J.P. Shilo As Happy As Sad Is Blue by: Justin Pearsall Thu:08-Feb-07 Label: Year: 2006 WB rating 60 out of 100

As Happy As Sad Is Blue is the debut release from multi-instrumentalist, J.P. Shilo. Shilo, who previously went by the name John Brooks, was a former member of ambient instrumentalists Hungry Ghosts and ex-drummer of notoriously wild Melbourne noise-artists Danmatsuma. After the implosion of the Hungry Ghosts and Danmatsuma, the then-named Brooks left behind drug addiction and the Melbourne music scene to devote the next three years of his life to a Tibetan Buddhist retreat centre. While at this Buddhist retreat Brooks met future wife Nika, who graces the album cover, and it was during this period, and the birth of his first child, that Brooks reverted to his original name: Shilo. He decided to re-enter the music world arming himself with the musical ideas he recorded onto four-track while in the retreat centre.

As Happy As Sad Is Blue is partly Shilo revisiting the legacy of his previous work. The minimalism of his Hungry Ghost roots is captured in many of the melodies on the album that slowly wash over the listener and ‘Insects-Eating-Into-Insects’ taps into the avant garde noise of Danmatsuma, but in a far more restrained manner. However, the major creation in As Happy As Sad Is Blue is the willingness to jump from genre to genre. The album seamlessly adapts styles and makes any all-encapsulating statement about the record impossible.

Beginning with the delayed and ambient guitar of ‘Earth-Sinking-Into-Water’, Shilo uses restraint to maximum effect, as there is little real melody, just waves of sound. Closing in at just under six minutes in duration, ‘Earth-Sinking-Into-Water’ sounds like the music you would expect from a man who has spent three years living in a Buddhist retreat.

‘Paris Air’ is another, albeit darker, example of the meditative qualities in As Happy As Sad Is Blue. Opening with what sounds like a lonely horn wailing across a river bank, by songs end the forlorn horn is harmonised and backed by eerie percussion, bringing an ethereal climax to what once sounded empty.  Track number five, ‘La Sirena’, continues in this minimalist approach, its sorrow filled violin melody is backed by a staccato rhythm section of strings and the sounds of howling sirens.

But As Happy As Sad Is Blue is not a completely hushed affair. Both the title track and ‘Begone Dull Care’ employ foreign instrumentation and exotic scales in a sound that is far more direct than that of the quieter numbers. ‘As Happy As Sad Is Blue’ fuses the influences of eastern melody with a garage guitar sound that is not too far removed from the work of former Faith No More front-man Mike Patton’s side project, Fantomas. ‘Begone Dull Care’ is more subtle in its approach, using the accordion and classical guitar to resonate emotion.

The horror movie antics of ‘( ) Up My Sleeve’ show Shilo’s debut heading again towards unexplored territory. Perfectly matching the strangeness in title, the song sounds like the masked villain is creeping behind his victim; stalking, and we are just waiting for the lethal blow. Angular guitar and deep bass create this sinister sound and when the wandering horn adds to the mixture, the sound becomes chaos.

While in no way conclusive of the myriad of sounds and moods contained within As Happy As Sad Is Blue, these songs highlight the depth and scope of Shilo’s artistic vision. But, with all this genre-jumping and mood-switching does the album create an enjoyable and worthwhile listen?

Shilo’s mood music is brilliantly produced, subtle and revealing in a way that soothes the listener and the variety of instrumentation and genre jumping mean that As Happy As Sad Is Blue never sounds one dimensional. The songs individually stand alone and collectively integrate to form a cohesive body of sound – a body of human emotion. But, there is a hidden variable in any piece of art and music is no exception. A painter may create something perfectly symmetrical, with exacting proportions and sensational realism, but it may still not touch the audience or move them to feel; to want to experience this art again.

As Happy As Sad Is Blue is undoubtedly human. Shilo has delicately assembled an album that practically bleeds sincerity, and it is easy to imagine his demons, his reflective thoughts and ultimate salvation, such is the weight of his musical narration. From the above reasoning, this album would be justified in receiving a rating within the eighties (or higher). But, it cannot. As human as this record is, as pristine as the execution may be, for all it’s preen and subtlety, there is no moment on As Happy As Sad Is Blue that demands that you listen again.