I’d been trying to make a project about the Lunar Society ever since moving to Birmingham in 2007 and reading Jenny Uglow’s The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World. I thought about factual and fictional films, books and plays, but finally settled on making an album about the different ‘Lunarticks’. I’ve always enjoyed the intertwined narratives that these friends had; sometimes positive, sometimes less so. I admire their Enlightenment thinking and the ways in which they influenced the society around them.
I wanted to record an album after a long break from music and started this process alongside the writing up of my PhD thesis. I’d take breaks from writing and record ideas and demos before building up tracks on Garageband. The whole process took about two years of dabbling, long breaks and re-recording until I arrived at what is here.
The influences for the music are probably not apparent from listening to the tracks, as my musical ability is nowhere near those artists that impress me most! However, I was predominantly listening to the work of Damon Albarn, Sufjan Stevens and John Frusciante during this period.
credits
released November 4, 2018
All tracks written, performed and recorded by James Fair.
Backing vocals on The Perfect Wife by Bee Fair.
Artwork by Bee Fair.