A Shadow of My Future Self explained

A Shadow of My Future Self
Type:Studio
Artist:Ross Jennings
Cover:A Shadow of my Future Self album cover.png
Label:Graphite Records
Producer:Ross Jennings
Next Title:Acoustic Shadows
Next Year:2022

A Shadow of My Future Self is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Ross Jennings. It was released on 19 November 2021 through Graphite Records.[1] Unlike his more well-known Progressive music, Jennings' solo record follows a much more mainstream approach with Jennings directly citing Styx, Coldplay, Journey and Porcupine Tree as references.[2] [3] [4]

On 31 December 2021, Jennings announced on Instagram page that a follow-up album was in the works.[5]

Background

The album's name is a play on the phrase "a shadow of my former self," but spins the phrase in a positive light, with the idea that the person you are now has room to improve and grow as a person.

The album was initially teased on 3 October 2020 through Jennings' social media and was later announced by name on 25 June 2021 along with the release of the album's first single "Words We Can't Unsay."[6] Subsequent singles "Grounded,[7] " "Violet,[8] " "Feelings,[9] " and "Catcher in the Rye[10] " were released monthly with music videos until the albums release. "Rocket Science" later received a music video upon the album's release and "Be The One" received a music video upon the release of the vinyl edition of the album.[11] [12]

The album later received a Japanese release with an orchestral version of the song "Third Degree" included as a bonus track.[13]

Production

The album began production near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the pandemic giving Ross the chance to put together his own album while unable to perform and write music with Haken.[4]

The album's material dates to as far back as at least 2010. The first song on the album to be written for the album was "Third Degree." Originally titled "The Person You Are," it was initially written around the same time as "She Loves You More".[14] The first song written directly for the album was "Feelings," with the song being used as a benchmark for the album's recording techniques.[15] The lyrics for "Words We Can't Unsay" were heavily based upon his marriage issues at the time. This association bleeds directly into some of the lyrics as Ross stated that many lines were taken directly from his marital arguments.[16]

The lyrics and vocal melody for chorus for the song "Young at Heart" were initially planned to be used on the song "Prosthetic" from Haken's 2020 album Virus but ultimately went unused by the band.

The music video for "Feelings" was based upon iconic video games and features Ross Jennings as the protagonist of an arcade game with various levels loosely based upon Super Mario Odyssey, , Metal Gear Solid and Guitar Hero. An actual game was created by Crystal Spotlight in Unreal Engine 4 and Ross announced that a full game may be released if interest is shown.[17] [18]

The final song on the album, Jennings' cover of Be the One by Dua Lipa, was done as a bit of fun on Jennings' part, stating "You wouldn't expect a prog metal artist to perform a "half-decent cover of a Dua Lipa song."[4]

The album's cover was taken from a series of promotional shots taken by Jennings' wife. The photo in particular stood out to Jennings and according to him, it greatly represented his feelings with himself and the album at the time. He then gave the photo to long-time Haken collaborators Blacklake who turned the photo into a Banksy-esque graffiti piece. The cover's colour choice is a reference to the song "Violet."[4] Jennings has also teased the idea of the colour scheme being related to "non-stop purple force," a misheard line in the song "Falling Back to Earth" from Haken's 2013 album The Mountain.[19] [20] [21]

Acoustic Shadows

Acoustic Shadows
Type:live
Artist:Ross Jennings
Cover:Ross Jennings - Acoustic Shadows album art.jpg
Alt:Beige square with Ross Jennings standing with a guitar in the centre, with "Acoustic Shadows" written over him in his handwriting.
Genre:Progressive rock, Pop rock
Label:Graphite Records
Producer:Ross Jennings
Prev Title:A Shadow of My Future Self
Prev Year:2021
Next Title:Troika
Next Year:2022

An acoustic rendition of the album titled Acoustic Shadows was performed as part of a paid livestream by Jennings on 23 July 2021, with videos of the performances of "Words We Can't Unsay" and "Feelings" being released later on.[22] [23] [24] An Acoustic Shadows tour

was scheduled to coincide with the albums launch but were cancelled due to financial woes and the COVID-19 pandemic.[25] The setlist for the livestream included the song "She Loves You More," a track Jennings had written that was featured on Redados' 2010 album Too Tired for Sleep, "Canary Yellow" from Haken's 2020 album Virus, and "Sail Away" from Novena's 2020 album Eleventh Hour.[4] [26]

