Limited to just 1,500 copies – each with an individual, hand-drawn and numbered sleeve by Hayman himself – the new record from the former Hefner man is as much an experimental art project as it is an album. As the title implies, each of these 31 songs were recorded in January – one a day during the first month of 2011. January Songs isn’t just a collection of songs, though – in addition to the unique album sleeves, each composition has a counterpart video and there are also 31 video diaries, all of which can be viewed at the project’s website: JanuarySongs.tumblr.com.
It all makes for a fascinating, in-depth glimpse at not only the life (or a month in the life) of Hayman, but also his (surprisingly consistent and prolific) artistic process. Spread across two discs and featuring guest appearances from, among others, Ballboy’s Gordon McIntyre (the gently sombre Isle Of Eigg), Allo Darlin’s Elizabeth Morris (the exquisitely beautiful lament of I Know I Fucked Up) and Steve Pretty (whose spoken-word narrative on The Return is one of the highlights), January Songs demonstrates Hayman’s multifarious talents in a multidimensional way. One album a month would be lovely, but that’d probably be too much to ask.
