YtseJammers Israel

Hello all,

There’s not really an easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it. I’ve decided to suspend the Frost project with immediate effect. If this were somebody else’s band, I’d just say I was leaving, it would be so much easier, but it’s not so easy when you’ve created the band in the first place…

The reasons are many - I don’t feel comfortable any longer in the role of singer/front man/keyboard player/principle songwriter/principle cheque writer. Truth be told, I never have. It’s all got a bit out of hand from the gently self-mocking studio project I started for fun in a shed in East Sussex in May 2004 when I was young and happy and it was always sunny.

More than that though, trying to juggle two full time careers as I have over the last 7 years has been a tough ask and has ultimately become a price to high to pay in certain areas of my life. One of which is my health. I’ve been to a very dark place over the last 8 days and ended up in a pretty bad way. Although I’m now emerging out the other side (a stone lighter into the bargain), I have realised that I have some serious issues I must address. I’m no longer young, I’m no longer happy and the sun is no longer shining.

These issues have made me realise that life is sometimes about doing what you must do when the time comes regardless of what other people might want or expect of you. Some things are bigger than music or bands, expectation or disappointment. Figuratively speaking, I’ve now been given a yellow card and my priority now is to get myself back together before I get sent off for good.

So what now?

Nothing. I’m going to go to ground for a bit. Be private. Grow some veg. Get well.

And reflect. It’s been an amazing journey full of brilliant moments. Too many to list, I’m sorry it’s stopped like this, so abruptly, but I’ve been at my wits end lately and I’m no use to anybody in an urn.

I hope you’ll understand. Thank you for being brilliant.

Jem.

"Which brings me nicely onto another bit of news, albeit slightly contradictory. Next year will see the 3d studio album from Frost released. It’ll be released on Inside Out. I shall still be recording music to release online, but there will also be a full length CD album to have and to hold by the end of next year or thereabouts. I don’t really have much more to say currently as I’ve not begun writing it yet, but it will signal a return to more Milliontown type output, albeit with a slight twist… My current feeling is that the new album will be comprised of three twenty minute pieces broken up into sections within themselves. The idea being that the additional tracks not on the album also form part of the storyline.

To some it might seem odd that I’m going back to the ways of the record company, but I’m actually utilising the best of both worlds by combining our release strategies. My aim is for Frost to reach out to new audiences and there’s no denying that Inside Out have open doorways into universes I can’t hope to reach from here. This new album is going to be quite ambitious so I need all the help I can get really. It also means that we can gig more next year. I want to get us back out to Europe and the USA to hook up with our friends there so if anybody is in touch with RosFest or Calprog or same such, tell ‘em I WANT to come and play at your festival in 2011."

Frostingtons,

Thank you for your patience. I can now announce the latest addition to our little troupe.

I'd be delighted if you would please say hello hello to Alex Thomas. He joins us from Squarepusher and Badly Drawn Boy. A good mate of Andy's, he's exactly what we need to push the band to the next level.

Here he is in action -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-dPI129bJw Squarepusher in Action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvOFdQyVEvc SVC DRUM SOLO

Alex will join us after RoSFest. I'm absolutely thrilled to have a musician of Alex's calibre in our world and I hope you'll welcome him onboard and make sure he has plenty of biscuits.

Both Alex and Andy will be a part of the forthcoming Frost DVD. I think 2 drummers is only proper and right for the future of Frost*. Expect some serious batterie!

Onwards!

J x