When I first heard the lovely music Leyland James Kirby creates as The Caretaker, it instantly reminded me of The Shining's ballroom ghost scenes. Turns out, that's where Kirby found his original inspiration. His compositions draw from his huge collection of vintage 78s with added static, glitches, loops, and ambience for a deeply ghosty and, well, haunted vibe. All of his releases embody the mysteries of memory in sound. After a four year break, The Caretaker has released the first in a series of six new albums that will be released over three years, "slowly cataloguing the stages of early onset dementia." Listen to "Everywhere at the end of time" below:
Each stage will reveal new points of progression, loss and disintegration. Progressively falling further and further towards the abyss of complete memory loss and nothingness.
Viewing dementia as a series of stages can be a useful way to understand the illness, but it is important to realise that this only provides a rough guide to the progress of the condition.
Drawing on a recorded history of 20 years of recollected memories this is one final journey and study into recreating the progression of dementia through sound.
"Everywhere at the end of time" by The Caretaker (Bandcamp)
"Out Of Time: Leyland James Kirby And The Death Of A Caretaker" (The Quietus)
