_BlackForest
JON ARMAN IN THE BLACK FOREST – KILLA KILLA CRIMINAL from david m. helman
1. Mojo Back
Jon’s songs are what really set this record apart. It was his raw treatments of “Love’s Refugee,” “I Seen Jesus,” and all of them really, that inspired me to push myself to do things that I’d had never done before in the realm of music making. I wasn’t a “producer for hire” when I met Jon. More like a rhythm-guitar-player-turned-computer-geek who was tired of the traditional four-or-five-guy band creative system.
In reference to the album as a whole, the songs are Jon’s, but the ‘sound’ is mine. But then in retrospect, the sound isn’t really ‘mine’ either. If it’s a surfrock/bluesy/hiphop/electrofunk vibe that people can identify, then that’s something that I’ve inherited from my environment. I’ve played in bands for fifteen years, and I’ve heard some wise ones say, “Your sound…is you.” I hear The Clash, The Beatles, The Animals, Funkadelic, the Talking Heads, My Morning Jacket, The Gorillaz and Led Zeppelin in this record, and that’s somehow ironic to me because I’ve spent more hours listening to those records than I can begin to count.
In terms of the fidelity aspect of the record, I’ve heard plenty more modern records, even some that I like, that sound cleaner and crisper, but they’re no better for it. Jon’s vocal style, content, and delivery lend a timeless quality to the songs, which were recorded in an admittedly DIY fashion, propelled by common home-recording techniques, not to mention some professional guidance. To help illustrate the picture, many vocal tracks were recorded in my walk-in closet with a blanket draped over my girlfriend’s bras and underwear.
What I brought to this record was not a sound achieved by technical expertise, but by first: Listening to Jon’s voice, particularly his melody and phrasing. Then I composed drum and bass grooves, fancying myself as the RZA, producing a John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band session. Then came the guitar riffs, to which I could only go to Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, or Eddie Hazel for inspiration. George Clinton described funk best when he said that funk is achieved by accentuating “The One,” the downbeat of every phrase. The riffs are simple, but they all accentuate the downbeat and try not to interfere with the vocal presence of the song.
Jon has a rare talent the likes of which the modern music world has seen only through artists like Amy Winehouse and Jack White. I saw the opportunity to work with him as an unprecedented fact that life is good, faith pays off large dividends, and that our best contributions to life come easy, if we are appropriately familiar with discipline and hard work, not-to-mention a realistic ego. This album was incredibly easy to make, though we put in some serious hours into it, and I know I fretted over it a lot. I think it was the actor Spencer Tracy who said, “Acting is easy. It’s life that’s hard.” True that. I hope you enjoy what we did; we had a blast.
Black Forest