The Caretaker

Concieved in 1999 as a side project to V/Vm, The Caretaker went on to be the longest-running and best known of James Kirby's many acts, and continued well after V/Vm's official end in 2008. Inspired by a scene from Stanley Kubrick's film version of "The Shining," the project took as its major source 78 RPM singles of ballroom recordings, treated with minimal effects compared to V/Vm's rapid-fire, often obliterative approach. Gradually, the project began to explore the theme of neurodegenerative illness, using the records themselves as a metaphor for the progressive failure of the human mind. This culminated in the six-part Everywhere At The End of Time, a fictional first-person account of early onset dementia told in surface noise, atmospherics, and snippets of worn-out records. After 20 years, the project ended with the conclusion of Everywhere... in 2019. Kirby continues to make music under his separate ongoing projects.

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