As well as this, the tour was planned to include songs from outside the album. These songs were "The Mind's Eye" and "Deathless," from Haken's 2010 album Visions, "Sun Dance" and "Disconnected," from Novena's 2020 album Eleventh Hour, as well as Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill".[27]

In January 2021, Jennings released a recording of the Acoustic Shadows livestream onto streaming services.[28]

Personnel

Reception

Reception for the album has been generally positive. SonicPerspectives highly praised the album, stating "Jennings' debut confidently establishes him as an artist in his own right with the potential to chart whichever course he wishes in the future. A Shadow of My Future Self" is one of 2021's true gems."[29] The PROG Mind also strongly praised the album, in particuclar its diversity, stating "The music can sound like New Wave one moment, Pink Floyd another, and then something all Ross' own in still another. The range is impressive, and one reason why this record really works."[30] Progarchy provides unilateral praise, stating "Jennings is at the top of his game on vocals and guitar, backed by stellar players."[31]

The album was later nominated for The Prog Report's album of the year, as well as being nominated for four other categories including "Album Production of the Year," "Epic of the Year" ("Phoenix"), "Music VIdeo of the Year" ("Feelings") and "Song of the Year" ("Violet").[32]

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

References

  1. Web site: Ross Jennings Graphite Records. 2021-11-21. en-US.
  2. Web site: BraveWords. Between A Rock And A Prog Place: HAKEN's ROSS JENNINGS – "I'm Not Listening To An Awful Lot Of Modern Prog Bands These Days To Be Honest". 2022-01-02. Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. en.
  3. Web site: Ewing. Jerry. 2021-09-17. Ross Jennings gets animated in new video for Feelings. 2022-01-02. Prog. en.
  4. 2021-12-05 . Ross Jennings - 'A Shadow of my Future Self': The Interview (Full Version) . Ross Jennings Official . . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220107055428/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP2g3PQSD0c . 2022-01-07 . live.
  5. Web site: ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram Ghostarchive. 2022-01-04. ghostarchive.org.
  6. Web site: Ewing. Jerry. 2021-06-25. Haken singer Ross Jennings releases video for debut solo single Words We Can't Unsay. 2021-11-22. Prog. en.
  7. Web site: 2021-07-21. HAKEN Front-man ROSS JENNINGS Unveils Second Solo Album Single 'Grounded'. 2021-11-22. Sonic Perspectives. en-US.
  8. Web site: BraveWords. HAKEN Frontman ROSS JENNINGS Releases "Violet" Single And Music Video; New Solo Tour Dates Announced. 2021-11-22. Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. en.
  9. Web site: Ewing. Jerry. 2021-09-17. Ross Jennings gets animated in new video for Feelings. 2021-11-22. Prog. en.
  10. Web site: 2021-10-31. HAKEN Front-man ROSS JENNINGS Releases New Single and Video for 'Catcher in the Rye'. 2021-11-22. Sonic Perspectives. en-US.
  11. Web site: 2021-11-19. Haken's Ross Jennings Channels Rick Springfield on New Song, "Rocket Science". 2021-11-22. MetalSucks. en.
  12. 2022-01-14 . Ross Jennings - Be The One (Dua Lipa Cover) (Official Music Video) . Ross Jennings Official . . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220206013021/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpGD34GwyJo . 2022-02-06 . live.
  13. Web site: ワードレコーズ・ダイレクト / ア・シャドウ・オブ・マイ・フューチャー・セルフ【CD】. 2021-12-14. wardrecords.com.
  14. 2021-11-14 . Ross Jennings - Track by track - 10. Third Degree . Ross Jennings Official . . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220102134251/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMx5iUkS6S0 . 2022-01-02 . live.
  15. 2021-11-13 . Ross Jennings - Track by track - 9. Feelings . Ross Jennings Official . . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220103195812/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnvkF3_fPwU . 2022-01-03 . live.
