Jon Gomm - 'Passionflower'
You'd be forgiven for thinking there's a backing band accompanying the intricate, complex and at times speed of sound guitar virtuosity that Jon Gomm displays on 'Passionflower' (the first single in a series of five both aptly and curiously entitled 'Domestic Science Single Series'), but you would be wrong.
In reality, made more believable in a visual context, there's just the artist and his homemade guitar the body of which perceptibly takes a lot of punishment as it is slapped and smacked to produce an impressive array of sounds from staccato snare to a deep bass. In addition to these he has added a scratch pad to produce what's best described as sandpaper on wood sonics that add more depth and variety to the raw acoustics Gomm produces.
And that's just the body of the guitar. In the guise of an acoustic maestro, much like Hendrix did in the 60's, Gomm pushes the boundaries of what sounds a guitar can produce way beyond what was previously imagined and the way he weaves them into this single is with great humility and as such does not deflect attention from the track as a whole. Flamenco virtuoso, at times referred to as the best guitarist in the world, Paco de Lucia would be impressed by Gomm's instrumental skills but that's half the story; he also boasts a powerfully evocative set of lungs in the Blues/Folk tradition that perfectly complement his guitar work.
It's easier to understand his technical ability with a quick flashback to his childhood in Blackpool when his music critic father would allow musicians to stay at his house on the proviso that they gave Jon guitar lessons. Having picked up the guitar at the age of six and with mentoring from the likes of blues legends Walter Trout and Bob Brozman Jon went on to play rock and blues guitar before falling into a category all of his own.
Once established on the scene, international tours saw Gomm play at small niche events and guitar workshops that helped develop a large cult following with his debut album 'Hypertension' selling over ten thousand copies without industry backing and follow-up 'Don't Panic' selling out on Amazon within five days. He is widely regarded by those in the know as one of the world's best and most innovative guitarists.
Not only is he a one man band that denounces the use of flashy digitised effects, but his double handed fretwork and brief, note perfect flurries combined with sparkling melodies prove that he is not just a show pony and that as an artist he is truly astonishing and best appreciated in his heavily subscribed videos on Youtube. I implore you to check them out.
The single 'Passionflower' - inspired by the plant that overgrew the whole of his back garden in inner-city Leeds - is an uplifting master class in blues/folk inflected song writing with Jon's vocals and vibrant guitar melodies interspersed with percussive backing in the form of slaps and beats coming from Jon's hand on his visibly worn guitar (that he insists suffers no damage). In addition he tunes his guitar strings wildly mid track thus creating haunting reverb effects that both enhance his melodies and add further depth to his harmonics and lightening fast fretwork.
With 'Passionflower' Jon Gomm barely touches on his mine of creativity and with four more wildly differing singles to come as part of the aforementioned series there is a lot for his fans to look forward to.
It's time this elusive artist stepped out of the shadows to accept the fame he well deserves before he's dragged out.