Jeremiah

Horsepower For The Streets is Jonathan Jeremiah’s fifth album, his second for PIAS, a label which feels like a good home for a soulful singer linked to a cadre of artists more readily associated with mainland Europe than his own island. So far at least. Much of the new album was written in Saint-Pierre-De-Côle, the countryside beyond Bordeaux, during breaks in Jeremiah’s first tour of France. Long walks and open log fires. You can take the boy out of Brent… and the continent welcomes him with open arms (see also Tindersticks, Scott Matthew, revered across the Channel, where the artistic tradition is less distracted by Londinium hyperbole). The album was recorded in Bethlehemkerk, a renovated monumental church in Amsterdam Noord, with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, a 20-piece string orchestra. There’s clearly a European influence at work here, a bond which has endured.

2020 release. Some artists need smoke and mirrors. All Jeremiah Johnson needs are songs. In the age of manufactured pop, the acclaimed St. Louis bandleader is a beacon of time-honored songcraft, writing on acoustic guitar, digging deep for raw lyrics and insisting on studio production that bottles the sweat of his shows. The approach might sound old-school, but on Heavens To Betsy, the result is some of the most vital music of the new decade. Heavens To Betsy is another bold creative leap for an artist on fire. It's been just two years since Straitjacket hit #6 on the Billboard Blues Album chart and scored rave reviews across the board (Blues Blast: "This is grade-A primo stuff"). It was the cherry on top of Johnson's triumphant early career, following up 2014's Grind, 2016's varied Blues Heart Attack, and the confessional Ride The Blues documentary. But while Johnson is rightly proud of that early catalogue - and still serves up house-rocking takes on the Straitjacket material each night - he's always kept one eye on the horizon.

In August 2022, Australia-based, French born fourth-world music legend Ariel Kalma was invited to participate in BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction series of special collaborations. The program pairs artists who have not previously worked together to create new music cooperatively.

Jeremiah Johnson takes the dangers of the COVID-19 virus as seriously as his music career. But no matter how you look at it, the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic has effectively put him out of work. “Unemployed Highly Annoyed” is Johnson’s response to the adverse situation. Quarantined at home for months, Johnson decided it was time to get creative. “Being forced into unemployment has been beyond frustrating. I decided to produce an album of songs inspired by the “Covid-19 Pandemic” and try to turn the roller coaster of emotions into something musical. This is truly a concept album.” Johnson exclaims. The final product is a first-class Blues/Roots Rock record that is packed full of stunning guitar work coupled with soulfully passionate bluesy southern vocals. “Unemployed Highly Annoyed” is a striking musical reflection of the times that delivers a message the entire world can relate to.

With trickles of piano, synth, and viola, the Los Angeles-based collaborators shape a tranquil vision of a Nordic landscape that feels just beyond the edge of reality.

2018 release. Take a ride along the banks of the Mississippi River, pull up a stool in any St. Louis blues joint and talk will soon turn to the musician who's giving the city it's soundtrack. Jeremiah Johnson's towering reputation has been hard-earned. In 2018, Straitjacket wears his soul on it's sleeve. Produced by Mike Zito, and tracked live by the crack-squad studio band of Frank Bauer (sax/vocals), Benet Schaeffer (drums) and Tom Maloney (bass), the tracklisting takes in plenty of playful moments, like the title track's hectic funk-blues complaint to a controlling girlfriend, or the grooving Dirty Mind, about a lover calling up for "a little company" at 2am.