Beautifully packaged using recycled card and featuring the wonderful design of Neil Warburton and an exquisite painting by Rick Dickinson Largely conceived under the stars, John Fairhurst’s beautiful debut, Joys of Spring, originated in bars, on beaches, and up coconut trees. His extensive travelling and raw musical experiences have informed these warm, sumptuous and technically brilliant songs, alongside influences as diverse as Hendrix, Miles Davis, Nick Drake, and Indian Sarod master, K. Sridhar, who stayed with Fairhurst’s family in Wigan. “He spent fifteen years living in a cave in the mountains as he studied to mastery,” explains John. “This dedication has inspired me deeply.” After spending years “drawing pictures of Stratocasters”, playing in heavy rock bands and listening to Captain Beefheart in his shed, John headed to South East Asia and beyond, where his own dedication to music was cemented. He worked alongside Maori gangsters, played slide guitar in a Bangkok blues bar, wrote for a traditional Thai dancer, and was tattooed with protective blessings by monks. Apparently, these markings mean John cannot be killed, which is lucky, since he was stabbed by a street gang not long afterwards. A stunning debut, Joys of Spring is an eclectic amalgamation of John’s incredible life to date; hazy summertime rhythms with masterful guitar techniques and an underlying sense of the worldwide music community. Guesting on the album are friends Nancy Elizabeth, Dave Rybka and Denis Jones, themselves locally renowned musicians, while James G. Wilson earns a songwriting credit with the poignantly beautiful Friends. Opener, Obnox Stomp, is “a good old foot-stamping dance tune”, and How Far How Fast is the result of jamming with “fantastically gifted percussionist” called Alfredo, whom he met in New Zealand. On the other side of the world, the experimental Shivver was born out of a concept track just outside Wigan... Quite simply, Joys of Spring is a truly great achievement; with elements of John Fahey and Robbie Basho, it’s an album of outstanding creativity, lush eastern melodies, and at its heart, John’s unbridled zest for life.
