The Caretaker (musician)

The Caretaker is a long-running project by English electronic musician James Leyland Kirby (born 9 May 1974). His work under the Caretaker moniker has been characterised as exploring memory and the gradual deterioration of it, nostalgia, and melancholia.[1] Initially the project was inspired by the haunted ballroom scene in the 1980 film The Shining, with his first several releases consisting of treated and manipulated samples of '30s ballroom pop recordings.[1]

The Caretaker
Background information
Birth nameJames Leyland Kirby
Also known as
  • Billy Ray Cyrix
  • Butcher Claus
  • Butcher Claws
  • CV[ev]
  • Dr. Fred
  • Edgeley Musher
  • The
  • Leon And Hits
  • MC V/Vm
  • Notorious P.I.G.
  • Pole (disputed)
  • Stranger
  • V/Vm Allstar Marching Band
  • V/Vm And The Hog Chorus
  • V/Vm With Garry's Glitter
Born (1974-05-09) 9 May 1974
OriginStockport, England
GenresExperimental music, ambient, ballroom, hauntology, plunderphonics, sampledelia
InstrumentsComputer, sampler, turntable
Years active1996–present
LabelsV/Vm Test Records
Associated actsV/Vm
WebsiteOfficial site

His works have received critical acclaim in publications such as The Wire and BBC Music,[2] and the project was a favourite of BBC Radio DJ John Peel. Theoretically pure anterograde amnesia was released in 2005 as a series of 72 free MP3 downloads. The release found much critical acclaim. An Empty Bliss Beyond This World found further acclaim in 2011. Starting in 2016, a final project titled Everywhere at the End of Time was released in installments, each portion of the release representing a different stage in dementia, until with the final installment in 2019, the Caretaker character died and the moniker was retired.

Discography

As The Caretaker
  • Selected Memories From The Haunted Ballroom (1999)
  • A Stairway To The Stars (2001)
  • We'll All Go Riding On A Rainbow (2003)
  • Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia (2005)
  • Additional Amnesiac Memories (2006)
  • Deleted Scenes / Forgotten Dreams (2007)
  • Persistent repetition of phrases (2008)[3]
  • An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (2011)[4]
  • Patience (After Sebald) (2012)[5]
  • Everywhere at the end of time (Stage 1) (2016)
  • Everywhere at the end of time (Stage 2) (2017)
  • Everywhere at the end of time (Stage 3) (2017)[6]
  • Take care. It's a desert out there... (2017)
  • Everywhere at the end of time (Stage 4) (2018)
  • Everywhere at the end of time (Stage 5) (2018)
  • Everywhere at the end of time (Stage 6) (2019)
  • Everywhere, an empty bliss (2019)

As Leyland Kirby
  • Sadly, the Future is No Longer What it Was (2009)
  • Eager to Tear Apart the Stars (2011)
  • Breaks My Heart Each Time (2014)
  • We Drink to Forget the Coming Storm (2014)
  • We, So Tired Of All The Darkness In Our Lives (2017)

As The Stranger
  • Bleaklow (2008)
  • Watching Dead Empires in Decay (2013)

References
  1. Phares, Heather. "Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  2. Siebelt, Olli (20 November 2002). "The Caretaker – A Stairway". BBC. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  3. "The Caretaker - persistent repetition of phrases". Brainwashed.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. "The Caretaker - an empty bliss beyond this world". Brainwashed.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. "The Caretaker - Patience (After Sebald)". Brainwashed.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. "Everywhere at the end of time, by The Caretaker". Thecaretaker.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
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