Dear Andy
I have read your tribute to Jake and his music which I found very
comforting. Jake was my very special second cousin whose funeral I went
to last Wednesday. He was an extraordinary person - very feeling,
creative and generous. Whenever I was around him, I felt happy.
It is so sad that we have lost such a special and loveable person. I
shall print your tribute and send to his parents if that is OK. His
older sister had died last September aged 51 and Jake was distraught by
this loss. I want to get hold of some of his music. Can you suggest where I can buy some of his CDs and recommend a few that would give me some sense of the range of his music. I would be grateful.
Thanks again for the tribute.
Stella
stella @ stejonda
hello
Simon from Mandragora/Mandala etc here. Just come across your tribute to Jake and his music; it's such a shock - i was looking forward to doing some more work with Jake this year.I did n't hang out much with jake but will always remember Jake for his humour hard work and positive vibe he's gonna be missed.Thanks for the tribute it was nice to see his work was appreciated. In a world of pre packaged industry bilge Jake always did his own thing and he did it so well.
cheers,
Simon Williams.
Hi Andy,
Just read your eulogy to Jake Stephenson. I saw the link from the Rubbish Records message board. This news came as quite a shock as I only spoke to Jake (via e-mail) a few months ago. He seemed full of energy then and was promising more releases under his various monikers...Well, it is certainly an end of an era, which, for me,
began with Optica - Trance right through to Gateway to the Sun.
Hopefully in the future, his music will be more widely recognised for what it was. I'm sure there is a lot more of his work that has yet to see the light of day.
Regards,
Matthew Wade
Hi there Andy
Tis Chris Organic here of Organic Records. I was a fairly close friend of Jake's and so was really sad to hear of his passing away.
I came across your memorial to Jake as I was looking on the net to find some info on him. I don't know if you are aware but my label is releasing the Tsunami benefit CD (3 Cds of chill-out and trance, see www.organicrecords.net for more info) and Jake had been helping me a fair bit, especially with the chill-out line-up. We were in contact every day pretty much.
So as you can imagine, it was a real shock to hear of his death, and I still expect to hear his cheery voice on the phone. We want to put a little dedication to Jake on the CD, and also Jake had mentioned you few times, as we were intending to release a Ganja Beats album (one of Jake's many guises) and he thought you would be a good person to send a copy to.
I've spoken to Jake's family and they are keen to let the album be released. Myself, I just wish it could have been done in his lifetime as it was something we always spoke about, and unfortunately took too long to get underway. It was even meant to have been out in Jan, but got delayed due to the Tsunami CD.
Anyway, I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, just thought I'd get in touch as I was surprised to find a memorial on the net for him. With your permission, when we put the Ganja Beats album together I would like to perhaps use some of the info you've gathered, as Jake, being a humble person, didn't give me very much biog material to go on.
Feel free to get in touch,
Chris Organic
Organic Records, ph: +44 (0)208 487 2801 fax: +44 (0)870 1375095 chris@organicrecords.net www.organicrecords.net
Hi Andy -
I'm sure you've heard by now of Jake's tragic death last month and
I am trying to put together a press release to distribute to some press,
websites etc for his girlfriend and family. I really don't know too much
about his overall music career in the past (other than the projects we did
with him) but I was talking to Dave Hendry who said you might be able to
help. His girlfriend is
organizing a memorial gig at Glastonbury Assembly Rooms at which various of
his many musical associates hope to play on 23rd April. Hope to hear from
you.
Best wishes
Anne
Anne Plaxton,Rumour Records Limited,Tempo House,15 Falcon Road,London SW11 2PJ Tel 020 7228 6821/Fax 020 7228 6972 Rumour website: www.rumourrecords.com
Hello Andy,
Well… What can I say?
I came on the internet to try and find out if there was anyway I could get in touch with Jake, as I have been collecting his music for years. Myself and my good Friend Ben produce music, with my inspirations for our hombrew Psy Trance / Goa vibe, coming from all the CD’s I have got with Jake on them. I wanted to talk to him about that Instruments he uses, what techniques he uses etc. and talk to him about all his great releases. Sadly, I discovered this web-site and read the tragic news that my hero in music died. So, I just want to say, Rest In Preace Jake. Even though I never met you, you will be sadly missed.
Condolences to his family and friends.
Kindest Rgds,
Charlie (Swombow)
I am very late in reading your great memorial and review of Jake's material but was really touching.
I have more or less 80% of the released works of Jake and I always tought he had something else, a different energy.
I am a oldschooler goa trance/ambient collector devoted-lover and i heard a lot of UK musicians, from the most famous to the ones no-one knows.
But Jake has always had a particular touch, especially considering it was a pioneer in this scene.
Optic Eye and Optica releases are so ahead of their time! Back in 1991-1993 the possibilities where really small. Yet he managed to release his works and they are still so good.
I'm so glad i managed to get some of his production on vynil, that sounds even better to CD in my opinion.
