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The Caretaker is a project by James Leyland Kirby, an English ambient musician who explores memory and nostalgia. Learn about his history, influences, albums, and collaborations.
- Overview
- Early Life
- Trivia
- External Links
James Leyland Kirby (commonly known as Leyland Kirby), born May 9th, 1974, in Stockport, England, is a British dark ambient musician who created the long running musical project The Caretaker. His work as The Caretaker is characterized as exploring memory and its gradual deterioration, nostalgia, and melancholia. He also created other projects such...
James Leyland Kirby, known as “The Caretaker”, was born on May 9, 1974, in Stockport, England. From a young age, Kirby demonstrated a knack for experimental music production, cranking out releases at an impressive rate.
One of his early projects was V/Vm, which was known for its manipulations of various sounds, ranging from pigs being fed to pop music. One of his notable works under this alias was a drastically misshapen version of Chris DeBurgh’s “Lady in Red”, which was featured as NME’s single of the week in September 2000.
In 2009, Kirby started the History Always Favours the Winners label, which became home to dozens of releases credited to his various aliases like The Caretaker and The Stranger. This period also saw the release of the Leyland Kirby series "Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was".
Throughout his early career, Kirby used an assortment of additional aliases for one-offs and short-term projects. His innovative approach to music and his ability to constantly evolve his sound have made him a respected figure in electronic music.
In the late 1990s, Kirby began a project that would become his most well-known and influential work: The Caretaker. This project was inspired by the haunted ballroom scene in Stanley Kubrick’s film “The Shining”. Using old ballroom pop records from the 1930s, Kirby manipulated and treated the samples to create a unique sound that evoked feelings of nostalgia and melancholy.
The Caretaker project became a deep exploration of memory and its deterioration over time. One of the most notable works from this period is “An Empty Bliss Beyond This World”, an album that received widespread critical acclaim for its hauntingly beautiful soundscapes.
•Kirby’s project, The Caretaker, was inspired by the haunted ballroom scene in the 1980 film The Shining.
•Kirby’s work has received critical acclaim in publications such as The Wire, The New York Times, and BBC Music.
•He used to collect 78rpm records and was able to get much more music from a now-defunct shop called the ‘78 Record Exchange’.
•Controversial aspects, such as copyright concerns, were a prominent part of the V/Vm alias.
•Kirby's Bandcamp Page
•Kirby's Facebook Page
•Kirby's Soundcloud Page
•Kirby's Twitter Page
•Kirby's website (currently inactive due to James losing editing access)
•Kirby's YouTube Channel
Sep 22, 2016 · John Doran meets the electronic musician in Krakow and talks about his grand finale for his Caretaker project, Everywhere At The End Of Time. They also discuss his love of darts, his family history and his sense of humour.
Oct 10, 2011 · James Leyland Kirby, the sonic terrorist and pop cultural archaeologist behind V/Vm and The Caretaker, talks about his prolific and diverse career. He reveals his influences, inspirations and challenges, from The Shining to Vangelis, from Alzheimer's to flying cars.
Oct 17, 2016 · The experimental musician talks about his six-album series exploring the stages of dementia, from memory loss to confusion. He reveals his sources, techniques, and motivations behind his haunting ambient music.
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Sep 22, 2016 · Electronic artist James Leyland Kirby releases music under many aliases, including V/Vm, the Stranger, and his own name.
Sep 28, 2017 · A free album of ambient electronic music by the artist behind The Caretaker project. Listen, download or pay for 16 tracks of synths, drums, piano and drift, created by Leyland Kirby in 2017.