  16. 2021-11-06 . Ross Jennings - Track by track - 2. Words We Can't Unsay . Ross Jennings Official . . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220102134251/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw31E-oPBqQ . 2022-01-02 . live.
  17. Crystal Spotlight . cspotlight . 1438816164356964357 . 2021-09-17 . @RossWJennings The footage of the game you see @RossWJennings playing in the music video is actually a real playable video game that we developed using @UnrealEngine! https://t.co/RUeRU1plLF . en . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220104080730/https://twitter.com/cspotlight/status/1438816164356964357 . 2022-01-04 . live.
  18. 2021-12-28 . A Conversation with Ross Jennings The Daily Doug (Episode 298) . Doug Helvering . . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220603131422/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMg_46P4rIg . 2022-06-03 . live.
  19. Web site: ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram Ghostarchive. 2022-01-07. ghostarchive.org.
  20. Haken . Haken_Official . 464371982805786625 . 2014-05-08 . @mcevad124 that's non-stop purple force ;) . en . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220107100448/https://twitter.com/haken_official/status/464371982805786625 . 2022-01-07 . live.
  21. Web site: u/Frainaman. Sharing my thoughts for Haken's album: The Mountain - r/Haken. 2022-01-07. Reddit. en.
  22. Web site: 2021-07-26. ROSS JENNINGS – Acoustic Shadows (July 16th, 2021). 2021-11-25. Sonic Perspectives. en-US.
  23. 2021-10-20 . Ross Jennings - 'Words We Can't Unsay' - Acoustic (Live at AfterLive Music) . Ross Jennings Official . . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211125173742/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwdddnFwx-s . 2021-11-25 . live.
  24. 2021-11-24 . Ross Jennings - 'Feelings' - Acoustic (Live at AfterLive Music) . Ross Jennings Official . . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211125173742/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tOzo3q8PZ8 . 2021-11-25 . live.
  25. Jennings . Ross . Ross Jennings . RossWJennings . 1460238833778372616 . 2021-11-15 . With regret I announce the cancellation of my UK Acoustic dates. Due to the ongoing situation surrounding COVID-19 this was the most beneficial scenario for all involved. Apologies for any inconveniences caused. Refunds available. London @jongomm show unaffected. https://t.co/lK2DA0RlpI . en . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211126101254/https://twitter.com/rosswjennings/status/1460238833778372616 . 2021-11-26 . live.
  26. Web site: Too Tired For Sleep, by REDADOS. 2022-01-07. REDADOS. en.
  27. Web site: ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram Ghostarchive. 2022-01-07. ghostarchive.org.
  28. Jennings . Ross . Ross Jennings . RossWJennings . 1487002917072740354 . 2022-01-28 . My official debut live solo acoustic performance is now available to stream & download! Featuring stripped back songs from 'A Shadow of my Future Self' plus @novenabanduk & @Haken_Official Produced by @afterlivemusic The video performance is available at https://t.co/Oa1xYK44n1 https://t.co/tF2Lop5yCe . en . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220530234129/https://twitter.com/rosswjennings/status/1487002917072740354 . 2022-05-30 . live.
  29. Web site: 2021-10-26. Ross Jennings – A Shadow Of My Future Self (Album Review). 2021-12-14. Sonic Perspectives. en-US.
  30. Web site: Mind. The Prog. 2021-11-12. Ross Jennings – A Shadow of My Future Self. 2021-12-14. The PROG Mind. en.
  31. Web site: kruekutt. 2021-11-12. Rick's Quick Takes for November. 2022-01-04. Progarchy. en.
  32. Jennings . Ross . Ross Jennings . RossWJennings . 1463311406263111681 . 2021-11-24 . I am stunned to learn that I have been nominated for 6 out of 8 categories in this year's @theprogreport awards! Vote here: https://t.co/lPAa2NHwKr ' ' is OUT NOW on CD & Double Vinyl: https://t.co/Ey6GfGhGRJ https://t.co/uzZeRGDoRf . en . 2022-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211214081211/https://twitter.com/rosswjennings/status/1463311406263111681 . 2021-12-14 . live.

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