Tape Hiss and Sparkle: A Jester’s sorrow for your delight

After leaving the unsung Sleepers back in 2011, Simon Tamblyn started saving every cent he had to purchase a good soundcard and microphone. Studio time is not a likely option for a working class musician who reserves his harmony for the worthy. Austerity was the name of the game and Simon recorded Paperhawk in his flat with the help of his wife and friends.

Tape Hiss and Sparkle by Frank Moody

The sound of Tape Hiss and Sparkle…

Imagine your soul swooping over a barren deserted landscape at dusk. Imagine a massive veld fire with two people on either side of the flames. Two friends, perhaps lovers, unable to reach each other yet only metres apart. Imagine thousands of white paper planes, origami and colourful confetti across the Veld… Some in the air, others lost in the dirt and a few coming to their end in the flames.

Imagine stepping back and realising you have just been engulfed by the imagination of a musician on the rickety stage of a dilapidated theatre. The audience sits with lighters in their hands while others throw paper planes in all directions… Confetti streaming down from the stage.

 

 
This, in my head, is Tape Hiss and Sparkle’s Paperhawk – a portal that links your imagination with Simon Tamblyn’s consciousness. Perhaps not as intimate as some folk singers but that doesn’t mean it is not as honest, if not more so. It’s Storyteller-theatrical yet raw in its emotion and longing.

The court jester with his heart on a wooden cutting board. Dig in, savour the flavour of organic music that is still made for your soul’s sake and leave the poor strumming clown a few coins for his troubles.

Tape Hiss and Sparkle by Frank Moody