This time around, instruments will accompany Johanson's delicate, quavering voice, and he will play in his earlier jazz-influenced style, performing songs from his seventh studio album "Self-Portrait."
Johanson's first Moscow performance was to promote his 2002 album "Antenna," which was a departure from his usual style. "Today, I would call 'Antenna' and [the 2005 album] 'Rush' side projects, [because] it's not the way I make my albums generally," said Johanson in an e-mail interview last week, adding that he wanted to try different ways of arranging and producing his songs. He said he had grown bored working with the same band from his first three albums.
"'Antenna' was trouble to transform into a live show," he said. "That's why no instruments were played at the time. And I had to focus on some sort of visuals."
Johanson is best known for his catchy melodies, highly personal lyrics and crooning singing manner as well as his blend of electronic music and jazz. The pale, skinny singer drew attention to himself in his music video for the song "On The Radio," which depicts him with a bright red mullet applying makeup onto his translucent skin. In other music videos, he appears with messy hair and sporting a beard.
Johanson finds that jazz-influenced arrangements fit his singing style and his type of writing. "These are also arrangements where I trust my musicians' capability to improvise and their will to experiment with acoustic instruments," he said. "I adore the accidents that occur."
It was jazz, specifically Chet Baker, that inspired Johanson to become a singer. "I saw him live in 1984. It was marvelous," said Johanson, who turned 39 last week. "I had never appreciated jazz before that moment. But seeing that sensitive man, shy, almost see-through, showing his weakness made such an effect on me. And it made me believe that I could also be an artist one day."
Johanson has varied taste in music. He described Baker and David Sylvian as "my two childhood heroes," and he also cited Brian Eno, Ryiuchi Sakamoto as well as his later favorites, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed, John Cale, Nico, Tim Hardin and Linda Perhacs as his influences.
"But these artists are not important to me as a creator," he said.
"I used to be inspired, but now I try to create from my own source, straight from the heart. And from my diary."
Jay-Jay Johanson performs on Thurs. at 8 p.m. at B1 Maximum, located at 11 Ulitsa Ordzhonikidze. Metro Leninsky Prospekt. Tel. 648-6777.
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