JM AIRIS

photo by Megan Martin

Little Arrows from Indian Summer - 2011

Cited for the raw-edge timbre of his production projects or as the drummer of New York City recording artists Dead Sparrows, J.M. Airis’s collection of solo recordings unearth a journeyman songwriter, every bit as much an artist as an engineer.

Originally from northern Wisconsin, Airis’s solo recordings have remained rooted in a “four-track forever” ethos, both in composition and sound. As a teen, he dedicated himself to experimenting with available recording gear, and as technique availed itself, he continued focusing on mastering analog tape machines when others had gone digital, giving his catalogue a distinct ancestral flavor. Airis’s recordings are largely anti-virtuoso, tastefully exploring song layers in a variety of sound rooms, giving an unusual honesty to his work and highlighting location as more player than muse.

The release of Indian Summer, recorded in his Brooklyn studio, marks Airis’s first official release. This premier album best proves the songwriter’s expressed intention of crafting songs that work as well stripped down to their guitar and drums as when heard in the their full form.