Jay Watson

Jay Watson (born 27 May 1990) is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the psychedelic rock bands Tame Impala and Pond. Watson records solo material under the name GUM and has released five albums under this name.[1]

Jay Watson
Background information
Birth nameJay Watson
Also known asGUM
Born (1990-05-27) 27 May 1990
Carnarvon, Western Australia, Australia
OriginNortham, Western Australia, Australia
GenresPsychedelic rock, alternative rock, neo-psychedelia, dream pop, psychedelic pop, space rock
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, drums, bass, synthesizer, piano, organ
Years active2005–present
LabelsModular Recordings
Associated actsTame Impala
Pond
GUM

Career

Watson was born in Carnarvon,[2] and grew up in Northam, Western Australia.[3] He was given the nickname Gumby, which referred to the clay animation TV show of the same name.[2] When he began recording his own material, Watson shortened the name to GUM.[3]

Under the GUM moniker, Watson released Delorean Highway digitally in Australia on 30 May 2014. Most of the material had been recorded in 2011, leaving Watson to note that "when it finally came out it felt so good! But it felt so old to me".[4] An LP release of Delorean Highway was restricted to a thousand copies.[4] The album was described as a collection of "paranoid pop songs" that are "mostly about falling in love and all of the things that he [Watson] thinks are going to kill him."[5] In October 2019, Delorean Highway came at no.19 on Happy Mag's list of "The 25 best psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s".[6]

In September 2014, Watson recorded his second album in London with the assistance of Jerome Watson.[4] The thirteen track Glamorous Damage, was announced in September 2015 and was released on 13 November 2015.[7] It was preceded by the single "Anaesthetized Lesson",[7] which was remixed by Kevin Parker and released in March 2016.[8][9] Watson described the title of the album as "about people glamorizing getting fucked up or being weirdos, when there is always a danger you could end up damaged yourself just through putting it on a pedestal".[3] Watson occasionally performs live, using backing tracks. Pitchfork's Stuart Berman described the album as "the 8-bit, Nintendo video game adaptation of a blockbuster film".[10]

On 3 November 2016, a third album titled Flash in the Pan, was teased on YouTube,[11] and released on 11 November 2016.[12] It was preceded by the single "Gemini".[13][14] described by the NME as "a swirl of looped vocals, Pond-y synth work and dreamy, subtle bass".[15] Watson explained that it was "the first song I recorded for the album, and probably the most immediate".[16] It featured a contribution by Sergio Flores on saxophone.[17][18]

Watson currently resides in Beaconsfield, a suburb nearby to Fremantle in Perth, Western Australia.[19]

Style

In 2014 Watson described his music as "it is basically quite rock’n’roll, indeed, but still it’s very electro music-inspired, all the instruments, even the guitars, are made through these MS20 synths".[4] In an interview in 2018 he stated "I kind of just don’t really think about the kind of music I’m trying to make anymore... it kinda sounds really cliché but I kinda just do stuff and then whatever it is, it is."[20]

Discography

As GUM

  • Delorean Highway (2014)
  • Glamorous Damage (2015)
  • Flash in the Pan (2016)
  • The Underdog (2018)
  • Out In the World (2020)

with Pond

with Tame Impala

  • Tame Impala (2008), drums on "Wander", keyboards on "Forty-One Mosquitoes Flying in Formation"
  • Innerspeaker (2010), drums on "Solitude Is Bliss", "The Bold Arrow of Time", "Island Walking".[21]
  • Live at the Corner EP (2010), drums on all tracks
  • Lonerism (2012), piano on "Apocalypse Dreams", keyboards on "Elephant"
  • Live Versions (2014), keyboards on all tracks
  • Currents (2015), live performance only

References
  1. "Jay Watson Interview". Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  2. Bochat, Maggie (16 November 2015). "A chat about bogans, Myspace, Jay Watson and Gum". hhhhappy.com. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  3. "Tame Impala's Jay Watson Talks His Solo Act, GUM". Myspace. March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  4. H., Martin (17 September 2014). "Interview: Jay Watson (Gum, Pond, Tame Impala)". Trendsylvania. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  5. Al Newstead (11 December 2013). "Tame Impala, Pond Members Release First Taste of Solo Albums". Tone Deaf. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  6. "Happy Mag is Australia's foresmost news source in Music, Arts and Culture". Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  7. Bentley-Hawkins, Will (November 2015). "Tame Impala's Jay Watson is poised to release his second solo album as GUM". PILERATS. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  8. Minsker, Evan (29 March 2016). "Tame Impala's Kevin Parker Remixes His Bandmate Jay Watson's GUM Track "Anesthetized Lesson" | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  9. "Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker remixes track by bandmate's side project GUM". NME. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  10. "GUM: Glamorous Damage". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  11. Hunt, El (4 November 2016). "GUM (Jay Watson of Pond and Tame Impala) announces new album 'Flash in the Pan'". DIY. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  12. Yoo, Noah (4 November 2016). "Tame Impala's Jay Watson Announces New GUM Album Flash in the Pan, Shares New Song "Gemini":". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  13. Kaye, Ben (4 November 2016). "Tame Impala's Jay Watson announces new album as GUM, shares lead single "Gemini" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  14. Wilson, Zanda (4 November 2016). "Tame Impala's Jay Watson Announces New GUM Album, Shares Fresh Track 'Gemini' – Music Feeds". Music Feeds. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  15. Bartleet, Larry (4 November 2016). "Tame Impala's Jay Watson Gets Dreamy On New Gum Single 'Gemini'". NME. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  16. Helman, Peter (3 November 2016). "GUM – "Gemini"". Stereogum. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  17. Roberts, Christopher (4 November 2016). "GUM (Jay Watson of Tame Impala and POND) Announces New Album, Shares "Gemini"". undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  18. Olsen, Ben (4 November 2016). "Tame Impala's Jay Watson Teases New GUM Album With Lead Single "Gemini"". Hypebeast. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  19. https://hhhhappy.com/jay-watson-on-refinement-maturity-and-the-future-of-pond/
  20. Dan Webb (18 April 2018). "Tame Impala's Jay Watson talks fame, drugs and tennis". Sungenre. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  21. "Tame Impala – Innerspeaker". discogs. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
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