Jon Courtney

Jon Courtney

Jon Courtney, who grew up in Reading, Berkshire, is a singer and guitarist in the British rock band Pure Reason Revolution. He is also responsible for most of the songwriting and lyrics, though some songs are attributed to former band-member Greg Jong. Outside of Pure Reason Revolution, Courtney is involved in the DJ set All Bangers No Mash, with partner "Jack (Knock 'em Dead)", under the pseudonym "Cedo Simplex"..

Background

Courtney and his brother and former bandmate Andrew Courtney grew up in Reading, as did Pure Reason Revolution member Chloe Alper. In an interview, Courtney points to the precise moment, at approximately age 11, when he decided he wanted to be a musician, when he saw the band Nirvana on the MTV Awards in about 1991. Courtney said, "[F]rom that point on it was like "wow!" - I was transfixed by the TV - "this is what I've got to do, there's no question." The next day I was just hassling my mom for a guitar. I have to play guitar and then I started a huge obsession with Nirvana and the whole grunge scene. So that's definitely a strong turning point for me." He credited the appeal of the moment to the passion of the music and the audience and also to the "alien" style.

Courtney began playing in bands in high school. He and his brother were involved in the punk band Gel, which was scouted and briefly signed by Seymour Stein, the founder of Sire Records, although it was dropped prior to releasing any material. Courtney enjoyed the experience of touring and recording, and teamed up with his brother, Alper and several others to form the indie pop band The Sunset Sound, which received some airplay before the band members dissolved the band as not representing their style. The band's music was also inspired by a university project in which Courtney was involved creating new original music for the 1960s television show The Prisoner.

Along with his brother and Alper, Courtney came together with Jamie Wilcox and Jim Dobson to form Pure Reason Revolution, whom Courtney met at University of Westminster. The band's name was inspired by Courtney's thesis on the nature of genius and its application to Beach Boy Brian Wilson, for which he studied Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant.

Songwriting

According to Alper, the music of Pure Reason Revolution "grew organically from Jon's songs and influences". The band's prevalent use of harmony, described by Disorder Magazine as a "trademark", is credited to Courtney. Courtney's songwriting draws together the inspiration of such bands as Nirvana, which he describes as his "first obsession", the Beach Boys, the Chemical Brothers and Crosby Stills & Nash. In 2005, Gigwise.com, who termed Courtney the "creative force" behind the band, described the "amazingly intricate" songs as "one of the most enticing things" about Pure Reason Revolution. By contrast, a reviewer in webzine Drowned in Sound's online reviews wrote that the band "makes pop songs, which stand no chance whatsoever of ever getting anywhere near the radio". Another reviewer both praised and criticized the song composition, noting that the band had grasped the attributes of Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd and:

...rammed as much of them into their songs as is humanly possible. Besides that they add more by having around about 9 to 10 synthesisers on 1 rack (very stable), a violinist and a female singer. This is what really created the band in my opinion, but in places also let them down. Their songs were quite long-winded with very little vocals and to say they had 2 singers it led them into a bit of a slump.

Lyrically, Courtney expresses an interest in writing about "the less obvious", stating that he writes "subconsciously about snapshots of life, observations, moments, my and other people’s experiences, dreams". Dreams, and the time individuals spend asleep, are among what Alper describes as Courtney's obsessions, which, she notes, "kind of trickle down to us". Courtney acknowledges that his lyrics are often directly inspired by his dreams, which he frequently writes down.