Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon tea break with our Afternoon Tea curators.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by Jackson Welchner.
Jackson Welchner is an up-and-coming vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger/producer based out of Toronto. Singer of jazz, classical, folk, and improvised genres, Jackson always strives to “serve the music.”
“When UR” is an ode to all the friendships that drift apart for months, sometimes years, but when you eventually reconnect it’s as if things had never changed. That joy is what Jackson aims to share in this song.
The original song was written in 2016 as a piece for Jazz Choir, and it was his first attempt at writing something pop-y and catchy. His goal with this song was to write a pop song that wove together three equidistant key centres as seamlessly as possible. The song ended up being in A♭ major, with the verse starting in C and then halfway pivoting to E major.
The saxophone solo was improvised by the masterful Patrick Smith, one of Toronto’s best young sax players. The solo you hear on the track was done in one take!
Stream + share “When UR” now:
“Writing this song taught me that I can infuse nerdy jazz ideas into a fun, accessible pop-like song,” says Jackson. “Sometimes that’s hard to do, but it’s a reminder that it CAN be done. Melody is key to all of it!”
Song: Adult Jazz – Spook
Adult Jazz was one of the few projects I found as an adult that I’ve clinged to just about as tightly as I’ve clung to music from my childhood. Their commitment to space and patience is so soothing and refreshing, and is a perfect pallet cleanser before and after listening to “When UR”. Their influences are hard to pin down, but I would say there’s a bit of Björk in there mixed with UK folk vibes. Highly recommend listing to their masterful debut album “Gist Is”.
Tea : Orange Pekoe
I love orange pekoe. Substitute sugar for honey and lean into the dark, round flavor and aroma.
Need an extra lump of sugar? One more sip? If you have extra time, we have one more hit.
Visual: Umami Interface | Part I
Umami is an animator that has leaned into a particular niche of surreal, liminal, pop art. He initially started his Interface series as an exercise in creating visuals for his ambient music. Because of this, the narratives and references in his art are non linear, and his art style reflects that. These videos are wonderful to enjoy with the sound off, paired with Adult Jazz, but hold their own with their ambient music and superb voice acting.
Tea + Me 