Photo by Vikesh Kapoor
Folk artist Damien Jurado has released some of the finest music of his 23-year-career of late, traversing the worlds of folk, easy listening and found-sound pop. Last year's "The Horizon Just Laughed" cast his melancholic melodies amid glorious choirs, strings and horns, resulting in memorable neo-psychedelic creations such as "Percy Faith" and "Allocate." By contrast, his new album, "In the Shape of a Storm," is stripped down and closer in tone to Jurado's intimate solo performances.
He moved last year to Los Angeles after living virtually his whole life in Seattle. Jurado has suffered from severe depression, and things hit a low following the death of his longtime producer and collaborator Richard Swift in July 2018. But the move to California — to be near his girlfriend and his recording studio of choice — has helped him cope, he says.
"I'm probably happier than in my entire life," says the veteran singer-songwriter, whose distinctive mournful burr has graced 14 albums of exploratory folk and meditative rock. "I'm finally learning how to take better care of myself."
Jurado makes his first Richmond appearance on June 25, at Capital Ale House's Richmond Music Hall. We spoke to him by phone from Los Angeles.
Richmond magazine: Do you try to write on a regular basis?
Damien Jurado: Songs come when they come. I never treat songwriting like a job. It's like having a muse. The muse is something that hangs around me like a person, sort of like someone that's on call, like having a kid or a family member, you're kind of married to it. The relationship, the bond that you have, is different, it only talks and communicates with you. It speaks when it wants.
RM: How do you do with touring and other show-business expectations?
Jurado: I always say that I'm not a performer. I'm not an entertainer. I'm a songwriter. For me, on tour, I'm just playing songs I write. It's no more different than a writer of a book of poetry appearing and reading his poetry. I'm a homebody and also a bit of an introvert, so touring for me has never been my thing. No matter how cool the place you are going — Paris, London — it doesn't matter because you don't really get to see the place, just the venue.
RM: I've heard it said that touring is just a series of rooms.
Jurado: Yeah, 25 years of rooms.
RM: Do you change up the material live or basically play it as planned?
Jurado: Oh, no, the live act is very free-form. I never play the same show twice. And even with the same songs, I'll play it slower, faster or try something out.
Damien Jurado appears with Corrina Repp at the Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House on June 25 at 8 p.m. $18 to $20.
