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A hidden treasure surfaces
THE debut album by the Irrepressibles, led by former Scarborough man Jamie McDermott, has had rave reviews.
Mirror Mirror, released on Monday, is “an enchantingly theatrical pop extravaganza”, according to Sunday Times writer Robert Sandal.
Independent on Sunday reviewer Simon Price praised “dramatic soundscapes dripping with echoes of the Weimar republic and la belle poque ... This is the sucker punch the Irrepressibles, one of Britain’s best-kept secrets, have been keeping up their ruched sleeves”.
Mirror Mirror is “theatrical and very different, a ripe, colourful riposte to all that is Cowell” (Observer) and “exotic, baroque, the Oscar Wilde comeback album the world needs” (Uncut magazine).
Promoter Anthea Thomas describes the Irrepressibles as “a 10-piece performance orchestra that, through the power of their instruments, can transport and transfix, break moulds and collide worlds.
“Fusing European orchestration with pop melodies and soaring cathartic vocals, Mirror Mirror is a theatrical, playful and passionate album,” Anthea says.
“From the dramatic opener, My Friend Jo, to the galloping rhythms of Anvil, from the yearning echoes of Forget the Past to the intensely intimate In This Shirt, it is a beautifully constructed sonic exploration depicting Jamie’s confessional stories of love, anger, lust and loss with a journey through the Irrepressibles’ mystical and theatrical world.”
Anthea says the Irrepressibles sound has been compared to early David Bowie, Kate Bush, Anthony and the Johnsons and Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band.
“Jamie’s androgynous vocal range soars above intricate polyphonic arrangements, accompanying the glamour of a sonic world of exotica-meets-baroque-meets-Scott Walker-style orchestral pop arrangements,” Anthea says.
Mirror Mirror, the collective’s first full-length album, follows a seven-track CD/DVD package, From the Circus to the Sea, released a year ago. The music was used in the score of a film called The Forgotten Circus.
Performances, described by Anthea as “extraordinary, inimitable live spectacles”, are full-on stage shows using conceptual sets and teams of artists in film, dance, avant-garde costume and make-up.
The Irrepressibles have performed at London’s Hackney Empire and Roundhouse, a Roman ampitheatre in Barcelona, a 17th century villa in Sicily and La Cigale in Paris.
Last year, they presented The Human Music Box at the V&A Museum, performing within the confines of a rotating opened box as part of the Baroque Baroque exhibition. The show will tour Britain this year and next.
Jamie, 29, says: “The people of Scarborough, my home town, mean a lot to me and I’d love to do a homecoming show this year if enough people like the album and would buy tickets to the show.”
Jamie writes the music, sings, plays guitar and is on the album cover. “But as an artist I also conceive and create the shows with teams of artists in costume, set, art direction, lights, art direction, make-up, etc.”
Born in Scarborough Hospital, Jamie grew up Eastfield then the old town and attended St Peter’s primary school, St Augustine’s and Sixth Form College to study art and performing arts. He says: “Sadie Parker was my lecturer. She was a huge inspiration. Mrs McIntyre from St Augustine’s was also an incredible teacher and inspired me to want to see the world.”
Jamie left Scarborough aged 18 with a scholarship to study pop singing and performance at ACM in Guildford. He then moved to London and spent many years gigging with just a guitar on the London acoustic scene. He studied commercial music at Westminster University, where he set up the Irrepressibles in 2002. In between studies, Jamie paid the rent by working as a gardener for councils, handed out leaflets and working for charities like Amnesty International.
Jamie’s mum Jo Quigley is a painter, living in London. His dad Gerard is an actor with Northern Broadsides, who often perform at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
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Weather for Scarborough
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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