The central figure of the popular podcast series made sprawling, hypnotic and mysterious soundscapes.
If the name John B. McLemore is one that rings with familiarity, it is of high likelihood that you have listened to S-Town, a critically acclaimed podcast series that was released in March of 2017.
For clarity purposes if you are at present unfamiliar with the series, S-Town is a euphemism for “Shit town”, a derogatory term that McLemore used in reference to his hometown. An antique clock restorer, McLemore was the central figure in the Brian Reed narrated podcast that documented the horologist’s observations and opinions on his native Woodstock, Alabama. The gripping series was downloaded a staggering (and record breaking) 10 million times within the first four days of release. Sadly McLemore committed suicide by ingesting potassium cyanide in 2015, an event which is documented primarily within the second episode of the series and referenced again in episodes thereafter.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, in addition to his career in horology McLemore was also a keen musician who made an album reworking the music of painter and ambient musician Tor Lundvall in 2003.
Nine years after the making of said album, McLemore sent the project to Lundvall and began a correspondence that would last for two months. McLemore also sent a second disc that featured some original bodies of work which he deemed roughed out and dissatisfactory. The original reworkings of Lundvall’s work remain on YouTube today and now, Dais Records have made the second set of recordings – entitled Witness Marks – available to the public for the first time. The artwork paired with the release is one of Lundvall’s own paintings that McLemore is said to have admired.
Lundvall said the following of Witness Marks,
“I was especially fond of the second disc which had a darker atmosphere and featured more of John’s original material, beginning with ghostly clock chimes and ending with a mysterious piece using dried seed pods and other cryptic sounds that slowly built-up into an intense, almost claustrophobic environment.”
He continues,
“John had mentioned that he wasn’t satisfied with his final mix, but I felt his work was too special not to be heard. I hope that these recordings offer another glimpse into the creative mind of a unique, complex and gifted individual who tragically left this world all too early.”
McLemore wrote a detailed statement regarding Witness Marks in 2012 which you can read below.
“This is what was intended to be the second part of my Tor Lundvall Remix series. Unfortunately I am dissatisfied with it due to a few defects, and it is highly unlikely that I will ever be able to complete it. Still it serves as a testament to my interest in the work of Tor Lundvall that I made it this far. Defects are as follows: The first movement is too ‘fussy’, and the first section of the fifth movement seems a bit long and may bore the listener, but since it consisted of so many slow moving textures, I don’t know how I could redo it and still achieve what I was wanting to accomplish. Additionally, this recording was done just days before my Father died, and there are many feelings of guilt associated with the time spent on it. If you are receiving this recording, either you are one of my better friends, or you are a great admirer of Tor Lundvall, and requested that I send it to you.
1st Part: Basically a track of me fiddling around with old clock bells, and air turbulence mixed with Tor Lundvall and Field Recordings of rain, birds, cicadas, frogs and such.
2nd Part: My interpretation of Lundvall’s Dark Spring. This track was inspired by the music of Carl Michael von Hausswolff.
3rd Part: Very ambient Field Recordings inspired by the work of Francisco Lopez.
4th Part: A Very Quiet passage consisting of delicate Field Recordings.
5th Part: Music performed entirely by me inspired by the Darker paintings of Tor Lundvall. Most of the instruments on this piece consisted of dried seed pods from the plant; Showy Rattlebox (Crotolaria Spectabilis), that I had collected and dried the previous Fall. There are other sounds from my own environment as well.
This mix was assembled in the Late Fall of 2003. There are some very Quiet passages in this piece, so it requires a nearly Isolated listening environment… It should be heard After Midnight, in the Late Fall of the year, and, not surprisingly, a Very Long Attention span is a Prerequisite.
John B. McLemore
September 10, 2012″
Rest in peace John.
Words by Sam Wilkinson.
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