James Jonathan Clancy

James Jonathan Clancy has achieved nothing less than his magnum opus with ‘Sprecato’ (2024), which was released last year. Seven years after his last release as His Clancyness, the founder of the Italian talent factory Maple Death Records fans out an impressive repertoire of eclectic influences that are at first confusing, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that then fit together perfectly. Cosmic hermit folk blurs with enraptured proto-ambient and the cinematic qualities of early Italian film soundtracks. The result is both an intense focus and a reflection of his previous work, which has been musically liberated from lazy conventions and – thanks to virtuoso guest musicians such as Andrea Belfi (drums) and the core line-up of Dominique Vaccaro (guitar), Andrea De Franco (synths), and Kyle Knapp (sax) – is a real treat in terms of arrangements and instrumentation. As much as early works such as ‘Always Mist’ (2010) and the A Classic Education debut, ‘Call It Blazing’ (2011), laid the foundations for this sound, His Clancyness has also emancipated himself from these beginnings in a fascinating and adventurous way. If you want to know what this sounds like live, be sure not to miss his gig with us.