The Caretaker-Extra Patience (After Sebald)

Leyland James Kirby has been making electronic music under The Caretaker guise since 1999, slowly evolving from slightly difficult early ambient work to the more accessible 2011 and 2012 albums' An Empty Bliss Beyond this World and Patience (After Sebald). Naming his project The Caretaker in homage to Jack Nicholson's character in the Shining, Kirby creates music inspired by the films' elegant prewar parlor-tunes and wide open spaces. Samples from 1920's and 30's phonograph recordings crackle and hiss before being manipulated into loops and layered with vocal snippets. After the parlor based tunes of An Empty Bliss Beyond this World, Patience (After Sebald) takes on the more subdued tone of it's source material, Austrian composer Franz Schubert's 1927 piano piece, Winterreise.

Any discussion of The Caretaker's music tends to initially focus on Kirby's preoccupation with memory loss and the role of music in the reconstruction and recollection of memories. Though such an academic topic is undoubtedly the inspiration for Kirby's music and an interesting point of exploration, such talk often obscures how enjoyable The Caretaker's music actually is. The Caretaker's reserved experimental ambient pieces are exceptionally well done and immediately enjoyable, with each listen revealing new layers of music.

Kirby has released an album of free outtakes, Extra Patience (After Sebald), available for a limited time here on his Bandcamp page.

The Shining Ballroom Scene:


Similar to: William Basinski, Tim Hecker, Max Richter