Thanks for all your kind words and i wish i could meet Jake at least once.
I also never seen a picture of him, but i suppose this is not important.
Cheers
Federico (Draeke) from Milano, Italy.
Hi,Andy!
I almost accidentially came across the issue you wrote about Jake Stephenson. And I agree with your every word - he is extremely talented musician and I'm really really sad that he left our world that early....I own a few cd's - Alien Mutation, Ganja Beats and Crystal Temple - just enough to say that Jake should be recognised as one of the world's most prolific and talented electronic artists...It's impossible to describe all the spectrum of warm feelings that Jake brought into my heart through his brilliant music...It rarely happens that music can touch your soul so deeply that you can tell that it has been written just for you...I remember the moment (I was a teenager then) when I heard "Cloudhopping" by Alien Mutation-it was an incredibly good experience...I don't know what I'm trying to say...Maybe I just want to express my thoughts about Jake and I'll be glad if you write to me something even if it's just one sentence...I'm just a Bulagarian who is fond of Jake's music and mourn his loss...
Daniel Simeonov
Hi Andy,
My name is Dalitso, I was fortunate enough to work
with Jake on Goa Trance, Psychedelic FLashbacks Vol2.
I met him through my university in Guildford and used
to spend a lot of time talking about the music thing
over the 5 years I spent there. I have been away from
the music scene for the last year and was shocked to
find the tributes as I had no idea of what had
happened. Jake was exremely generous with his time,
energy and encouragement of furthering ourselves both
musically and spiritually. I shared a few things with
Jake, I guess he kinda saw some of his energy and
drive in me. We spent a weekend working on the album,
and especially as we shared the same birthday, got a
real connecting vibe. I have ultimate respect for Jake
as he helped me in so many ways, and I'm sure he has
also affected many people in the same way.
Thank you for reading,
Regards,
Dalitso Sajiwandani
Hi Andy,
I just stumbled upon your tribute to Jake Stephenson. Jake and I were friends through primary and secondary school and 6th form college. After that I only saw him once, something that has pained me for years. And now I discover (two and a half years after the fact) that he died. To be honest, I wasn't sure it was the same Jake till I read that he had died as the consequence of an epileptic attack, a curse I watched him grow up dealing with. Then, I doubted my assumption again and dug some more and found that one of his aliases/bands was Paperhouse.
Then I knew it was him.
The Paperhouse was the movie version of a spooky book and TV show we watched as young kids and never forgot. As a teenager I knew him as a massively self-motivated and gifted musician, teaching himself classical guitar just so that he had a good basis to learn rock guitar.
The last time I saw him (I guess we were in our early 20's) he was running a second-hand record stall around the country and being so laid back and content with his meager business that it quite unbalanced my conventional aspirant thinking. I had no idea that he had subsequently become a professional musician, or the form his music would take. In another reality I may have joined his path as I was a synth fan from the earliest days. But in this reality I took another road and never saw or heard from him again.
I was reading Marianne Dreams (the book of the film Paperhouse) to my daughter recently and it brought back memories of long summer days of youth with Jake, toasting our way through entire loaves of bread and marmalade while discussing everything and nothing. And that reminiscing led me to search for Jake online. I am not sure if you want to add this (very late) reflection to your website, or even if you intend to keep it going as a lasting memorial, but, if you do, then please be sure to include the following: My abiding memory of Jake is of the calmest, least judgmental, most open-minded and giving person I think I have ever met.
I wouldn't compare myself to him, but I know he profoundly influenced my developing character and I am sure he has impacted hundreds or thousands of other people. And as those character traits get passed along, he will most certainly live on.
Jon Richings
Andy,
I would just like to say thank you for putting up your tribute to Jake.
I hadn't spoken to Jake in a few years, but was heading down to his old stomping grounds and thought I would try and find him to catch up. I couldn't have been more shocked to find out what I have - that I will never be able to.
I first met him, over 15 years ago in Guildford, and found him to be probably the single most charming, polite chaps I have ever met - full of stories over endless cups of tea, and a busy record stall. His knowledge of ambient dance shaped my love for the music, and it was only after a year of friendship, that the ever modest Jake admitted that half of what he had sold me was his own! A strong friendship grew and I looked forward to the Thursdays when he would set up shop in the University student union, selling his wares, where his good humor and patience were always welcome.
I cannot think of anyone who ever disliked him, and a small piece of pride I have is of introducing him to a friend of mine who painted the 'trippier' of the Shamanic Tribes on Acid covers - bright, happy and just a little different.
When I finished in Guildford and moved on to pastures new, I missed his chatter, and truly enjoyed it when I heard a message left on my answerphone. I only really wish I could have spoken to him once more, if for nothing else, to discuss the number of cups of tea that we had each consumed today.
Thank you once again for your tribute, and I will pass on this sad news to another set of people who on the rare occasion we meet up always ask if I have heard from our friend Jake.
Gavin Hallam