Biography
Dutch-born psychedelic explorer Jacco Gardner launched his recording career with an aesthetic that suggested discovery during a temporal journey to 1967. His earliest work, including the 2012 debut album Cabinet of Curiosities, consisted of precise recreations of the baroque pop and toytown psych then prevalent across popular music. The second album introduced British folk elements, yet a relocation to Lisbon redirected the music toward expansive, synthesizer-centric textures. The resulting third album, Somnium, combined psych-pop with the approach of Tangerine Dream.
Drawing inspiration from the Zombies and the Left Banke, Gardner issued his debut single, "Clear the Air" backed with "A House on the Moon," in 2012 on the Spanish label Action Weekend. He next joined the neo-psych group Bombay Show Pig for the one-sided single "Get Lost in the Shuffle" on the Dutch label Excelsior Recordings, then completed the year with the single "Where Will You Go" backed with "Summer's Game" for the American label Trouble in Mind.
Gardner started tracking his first album in 2012 at his own Shadow Shoppe Studio, performing nearly every instrument except the drums, which were handled by Jos van Tol. Jan Audier, whose earlier credits included work with Dutch pop and psych bands the Motions, Golden Earring, and Q 65 in the '60s, contributed to premastering. Trouble in Mind released the finished album, Cabinet of Curiosities, in early 2013. To promote the well-reviewed record, Gardner assembled a live band featuring Ben Rider on guitar, Frank Maston on keyboards, bassist Jasper Verhulst, and drummer Nic Niggebrugge. Returning to his home studio, he began the next album, incorporating additional vintage keyboards and British folk influences. Polyvinyl issued Hypnophobia in the spring of 2015.
Following his move to Lisbon, where he fell in love and developed an interest in classic science fiction novels, Gardner experimented with synthesizers and arrived at a hybrid sound that merged baroque pop with ambient synthesizer music. His third album, 2018's Somnium, embodied this direction and remained purely instrumental. Polyvinyl released the record in late 2018.
Drawing inspiration from the Zombies and the Left Banke, Gardner issued his debut single, "Clear the Air" backed with "A House on the Moon," in 2012 on the Spanish label Action Weekend. He next joined the neo-psych group Bombay Show Pig for the one-sided single "Get Lost in the Shuffle" on the Dutch label Excelsior Recordings, then completed the year with the single "Where Will You Go" backed with "Summer's Game" for the American label Trouble in Mind.
Gardner started tracking his first album in 2012 at his own Shadow Shoppe Studio, performing nearly every instrument except the drums, which were handled by Jos van Tol. Jan Audier, whose earlier credits included work with Dutch pop and psych bands the Motions, Golden Earring, and Q 65 in the '60s, contributed to premastering. Trouble in Mind released the finished album, Cabinet of Curiosities, in early 2013. To promote the well-reviewed record, Gardner assembled a live band featuring Ben Rider on guitar, Frank Maston on keyboards, bassist Jasper Verhulst, and drummer Nic Niggebrugge. Returning to his home studio, he began the next album, incorporating additional vintage keyboards and British folk influences. Polyvinyl issued Hypnophobia in the spring of 2015.
Following his move to Lisbon, where he fell in love and developed an interest in classic science fiction novels, Gardner experimented with synthesizers and arrived at a hybrid sound that merged baroque pop with ambient synthesizer music. His third album, 2018's Somnium, embodied this direction and remained purely instrumental. Polyvinyl released the record in late 2018.
Albums
Singles
