During the last 20 years, a series of “light bulb” moments and personal revelations helped shape Richard Anthony Jay’s life.
For years, he seemed tantalizingly close to record deals and longevity in the music world, only to have it fall through. He went from being a rising star to someone who was so jaded and turned off from making music that he didn’t even have a stereo in his home. He'd become someone that wrote music only if he was being paid to, not because he wanted to.
It seemed for years that music – his love, inspiration and purpose in life – had done everything it could to prevent him from pursuing the very thing he most enjoyed. Yet in the end, his passion and love of music lured him back.
This time, though, he would be in control of his artistic destiny and he’s letting his unique brand of contemporary classical music speak for itself.
“Instrumental music in particular can communicate better than almost anything else," says Richard, a 36-year-old English man. "Without lyrics and a vocalist, the listener has to use imagination, and to feel what the music is about."
Highlighted by the ethereal and passionate "Gone But Not Forgotten" featuring Grammy-winner Davy Spillane (one of Richard's musical heroes) on Uilleann pipes, the debut album "This Is What I Live For" will be released in Q3 2009.
As someone who has single-mindedly followed his own path and own vision rather than the path which was fashionable or cool (purely because it was fashionable and cool), Richard says he's never felt like he was being guided by fate or some other force to reach this point in his life. Instead, he says his musical path "felt like I'd driven from London to Edinburgh via Texas!"
"The last 20 years seemed like a very random journey to me," he says. "But I think I may - finally - have found my 'place' in the musical universe."
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[+] Gone ... but not Forgotten
