was in 1996 that Jay-Jay Johanson, a young man from a cold climate, fascinated by the Bristol sound they called trip-hop and Portishead in particular, first tapped delicately on our eardrums.
The intoxicating album that definitively put this rare and elegant Swede on the map was called Whiskey. It was the beginning of an enthralling adventure. In only a few songs he revealed a family tree that spread its roots far and wide: on one branch Lee Hazlewood, or pop from Talk Talk or Nilsson, on the other John Coltrane with Johnny Hartman, and a whole army of calm jazz or symphonic
recordings sampled from everywhere imaginable.
Almost 20 years later he has returned with an
incredible new album. This new release is called Opium and it contains the very essence of Johanson’s music: an ease with inventing melodies, a voice that gently caresses, and the jacked up, heady rhythms that lift and carry the songs. From the peaceful harmonica opening of Drowsy / Too Young To Say Good Night to the smoke-wreathed love song I Don’t Know Much About Loving, via titles with a sporadic and light groove (NDE, Alone Too Long), Opium is a courageous offering. Johanson opens his heart with
fearlessness and modesty, gracefully lowering his guard and evoking the questions that torment men of his age: love, solitude, immaturity. The songwriting is unerring, the words have a suppressed poetry. This
new Johanson is the work of a guy who has survived the avalanches, who is no longer looking for answers and is content to sketch out the perspectives in as many songs. Some titles are serious (Harakiri), but others immediately take up the reins casting a more
gentle, peaceful light, like Scarecrow, a collaboration with Robin Guthrie that would not have sounded out of place on a Cocteau Twins album, or of the strange positivity of Be Yourself or I Love Him So.
The strength of Opium is that it asks questions that don’t necessarily have an answer; it offers a collection of songs freed from any certitude but which convince
through their modesty, through their precision.
In short, Jay-Jay at his best.

Bookings - International/Rest of the World 
roman.trystram@caa.com

John Moods is the musical solo exploration of Jonathan Jarzyna from the Berlin based pop band Fenster

Booking:
Germany/Austria/Switzerland : tonio.zaoui@dq-agency.com
France : yves@dionysiac-tour.com 
Belgium : cesar@nadabooking.be 
Poland : adam.drzewiecki@punktzeromusic.com 
ROW : anton@mansionsandmillions.com

PLEASE DON'T SEND DEMOS

www.musicfrommemory.com

Amsterdam based record label releasing visionary electronic music from both past and present.

Sublabel: @secondcircle

25–26–27 July 2025
Boston Manor Park, London

Junction 2 is an electronic music festival in London, renowned since 2016 for showcasing the best in underground house, techno, and electronic music. Held at the stunning Boston Manor Park in Brentford, the festival features an unmatched variety of stages—from intimate woodland dance floors to a massive rave beneath the M4 flyover. All spaces are united by cutting-edge sound quality and innovative stage design.

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