Micah Gilbert
A highly regarded singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Micah Gilbert was born in Athens, Georgia, and grew up in various southeastern U.S. cities. At age 15 he began performing, both solo and in bands, eventually leading in the 80s to founding roles as songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist for a popular Columbia, South Carolina-based band, Glass Bead Game (taking the name from the novel by Herman Hesse). Writing retrospectively in 2015, writer and former college radio DJ Kevin Oliver describes the band as a “vaguely psychedelic, baroque pop ensemble” and “the most exotic sound these young ears had heard at that point in my life” (The Beat).
In the late 80s Gilbert resettled in Athens, a town whose music scene is legendary. There he developed a following as songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist for the critically acclaimed Magister Ludi (another name inspired by Hesse). The band was loved by fans and respected by critics. Hailed as “a breath of fresh musical air”, Magister Ludi picked up significant radio airplay and was lauded by the press for compelling songs, strong vocals, “ringing guitar hooks”, and “infectious groove”. The band drew the attention of a New York production company, and though that project ultimately did not bear fruit, it brought Gilbert together with producer/engineer Garry Rindfuss. Magister Ludi split, and in 1993 Gilbert released his 11-song solo CD, Book of Changes (Mellifluid), co-produced with Rindfuss and recorded at John Keane’s studio in Athens.
The CD captured the admiration of listeners and critics alike, including David Bash, who wrote for Amplifier that Gilbert “is able to interweave some wonderful aural moods with lyrics that evoke vivid images, and while most songwriters use sparseness to draw attention to their lyrics, Gilbert uses the musical and lyrical elements of a song as complements, and we are left transfixed by both of them”.
Book of Changes twice earned Gilbert invitations to perform at the famed South-by-Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas (1994, 1995). Reviewing the album prior to the 1994 festival, Luke Torn of The Austin Chronicle described it as “a keeper”: “Yet another gem from the musical oasis of Athens, GA, Gilbert spent time with a popular Athens group called Magister Ludi, but this dreamy, melancholy set of almost-baroque pop tunes is likely to raise his profile considerably. Many tunes exhibit bits and pieces of a John Lennon/Revolver-era Beatles influence, but mostly Gilbert’s minor key excursions into the mystic are his own”.
Another reviewer of Book of Changes observed the range of Gilbert’s writing: “Possessed of an exploratory intelligence and few prejudices, Gilbert has absorbed a variety of musical styles and influences. His adventurousness and attention to detail are evident in the songs and arrangements of Book of Changes”. [. . .] “Taken together [the songs] make up an extraordinary vision of the possibilities of contemporary songcraft” (Chelsea Snelgrove, The Point).
From that album the anthemic “Waking from a Dream”, with its bagpipe riff-driven chorus, was chosen by Bruce Brodeen of Not Lame Recording Company for inclusion on The World’s Best Power Pop Compilation . . . really! (1997). Regarding Gilbert’s work, Brodeen enthused, “This guy WRITES songs, not just plays them. Skillful, well-crafted intelligent lyrics, catchy Crowded House, John Lennon subtlety”.
In 1996 Gilbert made an international move to Scotland, where he has focused on songwriting and recording both his own music and that of others. He has continued to write prolifically and release music, performed with an acoustic ensemble and bands put together for specific purposes, and privately taught music and audio recording.
Among other performances, Gilbert has played the Cavern Club in Liverpool six times as part of the International Pop Overthrow festival a global celebration of independent pop music founded and directed by David Bash and held annually in many international venues. Five of Micah’s songs appear on compilation CDs produced by IPO.
After a 2015 move to his current home on the Isle of Skye, in 2017 Gilbert released Tales of Love, a 13-song album of new material. Reviewer Don Valentine, calling Gilbert’s earlier Book of Changes a “Singer Songwriter Classic”, proclaimed that Tales of Love “enhances his reputation”: “Gilbert writes songs of depth that may jangle or strum, but hang on melody and lyrical strength” (I Don’t Hear a Single blog).
In 2018 Gilbert suffered a serious accident, and during the long, ongoing recovery, performance has necessarily taken a back seat. He has continued to write and record from his island base, now called Old Peat Road Studio. He has overcome much during this time. In May 2023 he returned to the stage at IPO’s festival in Liverpool for rousing sets commemorating the 30th anniversary of Book of Changes. The ’69 Telecaster he used on his first album chiming with his distinctive vocal, Gilbert led a band of musicians with whom he has worked over the years: from Mist & Wing, Grace Murray (keyboards, flute, background vocals) and Alan Murray (acoustic guitar, fiddle, background vocals); Paul Syme (bass); and Scott Stewart (drums). Stewart, who had played on Book of Changes, travelled from the US especially for the occasion.
Gilbert’s newest work continues to demonstrate the skilled songwriter’s ease and deftness with melody and a passion for arrangement. In abundance are his characteristic layers of guitars and vocals, hooky riffs, surprising instrumental touches, and interwoven counter-melodies. There too are the wry, quirky turns of phrase and intensely lyrical observations that celebrate paradox or mix, as Kevin Oliver had put it, “the mundane and the metaphysical”.
Autumn 2024 saw the release of two long-awaited projects, both available initially on all the streaming services, with hard-copy CDs to follow. The new material has been featured by radio outlets, among them the UK’s iconic Radio Caroline (The Boat That Rocked!) and digital radio show The Music Authority with Jim Prell. The single “Colour Wheel” spent several weeks in the top 10 on the Radio Indie Alliance charts.
The 12-song Passing Places (August 2024) draws on diverse songwriting traditions that have influenced Gilbert, some outside the scope of the earlier Book of Changes and Tales of Love. The listener will find hints of George Harrison-inspired lead and slide guitars and Leon Russell/Elton John piano approaches; some nods to James Taylor, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan; some gesturing back to Gilbert’s early acoustic-performance days. Several songs dip into folk aesthetics and Americana.
Most of the 10 songs on Gilbert’s latest release,Wheel (November 2024), were written and recorded between 2021 and 2023. As a whole this album is closer to the indie-pop, indie-rock aesthetic for which Gilbert has been known. Thematically, it explores facets of time, change, and memory, at times abruptly contrasting, as exemplified by the first two songs. The cyclical exchange between hope and reconciliation in the insistent groove of “Colour Wheel” moves directly into a rush of memory, collapsing past and present, in the cinematic haunting of “Everywhere I Look”.
Gilbert is an Academy Member of The Ivors Academy (formerly Professional Member of its earlier incarnation, BASCA). He is affiliated as a writer with BMI.
For more information and reviews, see Micah Gilbert’s website, www.micahgilbert.com. Find Micah Gilbert Music on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/MicahGilbertMusic. All four of Gilbert’s albums are widely available on streaming services, and his official YouTube channel is MicahGilbert – Music.