Analogue Appreciation: Joe Armon-Jones

During the pandemic, Joe Armon-Jones was itching to make music. With lockdown rules preventing him from going to the studio, the Ezra Collective keyboardist and producer decided to fashion his own setup within the confines of his own south London home, inspired by legendary Jamaican dub sound engineer King Tubby’s work with mixing desks.

Soon, he had a setup led by tape machines and spring reverb and began experimenting with dub production. Blending those old school techniques with his forward thinking take on improvisational jazz ultimately formed the roots of his new album, All The Quiet (Part II), which releases today and follows on from All The Quiet (Part I), dropped earlier this year.

With much of the recordings coming together and edited on tape, the album is pumped full of the typically rich detail, hiss and warmth found across Armon-Jones’s discography. Features come from the likes of Hak Baker, Greentea Peng, Wu Lu and Yazmin Lacey, with horns and sub bass underscored by intricate drum solos and washed out by tape echo and delay. All The Quiet (Part II) is an album built for introspective sofa sessions as much as blissed out sunny fields in the upcoming festival season.

• Read next: Greentea Peng: ​“Everyone’s trying to drown us in dread”

To celebrate the new release, Armon-Jones joins us for Analogue Appreciation, our series celebrating the power of physical culture in a world dominated by screens. ​“The theme is music, of course,” he explains of his picks. ​“I think physical objects are important because you have to care for them and maintain them. And the act of doing that literally makes you enjoy them more. Even though it is a pain to have to get my Rhodes serviced, or my Hammond organ oiled every year, the act of doing it reminds me why I have the objects in the first place.”

During a time when music, and much of life’s pleasures being accessible instantly at the tap of a thumb, for Armon-Jones, physical records are a reminder to slow down, and to cherish the sounds that we hear. ​“In my opinion a lot of people have been tricked out of owning things like music, and had this ownership replaced by a subscription model that means at the end of the day, you don’t actually own anything,” he continues. ​“There is a pleasure and selectiveness that comes from buying music. You can’t buy all the music in the world, so you pick things that you like and only buy that. Now you have that music, and you listen to it. I remember spending my last £25 in my bank account on a J Dilla remixes rare vinyl I found. Stupid financial decision but I will always treasure that record.”

My Hammond organ came to me as if by divine intervention. When I built my studio, there was a small Yamaha shop about a minute’s walk away, so I went in to get some cables etc., and I Ssw this dusty looking Hammond organ in the back of the shop covered with a sheet, not looking on sale at all. I enquired about it and it turns out the owner was an organ player and was looking to get rid of it, (he also sold an organ to Moses Boyd). Absolutely lovely man and gave it to me for such a good price that I couldn’t justify not taking it. I now record with it all the time – real organ is such a beautiful sound! So many classic songs that I love wouldn’t be the same at all without organs.

These speakers have been with me from house to house for maybe over 12 years, longer than I’ve had a career in music! They are the speakers I’ve listened to all my records on and test all my upcoming projects on. I try and cut a direct line between making music and listening to music, so these are the speakers I listen to music on, when I’m relaxing at home and want to actually sit and listen to something. Concentrated music listening without distractions (phone, computer etc.) is my way of clearing my head and keeping my ears curious so I can go on to make more music.

• Read next: Analogue Appreciation: Emma-Jean Thackray

This is simply my favourite record. One of the most masterful albums I have ever heard. On all fronts. The playing is unbelievable – some beautiful improvisation happens on this album. The mix is incredible, one of my go to references for a warm sounding mix. Burning Spear is a one-of-a-kind singer, his lyrics are heartfelt and meaningful, his voice is beautiful and the arrangements he makes are unique and very unlike any other music. And the cover art is amazing and well designed.

I’ve always hoarded the original artworks that people have done for my projects. They are all on the walls of my home and I’m extremely proud of them. This one in particular was a combination of artists. The All The Quiet (Part I) artwork was done by Divya Scialo, and then this artwork for Part II was done over the top of that piece by Ralph Berryman.

• Read next: Nxdia: ​“Poems became an escape for me”

I use this phaser unit on everything – I love everything about it. It sounds amazing whenever I use it and has a specific sound that reminds me of the music I love the most – Lee Scratch Perry/​Stevie Wonder, a lot of music from the ​’70s – and it is built like a tank.

The Coles mics sound sweet on everything! They make drums sound fat and warm, and give me the sound I’m going for when I’m recording. They are also fragile and delicate, which in a weird way makes me treasure them more. I’m quite a clumsy person by nature, so when I hold these microphones I have to stay 100% focused not to ruin them by dropping one, and that makes me treasure them even more.

All The Quiet (Pt II) by Joe Armon-Jones is out now.

Buy your copy of Huck 81 here.

Enjoyed this arti­cle? Fol­low Huck on Insta­gram and sign up to our newslet­ter for more from the cut­ting edge of sport, music and counterculture.

Sup­port sto­ries like this by becom­ing a mem­ber of Club Huck.