Jono McCleery – So Messed Up

Following on from To See You Again, his debut single release on Berlin imprint Sonar Kollektiv, English singer-songwriter Jono McCleery delivers his second opus for the label, entitled So Messed Up. Jonos’ music is just as much influenced by the electronic and avant garde as it is by the more traditional folk and soul canon. Since his self-released debut, Darkest Light, came out in 2008, Jono has released a string of albums via Ninja Tune Recordings, and collaborated with fellow artists across the musical spectrum including Maribou State, Portico (Quartet), and Maceo Plex. Over the years his music has received support from Gilles Peterson, Jamie Cullum, Phil Selway (of Radiohead), Lauren Laverne and many more, whilst touring internationally with Bonobo and Jamie Woon. As well as having over 50 million streams worldwide on Spotify, his music has been used in a number of television shows including Queen Sugar, Start Up and This Is Us. Jono sees his music as something which is constantly evolving, drawing inspiration from an ever-widening range of influences, and that seeks to connect.

So Messed Up is also the second single to be taken from Jono’s forthcoming eighth album, Reconcile. It’s an album that represents something of a comeback for a man who has worked his way through the tumultuous emotions that come from great loss, fatherhood and the subsequent feeling that he wanted to create an album that represents exactly who he is today.
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“I have felt a certain motivation to write and record a body of work which wholly represents me at this time. It also represents a chance to restart and I’m really excited for this to be my first release with Sonar Kollektiv. The artwork was made by my 4-year old daughter (who is now 8) and is an image I had kept and suddenly realised fits the theme: It’s imperfect, has sharp edges, and impressions of light, and for me resembles a flower which has broken several times, and weathered many storms but still shines on, like a bright star in the night.”

The single draws on global themes of having lost touch with ourselves and with nature, and how having to survive in the modern world often gets in the way. Despite such heavy subject matter, there was plenty of joy to be found in the recording process, and in the song’s optimistic feel as Jono explains:

“It was a fun song to record and perform because of its roots, taking inspiration from blues and soul to latin. ”

The song begins with Jono’s trademark acoustic guitar and unmistakable vocal tones, accompanied by light percussion and delicate electronics, with production from Fybe One, Jesse Koolhaas and Jono himself, as is the case across the album. As ever, Jono’s soaring vocals, insistent lyrics and deft guitar flourishes combine with subtle production techniques to help tell his musical tale with clarity and sincerity.

So Messed Up continues the themes that run throughout the Reconcile album, which is in itself a story of journeys and navigating through periods of love and loss, and signals a yearning for us to reconnect to ourselves and nature, as Jono explains:

“Timing is everything in music, as it is in life, and I truly feel it’s time for us to share this record, and remind people what music should be about. ”