1986 – 1989
In 1986, Jon, (then John, see below), started what was supposed to be an electronic music co-operative in West London. Although it never achieved its original aims, The Electronic Music Information Exchange, (EMIX) spawned a fanzine which ran for 8 issues, until Jon decided to concentrate on the new project that he and his wife Linda had begun, Mixmusic, a cassette label similar to many others operating at the time. Mixmusic released 13 albums, two of which were Jon’s solo music. Despite having fairly basic production values typical of the time, these sold well and Jon thought that this was the way forward.
In 1989, Jon and his family moved to live in Devon and thoughts of music were shelved for a while as work went on to restore the 400 year old farmhouse they had bought. Once the house was complete, and his family settled, Jon decided to release a compilation of the more ambient tracks from his two albums, plus another from a compilation that he had contributed to. All of the music was re-mastered to CD standards by Ian Boddy, one of the leaders of the EM community and in 1998, The Source was released on the new Big Bear Recordings label.
Fate took a hand at this point and Jon was asked if he would play guitar for a local folk band while their guitarist ‘got his head together’. He played with them for the next ten years and recorded and released two albums of their work. Now in demand as a session guitarist and also providing p.a. and recording services to small and medium sized concerts and festivals, Jon’s own music took a back seat once more.
Fast forward to 2024 and Ian Boddy once again came into the story, asking Jon to contribute a track to his Tone Science Vol. 8 CD. This and the creation of his Bandcamp page, opened a new chapter in Jon’s musical journey. Now, new albums are in the pipeline and Jon is a published author and an artist whose pictures sell regularly in the local market.
Why did Jon change his name? Well after the long break between releasing the original albums and the compilation, another John Palmer had registered for copyright and so Jon had to make a change so that the MCPS could handle his account. Hence John became Jon.
The Albums:
A Wheel of Stars (1987) Discontinued, but available as adownload.)
Cat Songs to an Ancient Moon (Discontinued, but available as a download.)
