1995 ~ 2005
The Lost Years | The Jamma V2
After the Dynacord disaster and Mike passing, I totally lost the plot.
The resurrection of The Jamma, was my only solid anchor in my life.
After the Dynacord disaster and Mike passing, I totally lost the plot. See the 1993 backstory about what happened.
I learned that trying to numb mental anguish and loss with substance abuse and self harming, actually, just doesn't work.
I (clearly!) got passed my suicidal tendencies. In the decade following, I read books about psychiatry, I tried a few psychiatrists, I learned to meditate, and learnt Tai Chi. The latter two being amazingly beneficial.
In 1999 I started an inclusive non profit club night called Planet Angel, which effectively helped me start to cure, and helped countless others to heal from their traumas.
I’m really proud of that.
Jean-Michel Jarre: Jamming The Pyramids!
While I was lost, broken, and founding Planet Angel, I was oblivious to the fact that in exactly the same month, on New Year’s Eve in 1999, Jean-Michel Jarre was using The Jamma ( Dynacord version ) at the world's largest concert at the Egyptian pyramids. My Jean-Michel Jarre story is explained in detail here.
Without wanting to be melodramatic, the truth is, throughout those long, dreadful, lost years, there was one positive strand that I hung onto. It was my baby, The Jamma.
Tech Finally Caught Up!
By the early 2000s, DAWs and grooveboxes had made huge leaps in sampling tech, and finally, things were aligning with my original concept.
Michael Jackson’s wonderfully naive question, way back then, to the sound techs in the studio when I taught him how to play The Jamma V1, still makes me smile! “do we have samplers?” he asked. Check out my Michael Jackson story here.
So… around the early/mid 2000s, I started in earnest to blend the new sampling tech with my original concept - and it was a perfect match!
The Beginning Of Healing…
I built The Soul Camp; a corporate festival business - that I love - and is in perfect harmony with who I am.
I also founded an award winning festival, and gradually over the years, I re-found who I was.
From there, I spent fucking years researcing electronic stuff in my limited spare time.
I managed to afford to experiment with design ideas for The Jamma V2. I got Ableton Live DAW and used my V1 Jamma to prove what it could do with today's music tech. My DAW of choice now is Bitwig Studio, for reasons i explain in the 'Sound Lab'.