Jack Colwell (26 October 1989 – 3 October 2024) was an Australian singer-songwriter.[1]
Jack Colwell | |
|---|---|
 Promotional photo of Colwell, 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 26 October 1989 |
| Died | 3 October 2024 (aged 34) |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Piano, vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2012–2024 |
Early life
Colwell's mother was a concert pianist.[2] He attended the Conservatorium High School at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.[3]
Prior to launching his solo career, Colwell worked behind the scenes in the Australian music industry, assisting Karen O with her performance of "Stop The Virgens" at the Sydney Opera House in 2012 and arranging vocals for Architecture in Helsinki.[1] He also had a band called Jack Colwell & The Owls.
Career
Colwell attracted attention in August 2015 when Rolling Stone Australia premiered the video for his single "Don't Cry Those Tears".[4]
The song topped AMRAP's Metro radio chart for four consecutive weeks[5] but programmers at Triple J told Colwell, who was 25 years old at the time, that "Don't Cry Those Tears" sounded 'too old' to be played on the station.[6]
In late August 2015, he self-released his first solo EP, Only When Flooded Could I Let Go.[7]
In September 2015, Colwell appeared at Newtown Social Club as part of Rolling Stone's "Live Lodge" concert series.[1] In November 2015, ARIA-winning singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko announced that Colwell would be the main support act on her 2016 Australian tour.[8]
In August 2016, Colwell released When The World Explodes,[9] an EP featuring remixes of songs from Only When Flooded... by HEALTH, Fennesz, Roly Porter, Ash Koosha, Rabit and Marcus Whale.
In October 2016, Colwell played a sold-out hometown show at the Sydney Opera House with a string ensemble.[10]
Work with Patrick Wolf
In 2018, Colwell accompanied cult singer-songwriter and former Burberry model Patrick Wolf at Wolf's career-spanning Australian comeback concert.[11] The pair reunited in January 2020 for a sold-out run of Wolf shows in London,[12] with Colwell contributing arrangements and multi-instrumental accompaniment. Recalling the first time he attended a Wolf concert, Colwell said: "I was 17 and had a fake ID. I was really struck by how remarkable his singing voice is. I was blown away."[11]
Swandream
Colwell self-released his debut album, Swandream, in 2020.[13]
Produced by Sarah Blasko, Swandream was acclaimed by critics: NME declared it "an utterly visceral listen with immediate impact"[14] while The Guardian said "Colwell and Blasko have built a full-immersion tale that is both theatrical and real."[13]
BrooklynVegan called Swandream "a record loaded with lush, moody ballads and soaring anthems"[15] and Junkee crowned it "the fieriest and most beautiful album of the year so far."[16]
Swandream ranked #5 on NME's '25 Best Australian Albums of 2020' list.[14]
Prior to the album's release, Colwell shared a collaboration with Owen Pallett, "I Will Not Change My Ways".[17] The song was recorded in one take while Colwell was in Pallett's native Toronto. An alternative version appeared on Swandream.
A track from the album, "In My Dreams", was remixed by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins.[15] Guthrie's version appeared alongside remixes by Joel Amey of Wolf Alice and Australian musicians Rainbow Chan and Marcus Whale on the EP Swanlux.[18]
Literary work
Colwell wrote essays for the Guardian,[19] Kill Your Darlings[20] and others, and delivered talks at the National Young Writers' Festival[21] and the Emerging Writers' Festival.[22]
Advocacy
In November 2016, Colwell released the song No Mercy in honour of deceased Australian teenager Tyrone Unsworth.[23]
In September 2017, Colwell programmed and performed at Unity: the Equality Campaign concert at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney with Sarah Blasko, Killing Heidi, The Jezabels and others.[24] Proceeds from the event went to Australian Marriage Equality, a registered charity advocating for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia.[25]
Personal life and death
Colwell was born three months prematurely on 26 October 1989.[26][27]
Colwell was gay;[28] after his death, his friend Gen Fricker described him as "out and flamboyant at 14."[29]
Colwell was a noted Tori Amos fan. In 2015, Kill Your Darlings published his essay Ears with Feet: Life Among the Tori Amos Super Fans.[20] In 2017, he told Double J "What I love about Tori is that she made the piano cool."[30]
References
External Links
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