Mazlyn Jones Biography

With 8 albums to his credit, recent high profile TV collaborations with the BBC, and a new and growing audience in the dance / rave scene boosting his traditional, long standing folk / roots / progressive following, Mazlyn Jones is perhaps at last on the verge of getting the wider acclaim and recognition that critics have often felt he deserves.

His combination of natural acoustic guitar sounds and electric textures along with his playing of the Indian santor give him a unique sound. Without tapes or synthesizers he combines brilliant guitar playing with powerful and evocative visuals that emphasise the themes of his music.

Much of his writing is influenced by the inspiration of the land, sea and skies of the south west of Britain where he lives. He was born in the industrial Midlands and started playing guitar and writing songs and poetry at an early age. After spending his youth working part time with animals, he moved to the Channel Islands in the seventies to study and work with the great apes for the conservationist and writer Gerald Durrell. After studying animal behaviour and that of the onlookers he realised that true conservation required a shift in attitudes. Follwing his love for the natural landscape, he moved to the north coast of Cornwall.

By the early eighties, Mazlyn had a young family, had been a part-time lifeboat man for some time, realeased three albums, established "Isle of Light" as a small indie label on which all of his subsequent material has been released, and played most of the clubs and festivals in the UK and Europe. In 1980 a meeting with ex-Van Der Graaf Generator drummer Guy Evans marked the beginning of a long term collaborative relationship, starting with the third album, Breaking Cover. By the mid eighties he had developed and honed his skilful guitar styles and writing which led to him appearing as a special guest to numerous well known bands in the UK and European rock circuit, notably Barclay James Harvest, at that at time nearing the peak of their massive continental European popularity.

Mazlyn & Guy Evans taking a winter paddle at Boscastle, Cornwall

Biography Cont.